MOHALI, May 3: Shubman Gill showed maturity beyond years as Kolkata Knight Riders knocked out Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets today to stay afloat in the IPL.
Chasing a target of 184, the 19-year-old showed his range on his �home turf� with an attractive 65 not out off 49 balls, anchoring the chase after Chris Lynn (46 off 22 balls) set the pace with some big hits in the Powerplay overs.
Not only did KKR reach the target in 18 overs but also improved the net run-rate as they now have 12 points, with a must-win game against Mumbai Indians left.
The openers added 62 in 6 overs before Lynn was dismissed having hit five fours and two sixes. Robin Uthappa (22 runs, 14 balls) looked good but didn�t stay long enough even as Gill, who hit five fours and two sixes, carried on with minimum fuss. Andre Russell (24, 14 balls) hit a couple of sixes in the 50-run stand in 4.2 overs to cut the chase short.
However Gill�s batting was a treat for the eyes as he literally toyed with KXIP skipper Ravi Ashwin hitting him for 18 runs in an over. There was a six over long on where he came down the track and another slog sweep behind square. In the end, skipper Dinesh Karthik (21 off 9 balls) finished the match with a flourish.
SCORECARD
Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle c Gill b Warrier 14, Lokesh Rahul c Lynn b Warrier 2, Mayank Agarwal run out 36, Nicholas Pooran c Warrier b Rana 48, Mandeep Singh c Uthappa b Gurney 25, Sam Curran not out 55, Ravichandran Ashwin b Russell 0, Andrew Tye not out 0. Extras: (lb-2, w-1) 3. Total: (for 6 wkts from 20 overs) 183. Fall of wickets: 1/13, 2/22, 3/91, 4/111, 5/149, 6/151. Bowling: Sandeep Warrier 4-0-31-2, Harry Gurney 4-0-41-1, Sunil Narine 4-0-29-0, Andre Russell 3-0-29-1, Piyush Chawla 4-0-43-0, Nitish Rana 1-0-8-1.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill not out 65, Chris Lynn c & b Andrew Tye 46, Robin Uthappa c Mayank Agarwal b Ashwin 22, Andre Russell c Andrew Tye b Shami 24, Dinesh Karthik not out 21. Extras: (lb-2, w-5) 7. Total: (for 3 wickets, 18 overs) 185. Fall of wickets: 1-62, 2-100, 3-150. Bowling: Shami 3-0-15-1, Arshdeep Singh 2-0-24-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-38-1, Andrew Tye 3-0-41-1, Murugan Ashwin 2-0-24-0, Sam Curran 4-0-41-0. � PTI
