LSG 238/3 in 20 Overs [Nicholas Pooran 87*(36), Mitchell Marsh 81(48); Harshit Rana 2/51 in 4 Overs] beat KKR 234/7 in 20 Overs [Ajinkya Rahane 61(35), Rinku Singh 38*(15); Shardul Thakur 2/52 in 4 Overs] by 4 runs

The Kolkata Knight Riders clashed against the Lucknow Super Giants in an important encounter at the Eden Gardens with a lot on the line. An upbeat KKR looked forward to taking on LSG with their aim set to pick up two points and move up in the points table. This game was looked forward to as one of the much-anticipated games with two strong sides clashing against each other. On a hot yet breezy day in Kolkata, Captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl first with the pitch having a tinge of grass. KKR looked to exploit the conditions with the new ball and put pressure on the opposition. However, the LSG openers Aiden Markram and Mitch Marsh put on a big opening partnership to put LSG ahead in the contest. While Harshit Rana and Andre Russell were able to pick up a few wickets, it didn’t stop the momentum for LSG as Nicholas Pooran got into the act. KKR bowlers were able to establish some control however LSG set a massive target of 239. Big responsibility was now on the KKR batters to chase down the total and pick up the victory.

Both the KKR openers Quinton De Kock and Sunil Narine went hell for leather right from the first ball as they set their sights on the big total. KKR got the perfect start they wanted as both openers put immense pressure on the LSG bowlers and accumulated maximum boundaries. While KKR lost the wicket of De Kock fairly early, it was skipper Ajinkya Rahane who came into the boundary scoring party straightaway. KKR finished the powerplay with 91 runs with all the momentum on their side. Ajinkya kept striking it out the ground while Venkatesh joined him to forge a top class partnership. KKR were cruising at one point with Rahane & Iyer taking the charge however the unfortunate wicket of Rahane shifted the momentum. KKR suffered a collapse once they lost their skipper as they lost momentum in the chase. Rinku Singh however held the fort at one end despite wickets falling all around him. Rinku kept fighting right till the end and his thunderous cameo of 38 off just 15 balls kept KKR in the hunt right till the final over. However, his heroics weren’t enough as KKR fell short of the target by just 4 runs. Despite the tough loss, the Knights will hold their heads high and will be looking forward to turn it around in their next game.