IPL 2024 Match 54: Kolkata Knight Riders crush Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs

by CricDirect Staff Sunday 5 May 2024

Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine plays a shot

©IANS

Kolkata Knight Riders crushed Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs today, in Match 54 IPL 2024, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

Match Summary

Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 54

Lucknow Super Giants 137/10 (16.1 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders 235/6 (20 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 98 runs.

SCORECARD

Match Highlights

Red-hot Sunil Narine smashed 81 off 39 balls to help Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs and take top spot in IPL table on Sunday.

Narine's blitz, laced with six fours and seven sixes, guided Kolkata to 235-6 after they were invited to bat first in Lucknow's final home game.

Two-time champions Kolkata bowled out Lucknow for 137 in 16.1 overs for their eighth win in 11 matches and almost guaranteed a play-off berth. Second-placed Rajasthan Royals have played one match fewer.

The top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on May 26 in Chennai.

Narine, who has impressed after being promoted to open by Kolkata this season, led their batting charge in a 61-run first-wicket stand with Phil Salt.

"He was splendid," Kolkata skipper Shreyas Iyer said of his team's player of the match Narine, who has amassed 461 runs at a strike-rate of 183.66.

"The start from openers has been great. Pure bliss. We just want to keep continuing the momentum so that we get to the great total and be optimistic."

Lucknow's Naveen-ul-Haq took three wickets to hurt KKR but Iyer, who made 23, and Ramandeep Singh, who hit a six-ball 25 not out, helped the team finish on a high.

Ramandeep returned to make an impact in the field as he took a stunning catch to dismiss Arshin Kulkarni when he ran back 21 metres to dive and pouch the ball off the bowling of Mitchell Starc.

Marcus Stoinis hit 36 but the rest of the batting fell flat as spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Harshit Rana took three wickets each.

Andre Russell took two wickets and Narine returned figures of 1-22.

Lucknow are fifth on the table and stay in the hunt for a play-off spot.

"Once we go back to dressing room, we move on from this game and see where we went wrong," said skipper KL Rahul. "Last home game, we are on the road for the next few games, we need to be little bit more fearless."

Match Stats

Kolkata Knight Riders Fall of wickets: 1-61 (Philip Salt - 4.2 ov), 2-140 (Sunil Narine - 11.6 ov), 3-167 (Andre Russell - 14.2 ov), 4-171 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi - 15.1 ov), 5-200 (Rinku Singh - 17.6 ov), 6-224 (Shreyas Iyer - 19.3 ov)

Lucknow Super Giants Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Arshin Kulkarni - 1.6 ov), 2-70 (KL Rahul - 7.3 ov), 3-77 (Deepak Hooda - 8.2 ov), 4-85 (Marcus Stoinis - 9.1 ov), 5-101 (Nicholas Pooran - 11.2 ov), 6-109 (Ayush Badoni - 12.3 ov), 7-125 (Ashton Turner - 13.6 ov), 8-129 (Krunal Pandya - 14.4 ov), 9-137 (Yudhvir Singh Charak - 15.6 ov), 10-137 (Ravi Bishnoi - 16.1 ov)

Playing XI

Lucknow Super Giants