IPL 2018: Gayle, Rahul seal 9-wicket win over KKR in rain-affected match

Kings XI Punjab's Chris Gayle smashed 62 off 38 balls and KL Rahul scored 60 runs off 27 balls to diminish KKR's chances to make a comeback in the game after the rain intervened

Rain and Gaylestorm deprived Kolkata Knight Riders of a victory at the Eden Gardens on Saturday in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) as Kings XI Punjab stormed into the top of the Vivo IPL points table with a 9-wicket victory against KKR at Eden Gardens. Swashbuckling southpaw Chris Gayle smashed 62 off 38 balls with the help of 5 boundaries and 6 sixes, diminishing KKR’s chances to make a comeback in the game after the rain intervened and halted the action for a while. The victory is significant for the KXIP as they now dominate the Vivo IPL points table with 8 points in 5 matches.

Batting first KKR put up a target of 191 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs. After the intervention of rain, the target for KXIP was revised to 125 runs in 13 overs using D/L method. KXI Punjab were at 96/0 when play stopped, after it resumed they needed 29 more runs in 28 balls. The opening pair of KKR could not last long as Sunil Naraine was removed by Mujeed Ur Rahman early at a score of 1 run. Coming in at number three, Robin Uthappa built up a crucial partnership with 

Chris Lynn but departed after scoring 34 off 23 balls. Lynn smashed 74 off 41, helping the team put up a good score. Dinesh Karthik played a crucial knock of 43 off 28 balls. Barinder Sran and Andrew picked 2 wickets each for KXIP, while  Ashwin and Rahman picked one wicket each. 

Kings XI Punjab innings update: Over by over

Over 1: Mavi to Rahul an inswinging delivery got the inside edge for 4. Mavi overcompensates the second ball and hit for 4 in the third man region. Single of the third ball. Mavi to Gayle and Mavi ends his first over with three dot balls. KXIP 9-0

Over 2: Russell to Rahul. A classic cover drive for 4 of the first ball. Deliberately opened the face of the bat for four. Single. It's Gayle's turn now. KXIP: 22-0

Over 3: Mavi to continue, good inswinger, just one.Mistimed by Gayle, yet four. Dot ball. Gayle pulls, gone for four. Runs coming thick and fast. Brilliant pull by Rahil, Six runs. KXIP 39-0

Over 4: Russell continues, Gayle sends it flying for six. Just one. Cheeky single. Gayle makes some room, Cuts it for four. Uppercut for six, amazing shot. Russell seems to be in trouble. He goes off the field. Rana completes the over. KXIP: 57-0

Over 5: Sunil Narine to bowl. Rahul takes a single. Chris Gayle. Dot after Dot after dot. And again. Gayle hits a nice boundary. End of over. KXIP 62-0

Over 6: Piyush Chawla comes in. Single taken. Required run rate is now below 9 per over. Gayle swings and misses. Nicely cut for one. Rahul sweeps to fine leg for four. Another sweep, this time finer towards fine leg, for four. Single to end the over. KXIP 73-0

Over 7: Kuldeep Yadav comes to bowl. Rahul greets him with a stunning pull for four. Single taken. Gayle hits for a six. Beautiful shot. Single to Gayle. Rahul sweeps for a double. Dot to end the over. KXIP 86-0

Over 8: Narine to continue. Rahul cuts to the man at point. Cuts again and misses. Easy single. Gayle takes a single. Firmly struck towards the fielder. Single. End of over. KXIP: 89-0

Over 9: Chawla continues. Single to Rahul. Gayle hits very high in the air, and six. And here comes the downpour. 

