Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ascended to the summit of the IPL 2024 standings with a resounding 98-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Sunday. The triumph propelled the Shreyas Iyer-led outfit to 16 points, placing them on the cusp of securing a playoff berth. LSG, on the other hand, slipped to fifth position with 12 points, level with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad but with an inferior Net Run Rate (NRR).
In the other match of the day, CSK maintained their third position with a 28-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS), taking their tally to 12 points. PBKS languish in eighth place with 8 points from 11 matches.
Sunil Narine’s scintillating half-century and a collective bowling effort orchestrated KKR’s comprehensive victory over LSG. Opting to bat first, KKR became the first team to breach the 200-run mark at the Ekana stadium.
Narine, once again proving his batting prowess, unleashed a six-hitting spree, smashing seven maximums and six fours to propel the visitors to a formidable 235/6.
Chasing the imposing total, LSG batters struggled to find their rhythm and were eventually dismissed for a paltry 137 in 16.1 overs. Within the first 10 overs, LSG had lost half their side, including skipper KL Rahul (25), Arshin Kulkarni (9), Deepak Hooda (5), Marcus Stoinis (36), and Nicholas Pooran (10).
Ashton Turner’s lusty blows hinted at a potential fightback, but the Australian was unfortunate to be dismissed by a caught and bowled off Varun Chakravarthy after an inside edge deflected off his boot.
With the victory, KKR moved to the top of the table, level on points with Rajasthan Royals but having played one game more. LSG, on the other hand, dropped out of the top four to the fifth spot with 12 points from 11 games. Their NRR also took a significant hit, dropping from 0.094 to -0.371.
In the other match, Ravindra Jadeja produced an all-round performance to guide CSK to a 28-run victory over PBKS. Sent into bat, Jadeja contributed 43 runs off 26 balls and then claimed 3 for 20 to seal the win for CSK.
Chasing a modest 168, PBKS faltered from the outset, with only Prabhsimran Singh (30) and Shashank Singh (27) making notable contributions before being restricted to 139 for 9 in 20 overs.
Besides Jadeja, Simarjeet Singh (2/16) and Tushar Deshpande (2/35) picked up two wickets each for CSK.
Earlier, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and pacer Harshal Patel claimed three wickets apiece as PBKS restricted CSK to 167 for nine. Jadeja, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (32), and Daryl Mitchell (30) got starts for CSK but failed to convert them into substantial scores.
Chahar (3/23) and Harshal (4/24) were the standout bowlers for PBKS, while stand-in captain Sam Curran (1/34) and Arshdeep Singh (2/42) also contributed to the wicket tally.
