Indian Premier League 2016, Match 32, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab: As It Happened

Andre Russell came up with a magical last over to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) grab a seven-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Scorecard)

Highlights:

Gautam Gambhir: "We are used to this wicket. The way we have batted is very professional. I still thought we were 10 runs short but the ball did slow a bit in the second innings. From hereon, we must get used to it and get better. The wickets up front were very important. The middle order has been in decent form and hopefully they can take some pressure off us. Last year's experience was a big learning for us. We are not taking any game for granted."

Murali Vijay: "To be honest we did not start well and for Maxi to pull off a knock like that was unbelievable. Axar got out at the wrong time. Lot of positives to take for us. We are bowling really well and the bowlers were up to the mark. Sandeep and Mohit were brilliant at the death. We needed to have a good start, but Maxi played well. The momentum is with us. It is a great game to be part of. We are just looking forward to the games coming up for us. Everybody wants to win and we wanted to go and get the 160. We are keeping it simple. Hashim Amla came today morning, so we thought we will give him a break and make use of him in the future games."

Andre Russell is the Man of the Match

Kings XI Punjab Innings:

23.35 IST: Andre Russell finishes with superb bowling figures of 4/20, Piyush Chawla took 2 wickets and Morne Morkel got 1.

23.30 IST; That's It!! Andre Russell's terrific final over goes for just 4 runs for 3 wickets (including 2 run-outs). Kolkara Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 7 runs to clinch the top spot in the points table.

23.26 IST: Another Run Out!! Gurkeerat now falls short going for a quick second run. KXIP need 10 from 3 balls

23.24 IST: RUN OUT!! Andre Russell's brilliant fielding off his own bowling results in Axar Patel's wicket. Kings XI need 11 from 4 balls.

23.21 IST: Kings XI Punjab need 12 runs to win off the final over with the in-form Axar Patel on strike against Andre Russell.

23.15 IST: SIX!! Back-to-back sixes from Axar Patel keeps Kings XI in the hunt. Score 143/6 in 18 overs, need 22 runs from 12 balls.

23.13 IST: That's out!! David Miller hits a full-toss from Andre Russell straight to the fielder at long-on. Kings 130/6 in 17.3 overs.

23.09 IST: FOUR!! Gurkeerat Singh hits a boundary off the last ball from Shakib as Kings reach 130/5 after 17 overs, need 35 runs from 18 balls.

23.05 IST: Terrific over for KKR, just 5 runs and a wicket off it. Kings XI 122/5 after 16 overs, need 43 from 24 balls.

23.00 IST: Big Wicket for KKR!! Piyush Chawla traps Glenn Maxwell plumb in front of the stumps as he was going for a reverse-hit. Maxwell falls for 68 from 42 balls. Kings XI 120/5 in 15.4 overs, need 45 runs from 26 balls.

22.55 IST: Massive from Maxwell!! The Aussie hits Shakib for a 102-meter six over deep mid-wicket.

22.54 IST: This match is in for an interesting finish. Kings XI 109/4 in 14 overs, need 56 from 36 balls.

22.48 IST: Piyush Chawla bowls a quite over for KKR, giving away just 5 runs. Kings XI 98/4 in 13 overs, need 67 runs from 42 balls.

22.45 IST: FIFTY!! Glenn Maxwell reaches his half-century in just 29 balls with five boundaries and three sixes. Kings XI 93/4 after 12 overs, need 72 runs from 48 balls.

22.37 IST: SIX!! Glenn Maxwell smashes a big hit off Brad Hogg's final ball as Kings XI reach 64/4 in 10 overs. Need another 101 runs from 60 balls.

22.29 IST: WICKET!! Piyush Chawla strikes in his first over for KKR as Wriddhiman Saha plays-on. Kings XI 53/4 after 9 overs, need 112 runs from 66 balls.

22.26 IST: Shakib Al Hasan comes into the attack and bowls a 5-run over first up. Kings XI 48/3 after 8 overs.

22.22 IST: Umesh Yadav bowls a decent over for KKR, gives away just 6 runs. Kings XI 43/3 after 7 overs, need 122 runs from 78 balls.

22.18 IST: Powerplay Done!! Glenn Maxwell finishes Morkel's over with a four. Kings XI 37/3 after 6 overs.

22.14 IST: FOUR!! Wriddhiman Saha hits back-to-back fours off Umesh Yadav on the off-side. Kings XI 27/3 in 5 overs.

22.06 IST: Double Breakthrough for KKR!! First Manan Vohra and then Murali Vijay, both fall to poor shots. Russell and Morkel have dislodged the top-oder. Kings XI 13/3 in 3.1 overs.

22.00 IST: FOUR!! Murali Vijay gets a top-edge but still manages to score a boundary off the final ball to spoil Morne Morkel's over. Kings XI 7/1 after 2 overs.

21.53 IST: WICKET!! Andre Russell picks up the wicket of Marcus Stoinis, who falls for a duck. Kings XI 1/1 in 0.3 overs.