Match resumes after one hour rain break

Over 10: Narine to Rahul, 6 of the first ball and fifty fore Rahul. A delightful shot by Rahul for 4 and again a four. Narine to Rahul, OUT, holes out to deep midwicket! Agrawal came to bat, single. Narine to gayle no run

Kings XI need 9 off 18 balls

Over 11: Shivam Mavi to Agrawal, single of the first ball. Mavi to Gayle, no run. Wide ball in the leg side. 3 consecutive dot ball by Mavi to Gayle. Single of the last ball

Kings XI need five off 12 balls

Over 12: Tom Curran to Gayle six and KXIP won the match by 9 wickets (D/L) method

Kings XI Punjab innings analysis

Chasing the target of 192, Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul came to open the innings for Kings XI Punjab. Mavi came to bowl the first over and an in-swinging delivery got the inside edge and went for four. Mavi gave away 9 runs in his first over as he bowled 3 dot balls to Gayle to end the over. Russell came to bowl the 2nd over of the innings and Rahul hit the first two balls for four. Gayle too scored a four of Russell’s 4th ball. KXIP collected 13 runs of the Russell’s over. Mavi came to bowl the 3rd over of the innings and started off with a wide down the leg side. Gayle hit 2 boundaries of Mavi’s 2nd and 4th ball as Rahul pulled the last ball for six over the square leg boundary. After the end of the third over KXIP was 39 for no loss.

Russell came to bowl the 4th over and Gayle greeted him with a six over mid-wicket region. Gayle hit 4th ball of the over for 4 in the cover region. Gayle swirls down the wicket to make the room and hit a six over the short third man region for 6 as Russell slipped and went of the field. Rana bowled the last ball of the 4th over. KXIP collected 18 runs as they went past fifty in the 4th over and both the openers gave a terrific start to KXIP. Sunil Narine came to bowl the 5th over and didn’t allow Gayle to break free as he bowled 4 dot balls before hitting the last ball for 4. Piyush Chawla came to bowl the 5th over and Rahul took a single off the first ball. Gayle has a record of hitting the maximum number of sixes against Chawla. Gayle took a single of the 3rd ball. Rahul came to the crease and hit 2 consecutive fours by Rahul before taking a single off the last ball of the over. Chawla gave away 11 runs in his first over. After the end of the powerplay KXIP scored 73 runs for no loss. Chris Gayle (35 runs off 22 balls) and KL Rahul (37 runs off 14 balls) were at the crease.

Sunil Narine came to bowl the 8th over and bowled 2 dot balls, its started drizzling. Narine gave only 4 runs in his 2nd over. If the rains arrive KXIP would win the match easily as they are way ahead of the par score. Chawla came to bowl the 9th over and Chris Gayle hit a massive six over the long-on boundary as rain stops the play. Till the covers come up KXIP was 96 for no loss with Chris Gayle (49 runs off27 balls) and Rahul (46 runs off 23 balls) were at the crease. The par score is 65 and If the play doesn't resume KXIP will easily win on D/L method

Kolkata Knight Riders innings update: Over by over

Over 1: Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn to open for KKR. Ankit Rajpoot to open the bowling for KXIP, Single taken. Just one for Narine. Decent line, drifted down the leg for one. Another one on the pads of Narine for single. Swing and a miss, Chris Lynn did not move his feet much. That swung in, Lynn barely manages to put it away. Single to end the over. KKR 5-0

Over 2: Mujeeb ur Rahman is the new bowler. Single to Lynn. Narine cuts, straight to the fielder at point. Narine steps out, pulls it to deep mid-wicket and caught, brilliant catch. Narine gone for 1. Stunning catch by Karun Nair. KKR 6-1. Robin Uthappa is the new batsman. Lynn to face, good shot but straight to the fielder. Four runs, beautiful cut shot. Dot to end the over. KKR 10-1

Over 3: Rajpoot to continue. Uthappa opens his account with a lucky four. Straight to the fielder. Awkward pull by Uthappa, falls in no man's land, single taken. Lucky for Uthappa, yet again. Lynn gets under the ball and pulls it for huge six. First of the match. KKR 21-1

Over 4: Mujeeb continues. Dot ball. Uthappa reverse sweeps for four. Now he Sweeps for four. Hat-trick of fours. 

