LSG 161/7 in 20 Overs (Nicholas Pooran 45(32), KL Rahul 39(27); Mitchell Starc 3/28 in 4 overs) lost to KKR 162/2 in 20 Overs (Phil Salt 89*(47), Shreyas Iyer 38*(38); Mohsin Khan 2/29 in 4 overs) by 8 wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders returned home after a great away leg to face the Lucknow Super Giants in what promised to be a terrific contest. KKR aimed to start their home leg on a winning note against a strong LSG unit. The fans were excited to see their favorite Knights returning at the Eden Gardens and were ready to cheer their team to the fullest.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first on a hot afternoon in Kolkata. KKR aimed to look for wickets upfront and to put pressure on the opposition batters right from the outset. The bowling plans worked out quickly as Vaibhav Arora picked up the first wicket of Quinton De Kock to get the ball rolling. After picking up their first wicket, KKR bowlers applied a lot of pressure on the LSG batters and did not allow them to get going. Sunil Narine spun a web around the LSG batters in the middle overs and picked up a wicket after conceding just 17 runs in his spell, allowing no boundaries to the opposition. Mitchell Starc came to party late in the innings as he cleaned up the dangerous Nicholas Pooran in the final over to keep a stranglehold on the LSG scoring rate. At the end of the innings, LSG reached a modest total of 161 due to truly remarkable bowling as well as fielding performance by KKR.
KKR began their chase in an absolute dominant fashion as they got 22 runs off the first over itself. Phil Salt started off in explosive fashion as he has done all through the season and put pressure on the LSG bowlers. Despite a quick-fire start, KKR lost a couple of quick wickets and it was now upon Skipper Shreyas to steer the team towards stability. Salt & Shreyas formed an incredible partnership where Salt took the attack mode while Shreyas rotating the strike. Salt continued to pick the variations and kept smashing them all over the park while Shreyas anchored the innings beautifully as both established a humongous 120-run partnership. Phil Salt finished on 89 not out off just 47 balls as KKR completed a tremendous victory. A great start to their home stint and they will be looking forward to carrying this winning momentum forward in the upcoming games.
