IPL 9: All-round Kolkata decimate lacklustre Punjab to clinch top spot

Riding on the back of consistent performances this season, Kolkata Knight Riders clinched the top spot in the Indian Premeir League (IPL) points table following their convincing six-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali on 19 April.

A sublime opening partnership between Gautam Gambhir (34) and Robin Uthappa (53), once again, turned out to be the nemesis for the opposition as the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise notched up the paltry total of 138 runs with 17 balls to spare.

The duo added 82 runs for the first wicket, wherein Uthappa proved to be more aggressive than his captain in the innings. The right-hander smashed nine fours in his breezy 28-ball knock with a strike-rate of 189.28 to take the game away from the hosts.

The Punjab bowlers were hammered to all parts of the ground with their frontline seamers, Sandeep Sharma and Kyle Abbott, conceding over 10.50 runs an over. Mohit Sharma, too, looked out of sorts as he gave away 29 runs in his 19 deliveries at an economy rate of 9.15.

Spinners Pardeep Sahu and Axar Patel were the only silver lining for Punjab. Sahu finished his spell of four overs with the figures of 2-18, while Patel took two wickets for 19 runs in his three overs. Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with his part-time off-spin, but remained wicketless for 17 runs in his two-over spell.

It turned out to be a crucial toss to win for Kolkata who decided to bowl first, considering the adequate assistance to the bowlers. Sunil Narine made a remarkable comeback for Kolkata with the figures of 2-22 in his four overs, while Morne Morkel (2-27) also impressed with his bowling prowess.

The inconsistent batting continued to haunt Punjab who struggled to negate the Kolkata bowlers. Shaun Marsh (56*), Murali Vijay (26) and Kyle Abbott (12) were the only batsman to score in double digits for the hosts, while the T20 heavyweights David Miller (6) and Maxwell (4) failed to make an impact, yet again.

Having won three out of their four games so far, Kolkata are now leveled with Gujarat Lions at six points. On the other hand, Punjab have descended to the bottom of the table with just one win in four matches.

Here's a look at some of the key statistics from the IPL, Match 13 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab:

- Kings XI Punjab have now lost six consecutive games to Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Their previous losing streak was against Chennai Super Kings who had defeated Punjab in five consecutive clashes.

- Kolkata Knight Riders scored 65 runs in their powerplay - the highest in the IPL this season. The previous best was registered by Royal Challengers Bangalore who had smashed 63 runs against Delhi Daredevils.

- Kings XI Punjab captain David Miller has scored a mere 38 runs in his last five T20 innings. In the five innings before that, he had scored 163 runs at an average of 54.33.

- Kings XI Punjab batsman Shaun Marsh finally ended his jinx against Kolkata Knight Riders by smashing a fifty. Prior to today's innings, Kolkata was the only team against whom Marsh didn't score a half-century.

- Kolkata Knight Riders have now taken a total of nine wickets in the powerplay in this year's IPL. No other team has taken more than four wickets in the powerplay this season. Their economy rate of 6.88 in the powerplay is also the best this year.