IPL 2024 | Twitter reacts to Caribbean stars dwarfing Super Giants to solidify KKR's playoff berth

IPL 2024 | Twitter reacts to Caribbean stars dwarfing Super Giants to solidify KKR's playoff berth

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Kolkata Knight Riders clinched a 98-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana International Stadium. Sunil Narine's explosive 81 off 39 balls propelled KKR, while Andre Russell's two crucial wickets derailed Lucknow's chase of 236, securing Knight Riders’s third win on the trot.

Kolkata Knight Riders were sent to bat after losing the toss and it turned out to be a smart decision as they got off to a great start. The opening pair of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine raced to 57/0 in just four overs. However, their momentum was halted when Naveen-ul-Haq removed Salt in the fifth over, breaking the opening stand. Despite this setback, Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steered their team to 70/1 by the end of the powerplay. The Caribbean veteran continued his great time with the bat reaching his fifty in just 27 deliveries. His onslaught continued as he piled up 81 runs off 39 balls propelling the team to 140/2 by the 12th over. Regrettably, he fell short of a century departing in the same over. Additionally, Andre Russell was dismissed in the 15th over followed by Raghuvanshi in the subsequent over. Despite these setbacks, Kolkata managed to build some crucial partnerships in the middle overs. Contributions from Shreyas Iyer (23 off 15) and Ramandeep Singh (25 off 6) added impetus to their innings, guiding them to a formidable total of 235/6 at the end of their 20 overs.

The home team faced a rough beginning when their opener Arshin Kulkarni was dismissed in just the second over. However, KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis steadied the ship with a solid partnership of 45 runs, bringing the score to 55/1 by the end of the powerplay. Unfortunately, Lucknow's fortunes took a downturn when their captain departed in the eighth over despite the partnership flourishing. Trouble escalated for the Lucknow Super Giants as they swiftly lost the wickets of Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, and Nicholas Pooran, leaving them at 101/5 after 11.2 overs. With the required run rate soaring to 16.55, all hopes were pinned on Ashton Turner and Ayush Badoni to steer the innings. However, the home side suffered a setback as both batsmen fell in quick succession. The batting lineup crumbled thereafter, leading to Lucknow Super Giants being bundled out for  137 runs in 16.1 overs. With the victory, Kolkata Knight Riders ascended to the top of the points table, firmly positioned to clinch a playoff spot.

On fire

Under his captaincy

One of the reason

A goat

catch of the season

What a catch!

Lol

This season

The tweet

Insane

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