Kolkata Knight Riders got back to their winning ways when they successfully defended a score of 148 against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday night. On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab lost a high-scoring match to the Delhi franchise on April 23 - the last time they played a game in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League.
KKR have lost their last two matches on their home ground of Eden Gardens, and will want to break that streak and maintain their winning momentum when they face off against the Adam Gilchrist-led team. And, though the likes of Jacques Kallis, skipper Gautam Gambhirand Yusuf Pathan didn't contribute much on Thursday, KKR's middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary, who had been making the quick 20s and 30s finally played an innings of substance, and his 47-ball 61 laid the foundation for Gambhir and his team to add to the woes of the Daredevils. The bowlers combined as a unit as with Iqbal Abdulla, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Jaidev Unadkat being among the wickets and also being economical; and while Brett Leemay not have taken any wickets, but he bowled a brilliant penultimate over against the Daredevils conceding only two runs and effecting two run-outs as the Knight Riders broke their run of back-to-back losses. The bowlers were backed up by some excellent fielding, and KKR is now showing signs again of being a force to reckon with in IPL-4.
Kings XI have played only five matches and should be a rested unit after a week's break. Their run of three consecutive wins was broken when the Daredevils amassed a score of 231 and beat Kings XI by 29 runs despite Shaun Marsh's valiant knock of 95. Adam Gilchrist, Paul Valthaty and Marsh have all been in good nick; but their bowlers are yet to hit peak form, and they will need to get their act right against the strong KKR batting line-up on Saturday night.