Over 5: Barinder Sran comes in. Double to Lynn. Lynn sweeps well for four. Ferocious bouncer, no run. Slower one from Sran, Lynn did not read it. Dot again. Wide outside the off, no run. KKR 42-1

Over 6: Andrew Tye is in. No ball. Free hit. Just one. Good ball to bowl for a free hit. Bouncer outside the off. no run. Straight drive, stopped by Tye. Very decent bowling. Uthappa pulls on the leg side for four. One run to end the over. KKR 50-1

Over 7: Ravichandran Ashwin comes to the attack. Single to Uthappa and Lynn. One more single. One more to Lynn, easy pickings. Uthappa plays it back to Ashwin. One run to end. KKR 55-1

Over 8: Sran continues. Six for Uthappa. Played it down to third man for one. Lynn goes over the in-field on the off side for four. Sran misses his line by a whisker and Lynn pulls him for  a huge six. Dot ball. Pulled yet again for a massive six. 23 runs came from that over. KKR 78-1

Over 9: Ashwin continues, Uthappa pulls hard to deep mid-wicket, and he is out, Karun Nair takes the catch. Nitish Rana joins Chirs Lynn. Single to Rana. Chipped on the leg side for double. Lynn picks up another easy single on the leg side. Rana picks single. End of the decent over. KKR 83-1

Over 10: Mujeeb continues. Single to Rana. Singles coming easily for Lynn. Decent line by mujeeb . Nice cut, well fielded and here is the throw, run out, Rana is gone. Dinesh Karthik comes in. Gets a single off the first ball.  KKR 85-3

Over 11: Ashwin to continue, Karthik starts off with four. Here's another one. He looks confident. Double to Karthik on the leg side. Karthik takes another double, brilliant running. Nicely driven for one. 13 runs came from the over. KKR 99-3

Over 12: Yuvraj Singh into the attack, Karthik greets him with a four, brilliant late cut. Flighted delivery, just one. Powerfully struck by Lynn towards Yuvraj, gone for four. Lynn takes another single. Karthik cuts, just for one. 13 runs from the over. And that is 50 for Chris Lyn. KKR 112-3

Over 13: Tye to continue. Karthik chips towards the leg side for single. That his very high in the air, gone for six. Second longest six in IPL 2018, 103 metres. Four, cracking shot. Costly over by Andrew Tye, 15 runs came from it. KKR 127-3

Over 14: Mujeeb continues, Karthik sweeps him for four. Easy single. Nice late cut by Lynn, straight to the fielder. Karthik cuts, cheeky single. Another quick single. Nine runs came from the over. KKR 136-3

Over 15: Ashwin starts off with a wide. Singles coming easily. Lyn hits through covers, four runs. Lynn takes a double. End of the over. 10 runs came from it. KKR 146-3

Over 16: Andrew Tye continues. Single to Karthik. Tye bowls a wide one outside the off, Lynn chases it and is caught behind. Lynn goes for 74. Andre Russell is the new man in. Defends the first one. Swings and misses, just like Lynn. Single to Russell. Karthik, swings and misses. Unable to read the slower ones. KKR 148-4

Over 17: Sran continues. Single to Russell. Karthik takes a single. KKR missing out on boundaries. Swinging full toss onto the pads of Russell, he hits for a four. Wide outside leg, Russell hits for a four again. Wide ball. Russell smashes one down the ground, long-off takes it. He is gone for 10. KKR 159-5. Shubhmam Gill is the new man in. Beautiful cut for four. KKR 163-5

Over 18: Rajpoot to continue. Decently guided by Karthik towards third man for four. And again, this time finer, four runs. Same shot, just for one. Good yorker. Dot ball. Wide ball. Another wide. Shubhman Gill hits a cracking four. 17 runs came from that over. KKR 180-5

Over 19: Barinder Sran to continue. Single to Karthik. Single on GIll. Karthik hits in the air, just short of the fielder.  Another single. Sran keeping it tight. Wide ball. Karthik Pulls, and he is gone. Caught in the deep. Karthik out for 43. Tom Curran is the new man. He takes a single. KKR 186-6