21.50 IST: Murali Vijay and Marcus Stoinis will open for Kings XI. Andre Russell takes the new ball for KKR.

21.35 IST: A superb final over from Sandeep Sharma!! Just four runs came off the final over. Kolkata Knight Riders reach 164/3 in 20 overs against Kings XI Punjab. Robin Uthappa top-scored for KKR with 70 off 49 balls while skipper Guatam Gambhir scored a quickfire 54 off 45 balls. None of the Kings XI Punjab managed to pick up a wicket as all three dismissals were run-outs.

21.30 IST: 10 runs come off the penultimate over from Mohit Sharma. Kolkata 160/2 after 19 overs.

21.26 IST: Kolkata reach 150 in the 18th over for the loss of two wickets. Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell now have the big job of closing out the innings on a high for KKR.

21.18 IST: Run Out!! Robin Uthappa goes for a quick single but gets sent back by Yusuf Pathan, bowler Mohit Sharma grabbed the ball a got a direct-hit. Uthappa falls for 70 from 49 balls. Kolkata 138/2 after 17 overs.

21.12 IST: Strategic Time-Out!! Kolkata 128/1 after 16 overs. Uthappa 68*, Yusuf Pathan 4*

21.07 IST: Robin Uthappa smacks a six and a four off Swapnil Singh as Kolkata reach 121/1 after 15 overs.

21.02 IST: Robin Uthappa brings up his half-century with a glorious boundary through the covers. Kolkata 107/1 after 14 overs.

21.01 IST: WICKET!! Gautam Gambhir runs himself out for 54 from 45 balls. Kolkata 101/1 after 13.3 overs.

20.56 IST: Fifty up for Gautam Gambhir and 100 up for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 13th over.

20.53 IST: Kings XI spinner have managed to slow down the scoring rate. Kolkata 89/0 after 12 overs.

20.46 IST: At the half-way stage Kolkata Knight Riders have scored 74/0 after 10 overs with Gautam Gambhir nearing a half-century.

20.40 IST: Kings XI take a strategic time-out!!

20.39 IST: SIX!! Robin Uthappa hits the first maximum of the match, Axar Patel is the unfortunate bowler. Kolkata 62/0 after 9 overs.

20.36 IST: Fifty up for Kolkata Knight Riders!! Gambhir is batting on 30*, Uthappa on 21*

20.32 IST: Left-arm orthodox spinner Swapnil Singh gives away just 3 runs from his first over. Kolkata 43/0 after 7 overs.

20.28 IST: Powerplay Over!! Over-pitched delivery from Stoinis gets smashed down the ground by Gambhir. Kolkata 40/0 after 6 overs.

20.24 IST: Good start for Axar, gives away just 2 runs in his first over. Kolkata 32/0 after 5 overs.

Hat-trick bowler Axar Patel comes into the attack now.

20.15 IST: FOUR!! Marcus Stoinis concedes 9 runs from his first over which included two boundaries from Gambhir. Kolkata 21/0 after 3 overs.

20.11 IST: FOUR!! Gambhir ends the second over from Mohit Sharma with a boundary. Kolkata 12/0 after 2 overs.

20.05 IST: Sandeep Sharma bowls a terrific first over for Kings XI. Kolkata 2/0 after 1 over.

20.00 IST: Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa take guard for KKR. Sandeep Sharma will start off the proceedings for Kings XI.

Toss: Kings XI Punjab win the toss and opt to bowl.

For KKR - Shakib Al Hasan and Brad Hogg have replaced Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. For Kings XI - Manan Vohra comes in for Shaun Marsh and Swapnil Singh replaces KC Kariappa

Preview: On a high after a resounding victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will aim to produce a similar performance when they face Kings XI Punjab on home turf.

KKR presently have 10 points with five wins from eight games, whereas Kings XI are at the bottom of the leader board with just two wins from seven matches.

The Knights had a night to remember on Monday as they pulled of a stunning win against RCB. Chasing 186, the men-in-purple were at one stage struggling at 69/4. But then Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell got together to bail their side out of trouble. Though Russell got out towards the end, Pathan (60) carried his bat through ensuring KKR got home with five wickets to spare.

Punjab are also coming into the contest at the back of a big win against table toppers Gujarat Lions and would ideally want to grab another one here. It was Axar Patel who brought the Gujarat side on their knees with his four wickets in five balls and the Eden Gardens strip might also provide some purchase to the left-arm spinner.

But KKR have a settled bowling unit of their own and putting up or chasing down a score against the home side would not be easy.

Punjab in all probability would not tinker much with their winning combination and would hope their new crowned captain Murali Vijay and Marcus Stoinis can get them off to a flying start with the willow. However, the visitors will be without their in-form batsman Shaun Marsh who has picked up a back injury and will take no further part in the tourney.

The last time these two sides met in Mohali, KKR had come out on top with a six-wicket victory and the Gautam Gambhir-led side would ideally want a repeat so that their homecoming tastes sweet.