Kolkata Knight Riders rose to the top of the points table after defeating Lucknow Super Giants by a massive margin of 98 runs. Batting first after losing the toss, Kolkata scored 235 runs, losing 6 wickets. In response, Lucknow Super Giants were all out for 137 runs in 16.1 overs.
At the start of their batting innings, Kolkata’s opening pair Phil Salt and Sunil Narine put up a rapid 61-run partnership in just 26 balls. However, the partnership broke when Salt departed after scoring 32 runs off 14 balls. Narine continued aggressively but was eventually dismissed after scoring 81 runs off 27 balls.
Following Narine’s departure, Andre Russell couldn’t perform well and was out for 12 runs. Raghav Bansal, who replaced him, returned to the pavilion after scoring 32 runs off 16 balls.
Later, Rinku Singh and Shreyas Iyer added 23 runs together. Apart from them, Ranadeep Singh contributed 25 runs off 6 balls, helping Kolkata to a substantial total of 235 runs.
However, Lucknow Super Giants couldn’t start their innings well and lost opener Arshdeep Kulkaarni for just 9 runs. Lokesh Rahul built a 50-run partnership with Marcus Stoinis for the second wicket, although he couldn’t score more than 25 runs himself.
Stoinis was also dismissed after scoring 36 runs. The rest of the team struggled, and Lucknow ended their innings at 137 runs.
With this victory, Kolkata Knight Riders now lead the table with 16 points from 11 matches. Rajasthan Royals, with an equal number of points, lag behind on the run rate, having played one match less. Lucknow Super Giants are at fifth place with 12 points.