Over 20: Tye to finish off things. Curran cuts and straight to Rajpoot. He goes for one. Piyush Chawla comes in. And another sitter dropped. This time it was Mujeeb. Hit down the ground for 1. Single to finish. KKR: 191-7

Kolkata Knight Riders innings analysis after the end of innings

Kings XI won the toss and asked Kolkata Knight Riders to bat first. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine opened the innings for KKR. Ankit Rajpoot came to bowl the first over of the innings and gave 5 runs as Lynn was not able to connect the ball. Mujeeb Ur Rahman came to bowl the 2nd over of the innings and got the wicket of Sunil Narine as he failed to give KKR the desired start. Sunil Narine scored 1 runs off 4 balls. Robin Uthappa came to bat after the dismissal of Narine. Mujeeb gave 5 runs in his first over, a perfect start for Kings Xi after Ashwin asked KKR to bat.   Ankit Rajpoot continued from the other end and hit for a boundary of the first ball by Robin Uthappa as the ball got past the big man Gayle, Lynn hit the last ball of Ankit’s last ball. Ankit gave away 11 runs in his 3rd. After the end of 3 overs, KKR was 21 for 1 with Chris Lynn (14 runs off 9 balls) and Robin Uthappa (5 runs off 5 balls) were at the crease.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman came to bowl the 4th over as he got under pressure after hit for 3 consecutive four by Uthappa and bowl the 5th ball wide. KKR collected 15 runs off the Mujeeb’s 2nd over. Barinder Sran came to bowl the 5th over and gave away 6 runs as Sran pulled it back after hit for a four of the 3rd ball. Andrew Tye came to ball the 5th over and the first ball was called no-ball as Uthappa scampers for a single but TV replay shows Tye’s foot was behind the line. Chris Lynn didn’t take the full advantage of a free hit as Tye bowled a brilliant Yorker. KKR collected 8 runs from the Tye’s first over. After the end of the powerplay, KKR was 50 for 1 with Chris Lynn (22 runs off 17 balls) and Robin Uthappa (24 runs off 16 balls) were at the crease as they were scoring with a run rate of 8. 33 rpo.

Ashwin came to bowl the 7th over and gave only 5 runs as he put the lid on the run-rate. While Sran continued to bowl from the other end and hit for a six over the deep square of the first ball. Chris Lynn smashed Sran for 2 sixes in the deep square leg region as KKR collected 23 runs in the 8th over of the innings. Ashwin came to bowl the 9th over and took the wicket of Uthappa right after the strategic time-out. Robin Uthappa scored 34 runs off 23 balls with a strike rate of 147.82 with the help of 5 fours and one six. Ashwin gave away 5 runs as Nitish Rana came to the crease after the dismissal of Uthappa. After the end of the 9 overs, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 83 runs for 2 wickets. Nitish Rana ( 2 runs off 2 balls) and Chris Lynn( 43 runs off 23 balls) were at the crease.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman came to bowl his third over and pathetic running by Nitish Rana as he hit the ball and ran for a single without thinking that there was a single or not. Rahman gave away 3 runs in the 10th over of the innings. Ashwin continued to bowl after taking the wicket of Uthappa from the other end and Dinesh Karthik, who came after the dismissal of Rana, hit Ashwin for 2 consecutive fours and took two quick double to collect 13 runs of 11th over of the innings. Yuvraj came to bowl 12th over and hit for a four of the first ball, a death touch from Karthik, as KKR collected 14 runs of Yuvraj’s first over. Chris completed his half-century taking quick double. After the end of the 12 over KKR was 112 runs for 2 wickets with Dinesh Karthik (20 runs off 11 balls) and Chris Lynn ( 51 runs off 30 balls).

