The 33rd day of IPL2017 was Double Header Sunday, featuring match no. 46 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore and match no. 47 between Kings XI Punjab and Gujarat Lions. While the first match was mainly of academic interest considering that KKR are near the top of the points table and RCB are out of the competition, the second match was of vital importance for both teams.
Kolkata won the toss and put the home team in to bat. Chris Gayle departed on the first ball and skipper Virat Kohli was again out of form; dismissed for 5 off 9. Mandeep Singh once again did a good job steadying the innings and scoring 52 off 43. Travis Head was the top contributor for RCB with his 75 off 47. KKR was set a target of 159 to win.
The KKR opener created a record for the fastest 50 in the history of the IPL. His 54 runs studded with 6 boundaries and 4 heaves over the fence came in just 17 balls at the strike rate of 317.
Apart from Nairne’s pyrotechnics, Chris Lynn also made an excellent showing, racing to 50 off just 22 balls. Colin de Grandhomme (31 off 28) was the other significant contributor that helped get KKR to the set target with 29 balls to spare.
The Catch of the Match award went to Umesh Yadav. The awards for the Maximum Sixes as well as the Stylish Player of the Match went to Travis Head for his knock. As expected, the Player of the Match was Sunil Narine.
The Kings XI Punjab took on Gujarat Lions at their home ground in Mohali. Winning the toss, Gujarat put Punjab in to bat. Opener Martin Guptill departed early but Hashim Amla showed his class by scoring a magnificent 104 off 60 balls (his second century this season). Shaun Marsh made 58 off 43 while skipper Glenn Maxwell made 20 off 11 to take the team to 189.
Opener Dwayne Smith made a spectacular 74 off 39 featuring 8 boundaries and 4 sixes. Ishan Kishan (29 off 24), Suresh Raina (39 off 25), and Dinesh Karthik (35 off 23) ensured that their team won what was an exciting match with just two balls to spare.
The winner of the Perfect Catch of the Match was David Miller. The award for the Maximum Sixes went to Hashim Amla as did the Stylish Player of the Match. Player of the Match was Dwayne Smith for his match winning 74 runs.
Mumbai Indians is the only team to have qualified so far. While yesterday's loss does dent chances of KXIP getting to the playoffs, three qualifier slots are still open.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
