IPL 2019: KKR VS KXIP- What cost KXIP their first loss this season?
The 6th match of the Indian Premier League took place between KKR and KXIP at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With both teams having won their opening encounters, an interesting match was on the cards as both the outfits wanted to continue their winning streak. It was a high scoring affair as a total of 408 runs were scored. However, KXIP couldn't manage to keep up with the run rate and succumbed to a 28-run defeat.
There were a few talking points of the game and a couple of bad decisions from the Punjab captain which helped KKR move up to the top of the table with a healthy net run-rate. Here's what cost KXIP the game and led them to their first loss this season.
#1 Bowling a spinner against Narine
The Knight Riders scored a mammoth 218 and it wasn't just the last three overs that changed the game. KKR had maintained a healthy run-rate throughout the innings and the stage was set by Sunil Narine who hit a blistering 24 runs in the over. Narine doesn't have a particular weakness against spin and has no trouble putting the balls out of the park.
Moreover, the over was bowled by a debutant which didn't help Punjab's cause either as it didn't boost his morale and he leaked runs in his following overs as well. More than that, it set the stage for KKR to set a huge total as their run rate after the first four overs was more than 10.
This enabled the middle order- Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa to play their shots freely and make a partnership in excess of 100 and eventually set the stage for Andre Russell to do what he does best and smash the bowlers all around the park. Thus, Ashwin's decision to bowl the debutant in the power play with Narine on the crease made a huge difference to how KKR paced the innings.
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