Andrew Tye came to bowl the 13th over and Lynn unleashed his wrath on to him as he muscled Tye for a six over deep mid-wicket followed by a four in the point region. Sran dropped Lynn in the last ball of the over. KKR scoring runs thick and past as they 127 runs in the 13th over. Mujeeb Ur Rahman came to bowl the 14th over and greeted him with a boundary in the deep square leg region. Rahman pulled it back after hitting for a boundary of the first ball and gave only 5 runs in the remaining 5 balls as Karthik and Lynn put up 50 runs partnership in 26 balls. Aswin came to bowl the 15th over and bowled a wide of the first ball. KKR collected 10 runs in the Ashwin’s final over. After the end of 15th over KKR was 146 for 3 with Chris Lynn ( 74 runs off 40 balls)  and Dinesh Karthik ( 30 runs off 19 balls) were at the crease.

Tye came to bowl the 16th over and took the wicket of Chris Lynn, who scored 74 runs off 41 balls with a strike rate of 180.48 and gave only 2 runs as Andre Russell came to the crease. Barinder Sran came to bowl the 17th over and hit by Russell for 2 consecutive fours before Sran got his wicket of the 5th ball. Shubman Gill came to bat after Russell’s wicket and hit a classic cut shot for 4 of the last ball of the over. Sran gave away 15 runs in his 3rd over. Ankit Rajpoot came to bowl the 18th over and Karthik hit first 2 balls for four in the third man region. Rajpoot gave away 17 runs as Shubman Gill hit the last ball for four in the cover region. After the end of the 18th over KKR was 180 for 5. Sran came to bowl the penultimate over and got the wicket of Dinesh Karthik (43 runs off 28 balls) of the 5th ball as he gave away 6 runs. Sran finishes of his full quota of over with the figures of 4-0-50-2. Andrew Tye came to bowl the last over and got the wicket of Tom Curran of the 2nd ball as he gave 5 runs in his final over. After the end of 20 overs, KKR scored runs 191 for 7 and set the target if 192 runs for Kings XI Punjab

Here are the squad for both the teams:

Kings XI Punjab Playing XI: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Change: Ankit Rajpoot comes in for Mohit Sharma.

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav. No change in the team. 

Both teams come into this match after superlative performances in their respective previous matches. KKR took the confidence of a resounding win against Delhi Daredevils at home, and when they travelled to Jaipur they humbled Rajasthan Royals in their own fortress of Sawai Mansingh Stadium. KXIP, too, have the confidence of consecutive wins -- first, they defeated Chennai Super Kings by a narrow margin of 4 runs, and then, more recently, handed Sunrisers Hyderabad their first defeat of IPL 2018.

Both teams today will be vying to take the top spot on the Vivo IPL points table. The KKR vs KXIP clash is also seen as a stage set for a giant contest between two big-hitting Jamaicans -- Andre Russell and Chris Gayle.
 
Gayle was at his best in KXIP’s previous match, where he smashed this season's first century — a 63-ball 104 not out — against one of the best bowling outfits, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chris Gayle smashed 11 sixes, seven of them against the world's top-ranked T20 international bowler, Rashid Khan, and gave a fitting response to his critics after the humiliation he faced at the IPL 2018 players auctions, where he went unsold.

The 38-year-old Gayle, who represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and KKR earlier, went unsold twice after 10 glorious years until the Virender Sehwag-mentored KXIP gave him a lifeline. Gayle still had to warm the bench in the first two matches, but when his moment came he played two match-winning knocks, including a 63 against Chennai Super Kings. "A lot of people said 'Chris has a point to prove'. Time waits for no one but I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. I just want to move on, enjoy my cricket," Gayle said.
 
KKR have the likes of Nitish Rana — who fired with bat and ball once again — and their wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla to thank for the second triumph in a row. Rana took the crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and D'Arcy Short when both were looking good for a big score. With the bat, KKR's most consistent player so far remained unbeaten on 35 to see them cross the line with ease. Needless to say, Rana's form augurs well for Dinesh Karthik's men, who also have Robin Uthappa among runs along with the captain himself. KKR's worry would be the form of dashing Australian opener Chris Lynn, who lasted just two balls against Rajasthan Royals and departed cheaply without troubling the scorers. Lynn has struggled against spin and was seen playing with a horizontal bat in only the second ball of his innings to K Gowtham, who castled him.
 
