Kolkata Knight Riders batted first. In a slow wicket at Eden Gardens Kolkata they made 164 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. They defeated Kings Eleven Punjab by 7 runs at the end. It was a close finish.

On 4th May, 2016, Kolkata Knight Riders made cautious start against Kings Eleven Punjab. Kolkata Knight Riders batted first. In the first 6 overs Kolkata scored 40 runs for no loss. Gambhir was not out on 27 runs. Uthappa was not out on 13 runs. After 7 overs, Kolkata were 43 runs for no loss.

In the slow wicket at Edent Gardens, Gambhir and Uthappa knew that if they were patient runs will come.

 

Shakib Al Hassan and Brad Hogg were back in the side. The match had been played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. So extra spinners were played by Kolkata. Gurkeerat Mann came to bowl the 8th over. The wicket slowed down. Uthappa scored a boundary in the last ball of Gurkeerat. After 8 overs Kolkata were 51 runs for the loss of no wicket.

 

In this year’s IPL, Kolkata had lost least wickets in the first 6 overs. In most of the matches, Uthappa and Gambhir gave 60 to 70 run partnership which reduced the pressure of the middle order batsmen. Axar Patel bowled the 9th over. Uthappa hit a six in the last ball of Axar Patel’s 2nd over. After 9 overs Kolkata were 62 runs for the loss of no wickets.

 

Swapnil Singh bowled the 10th over. Singles came but boundaries dried up. Gambhir took 2 runs in the 4th ball of Swapnil Singh. Gambhir pulled the last ball of Swapnil Singh for a six. He was 41 not out of 34 balls. After 10 overs Kolkata were 74 runs for no loss.

 

Stoinis bowled the 11th over. Robin Uthappa scored a boundary of the first ball. After 11 overs Kolkata were 83 for no loss. Axar Patel came to bowl the 12th over. Gambhir was 45 of 37 balls. Uthappa was not out on 41 runs of 32 balls. After 12 overs Kolkata were 89 runs for no loss.

 

Maxwell came to bowl the 13th over. Uthappa scored a boundary of the 3rd ball of Maxwell. Gambhir scored a boundary of the 5th ball and went 52 runs of 42 balls. After 13 overs Kolkata were 100 runs for no loss.

 

Sandeep Sharma came to bowl the 14th over. Gautam Gambhir got run out for 54 runs of 45 balls. Yusuf Pathan came to the crease. Uthappa scored a boundary of the 5th ball and scored his half century. After 14 overs Kolkata were 107 runs for the loss of 1 wicket.

 

Swapnil came to bowl the 15th over. Robin Uthappa hit a six of the 4th ball of Swapnil over. Uthappa scored a boundary of the 5th ball. After 15 overs Kolkata were 121 runs for 1 wicket.

 

Axar Patel bowled the 16th over. He bowled a tidy over. Kolkata were 128 for 1 wicket after 16 overs. Mohit Sharma came to bowl the 17th over. Pathan hit a six of the 2nd ball of Mohit Sharma. Robin Uthappa got out run out for 70 runs of 49 balls. Mohit Sharma got him run out. After 17 overs Kolkata were 137 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.

 

Sandeep Sharma came to bowl the 18th over. Russell came to the crease. Russell hit a boundary of the 2nd ball. Sandeep Sharma went on bowling Yorkers after Yorkers. After 18 overs Kolkata were 150 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Mohit Sharma came to bowl the 19th over. In the first 3 balls only 3 runs came. In the 5th ball Russell hit a six. After 19 overs Kolkata were 160 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.

 

Sandeep Sharma came to bowl the 20th over. He started with a Yorker. He went on bowling Yorkers after Yorkers. No room was given to Yusuf Pathan and Russell to free their arms. Yusuf Pathan remained not out on 19 runs of 16 balls. Russell got run out for 16 runs of 9 balls. Kolkata ended with 164 runs for 3 wickets in 20 overs.

 

In reply Kings Eleven Punjab made a very bad start. Vijay and Stoinis got out cheaply. They could face the bowling of Morne Morkel in his first spell. Within the first 6 overs Punjab lost 3 wickets.

 

But on Wednesday, Glenn Maxwell struck form. He was not in form for a lot of matches. This day he went on playing unconventional shots. His reverse sweep also came to rescue. He hit boundaries and over boundaries. At the end he got out for 68 runs. In a slow wicket his innings made the difference.

 

Kolkata played with many spinners. Shakib, Piyush Chawla and Brad Hogg bowled well. Piyush Chawla got important wickets with his googlies. But Umesh Yadav gave a lot of runs. In the last match, Umesh Yadav gave 59 runs of his overs.

 

But Kings Eleven Punjab could not progress to a big extent because Miller has not been in the best of his form. Otherwise he would have won the match for Punjab. Azar Patel also tried his best by hitting over-boundaries. Ultimately Punjab lost the match by 7 runs. Russell bowled the last over. Punjab required 12 runs to win. But ultimately fell short. Russell got 4 wickets. Shahrukh Khan came in the stadium. He did not dance. He said he reserved his dance for the day when Eden Gardens will get fill up more.

 

With this win, Kolkata had gone to the first position. Kings Eleven Punjab had gone down to the last position. From here there is no hope for Kings Eleven Punjab to qualify for the semi-finals. But Kolkata could not answer as to the fact that why Sunil Narine has not played. If it is due to injury it will cost Kolkata Knight Riders a lot. His off-spin is very difficult to play, especially when the matches are played in Eden Gardens. For the Kings Eleven Punjab, the only good sign is that Glenn Maxwell has come into form. Otherwise Sandeep Sharma had been bowling very well. He did not get the reward for his bowling. It is interesting to see which 4 teams qualify for semi-finals