IPL2013: KKR vs KIXP

                  IPL2013: KKR vs KIXP

             Kolkata Knight Riders snaps losing streak

                                              Jacques Kallis at the Eden Gardens on Friday

                     Kolkata Knight Riders plucked a win just when their closet seemed to be overstocked with losses. After three successive losses the defending champion returned to winning form defeating Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in a Pepsi IPL VI fixture here at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

                     Manvinder Bisla, undefeated on 51, Eoin Morgan (42) and Jacques Kallis (37)  who helped the Knights get past the target of 150.

                     KXIP bowler Azhar Mahmood pegged back the host as he picked two quick wickets but KKR recovered well to snatch a well-deserved win.

                     Kallis and Bisla then got together to resurrect the innings. The two did well and pulled out a 66-run partnership from 9.1 overs. While Kallis hit six boundaries in his 33-ball 37, Bisla provided good assistance hitting a couple of sixes. Atlast Harmeet Singh to break the partnership.

                     Eoin Morgan then joined Bisla to build on the previous stand.

                     Morgan made the most of a life — he was dropped on 29 at the mid-wicket boundary by Bharghav Bhat — to haul KKR’s run chase close to the finish line.

                     When he departed the host needed just two runs.

                     Earlier, Kings XI Punjab scored a challenging 149 for six after opting to bat.

                     Openers Adam Gilchrist and Mandeep Singh provided a good start. Gilchrist, who has not had a good tournament so far, found it difficult to time the ball initially but hung on and with some occasional boundaries pushed ahead the team’s score. Gilchrist’s 27 is his highest for the season and complemented Mandeep (25) who was the more expressive of the two.

                      Manan Vohra (31) and Gukeerat Singh (28) took over later as the KXIP saw its homebred talent fetching most of the runs.

                       KKR utilised six bowlers within the first 10 overs looking to unsettle the visitor’s batting. Bothered by some tentative bowling in the team’s previous outings, Gambhir utilised his full array of bowlers.

                       Kallis was the most economical bowler. He got the breakthrough off his very first delivery when the aggressive Mandeep mistimed a pull and was caught at mid-wicket by Morgan.

                      This happened just after the visitor had breezed through the first six overs of power-play scoring 45 runs without losing a wicket.

                       Kallis kept his medium pace in the right zone and curtailed KXIP from breaking free. He finished with two wickets.

                       Sunil Narine, the Purple Cap owner, and the pick of the KKR bowlers, went wicket-less for the first time this season.