Here are a few things to know before the KKR vs KXIP match of IPL 2018 to be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens at 4 pm today:
 

What KKR bowling coach said of their plan of getting Gayle out early: After Chris Gayle blasted a 63-ball 104 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling coach Heath Streak hinted that they will look to get the dynamic West Indies batter back in the hut early when they take on Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. "Lot of people always ask us, the bowling coaches 'what's the plan'. It is very difficult for us to say because then he'll find out. So we can't really tell you the exact plan. He is a dangerous player," Streak told reporters when asked about plans to contain Gayle on the eve of their Punjab game at the Eden Gardens. "How you start to him is very important early on. If you allow someone like Chris Gayle to get into his innings and rhythm and confidence, he is a very dangerous player. He is so powerful and backs his ability when the ball is in his zone to clear the boundary," said KKR’s bowling coach.
 
What Andrew Tye said about Gayle’s Performance against SRH: Kings XI Punjab speedster Andrew Tye heaped praise on his side's explosive opener, Chris Gayle, saying the West Indian played to perfection during his unbeaten knock of 104 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match here. "Gayle played to perfection. He made sure that he stayed there till the end. You don't often see (spinner Rashid) Khan get hit for more than 25 in one over. To make Rashid concede that many runs (55 in four overs) were awesome. I think he went about it very well. He knew that once he got through the powerplay, the spin would come on and then he got into the rhythm against the spin. I think he was very smart about it not to take too many risks against the Pacers (early on)," Tye said.
 
Heath Streak on Windies cricketing culture: Be it, Chris Gayle or Andre Russell, the West Indian cricketers have been in big demand in Twenty20 leagues across the world and former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak says it could be because perhaps the 'powerful' Caribbeans get 'bored' playing Test cricket. "Firstly, they enjoy it I think. They get bored by playing the long format of the game. A lot of them are playing all the leagues around the world, If you look at guys like Andre and Sunil from our team and others in the tournament like Pollard. You are getting to a stage where guys are making a career solely out of playing T20 cricket. They play in PSL (Pakistan), CPL (Caribbean), BBL (Big Bash), IPL. They've got physical attributes, the power. The guys like Pollard, Russell are physically strong guys, even their mis-hits go over the boundary," Streak said.
 
Heath Streak on India’s U-19 World cup stars, Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi: "They definitely are right from the Virat Kohli school of fielding... Last year's KKR, I think the fielding wasn't one of their strengths. I think we are definitely one of the top fielding sides with the youngsters coming in. That's also a welcome aspect of KKR's game that these guys have brought,” KKR bowling coach said.

How KKR and KXIP compare head to head in IPL matches so far  
 
Overall

Matches played: 22
Kolkata Knight Riders won: 14
Kings XI Punjab won: 7
 
At Eden Gardens

Matches played: 9
Kolkata Knight Riders won: 7
Kings XI Punjab won: 2

Kings XI Punjab have lost more matches to the Knight Riders than they have lost to any other opponent. KXIP haven’t won a match at the Eden Gardens in their last five visits to the venue; the last time they won at the venue was in 2012.
 
Here is some trivia ahead of today’s match between KKR and KXIP
 

• Chris Gayle Vs. Piyush Chawla in the IPL: Runs scored – 103, Balls faced – 57, Sixes hit – 9, Dismissals – 1, Strike Rate – 180.70!
• Chris Gayle Vs. Sunil Narine in the IPL: Runs scored – 40, Balls faced – 45, Strike Rate – 88.89.
• KXIP have the best scoring rate in the Powerplay overs in VIVO IPL 2018 – 10.29 & the best economy rate in the Powerplay overs – 7.46.