IPL 2020: KXIP Loses Against KKR by a Whisker

Kings XI Punjab faced yet another defeat in this edition of IPL. This will be hurting a lot as they lost the match against Kolkata Knight Riders just by two runs. They were in a comfortable position to win the match until the 17th over. That’s when KKR got back into the game and scalped wickets in successive overs. In the end, Punjab managed to score 162 while chasing a target of 165.

After winning the toss, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik chose to bat first. But his team didn’t get an ideal start as both Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana fell in the third and fourth overs respectively. When they were in trouble, Shubman Gill (57) and Eoin Morgan (24) settled the scoreboard by making a partnership of 49 runs. After that, Morgan got dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi. Later, Karthik (58) partnered with Gill and placed KKR in a comfortable position. Both of them have completed their half-centuries as well. With their contribution, KKR managed to score a defendable score of 164/6 in 20 overs.

Punjab came down to chase this total with the utmost clarity. Both the openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal (56) were attacking KKR bowlers right from the first over. They took no time to turn the game towards Punjab. For the first wicket, they have made a partnership of 114 runs. Finally, Mayank got dismissed in the 15th over.

Nicholas Pooran fell in Sunil Narine’s bowling in the 18th over. At this point, Punjab was in a comfortable position to win the game. But losing quite a lot of wickets in a row has affected them. They needed 7 runs off the last ball. Glenn Maxwell, who was on the strike, scored a boundary. Thus, Punjab ended their innings at 162/5 and fell short of two runs to win the game. KKR will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on October 12. Even Punjab will face RCB in their next match, which will be held on October 15.