IPL24: KKR rub salt to Lucknow wounds with massive win on Bengali New years day

 

History changes in the Bengali New Year for KKR .  Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Lucknow Super Giants in IPL by a massive margin of 8 wickets with more than 3 overs to spare .  Batting first at Eden, Lucknow scored 161 runs.  Kolkata won by 8 wickets with ease .  Phil Salt's bat made it easy for KKR to win.  However, before that, Sunil Narine's bowling helped keep Lucknow to a low number of runs.  Kolkata beat  Lucknow for the first time.  Knights changed history on the field of Eden

 Eden's pitch batting is helpful.  Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer decided to bowl first after winning the toss on that pitch.  Lucknow captain Lokesh Rahul also said that he would have bowled if he had won the toss.  How correct that decision was was understood in Lucknow's power play.  Lucknow scored only 49 runs.  KKR's bowlers were keeping the runs at bay.  Sunil Narine did that job best.  He gave only 17 runs in 4 overs with immaculate lines.  It is said that Eden's pitch now helps the pacers.  Narine showed how to bowl on that pitch.

 Lucknow's run rate dropped further after the power play.  Rahul, who scored 39 runs off 27 balls, hit only two sixes.  Ayush Badoni, who scored 29 runs off 27 balls, hit one.  Their sluggish innings hindered Lucknow's big runs.  Lucknow who scored 49 runs in the first 6 overs, they scored only 64 runs in the next 9 overs.  It looked like Lucknow's innings might end within 140 runs.  But as the sun goes down, the game gets easier in Eden.  Next up, Nicholas Puran scored 45 off 32 balls.  He hit four sixes and looked dangerous.  Lucknow crossed the barrier of 160 runs with his bat in the last over.  Lucknow scored 48 runs in the last 5 overs.  Starc bowled a very good last over , getting Pooran caught behind and then clean bowling Arshad Khan to finish with 3/28 in his 4 overs with a much improved display 

It was understood that it was easy to bat in Eden at night, when Kolkata came down to bat.  Phil Salt  picked up 44 runs in the first 4 overs with ruthless aggression though debutant  Samar Joseph bowled a loose first over .  Despite losing the wickets of opener Narine and number three Angakrish Raghuvansi (7) cheaply , the pace of runs did not slow down for Kolkata.  Multiple pacers are in the Lucknow team.  Although Mayank Yadav did not play in this match due to injury, there were pacers like Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan, Arshad Khan.  But the Kolkata batters did not have any difficulty in playing them though Mohsin was good in the powerplay dismissing both Narine & Raghuvanshi with tight lengths. 

 Lucknow's Shamar Joseph gave a positive start to Kolkata's innings.  He leaked 22 runs in his first over.  The Caribbean pacer scored one wide and no ball after another.  His debut in the IPL did not go well.  He gave 47 runs in 4 overs.  It is difficult to win the match with such loose bowling

 Among the Kolkata batsmen, Narine (6) and Angakrish (7) did not get runs.  Kolkata easily scored runs despite losing their wicket.  Salt alone scored 89 runs in 47 balls with blistering strokes but also played intelligently in preserving his wicket .  He played glorious  drives , cuts and pulls and won the match by hitting four.  Shreyas was at the crease with him till the end scoring 38 runs off 38 balls and he was rotating the strike to allow Salt face most of the bowling . Salt was the player of the match in a highly satisfying day for KKR on the momentous Bengali New years day .