Philip Salt (89*) and Mitchell Starc (3-28) Shine as KKR Secures Dominant Victory against LSG

Mitchell Starc showcased his prowess with a stellar bowling performance, leading KKR to a convincing victory at Eden Gardens on Sunday (April 14). This was complemented by an impressive innings from Phil Salt, propelling Kolkata Knight Riders to their inaugural win against Lucknow Super Giants. Starc’s figures of 3 for 28 restricted LSG to 161/7, paving the way for Salt’s unbeaten 89 off 47 deliveries. Salt’s partnership with Shreyas Iyer, amassing an unbroken 120 runs, ensured KKR’s triumph with 4.2 overs to spare.

Despite losing wickets early

Kolkata Knight Riders remained optimistic. IPL newcomer Shamar Joseph faced a challenging debut, conceding 22 runs in his opening over, the costliest of IPL 2024. Despite initial pressure, he troubled Phil Salt and Sunil Narine with his pace. However, a dropped catch, compounded by extras and a six off the final ball by Salt, added to the challenge. Mohsin Khan broke through by dismissing Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, yet KKR maintained their position atop the list of teams with the best powerplay scoring rates, largely due to Salt’s consistent boundary-hitting.

Philip Salt’s half-century maintains KKR’s momentum

Shreyas successfully utilized the DRS to overturn a caught-behind decision off Joseph’s bowling. Despite a missed opportunity for Joseph to dismiss Salt in the same over due to a deflection over the fence by Arshad Khan, Shreyas persevered against pace, supporting Salt as they built a fifty-run partnership in 36 balls. Arshad faced misfortune as a couple of inside edges resulted in boundaries. Salt reached his fifty in 26 balls, propelling KKR past the 100-run mark in the 10th over.

Philip Salt’s explosive innings seals victory for KKR

Initially scoring his first 25 runs off 28 balls, Shreyas’s strike rate surged with two fours off Joseph’s bowling. Joseph conceded 14 runs in his final over, ending with figures of 0 for 47 in his IPL debut. Salt then accelerated the chase, striking three fours off Thakur, followed by a four and a six off Mohsin. He secured the winning boundary off Ravi Bishnoi, concluding his remarkable innings with 14 fours and three sixes in a dynamic display.

Wickets halt LSG’s promising beginning

Quinton de Kock’s elegant straight drive for four off Mitchell Starc and KL Rahul’s impressive six over covers off Vaibhav Arora hinted at a swift start for LSG. Despite amassing 49 runs in the powerplay, they couldn’t firmly establish dominance as KKR kept striking at regular intervals. Vaibhav Arora dismissed de Kock, caught at short third man, while Mitchell Starc removed Deepak Hooda, replacing Devdutt Padikkal, with Ramandeep Singh taking a fine catch at backward point. Meanwhile, Rahul, maintaining a brisk scoring rate, advanced into the 30s and built a steady partnership with Ayush Badoni, guiding LSG to 72/2 after 10 overs.

Crucial dismissals hinder LSG’s progress

In the 11th over, Andre Russell’s entry saw KL Rahul dispatch a six with an uppercut, only to follow it with a flat-batted pull caught at deep midwicket off the next delivery. Despite Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni’s efforts to keep the scoreboard ticking with boundaries, maintaining an aggressive stance, LSG faced setbacks as Stoinis fell to Varun Chakaravarthy and Badoni was removed by Sunil Narine while attempting to accelerate. These key wickets left LSG struggling at 113/5 by the 15th over.

KKR holds back LSG despite Pooran’s quickfire 45

Varun’s 16th over conceded only five runs, placing the responsibility on Nicholas Pooran to propel LSG to a strong finish. Pooran kickstarted his innings with a six off Harshit Rana, followed by two more maximums off Arora in the 18th over. Despite a couple of boundaries off Harshit in the penultimate over, KKR’s bowlers varied their deliveries effectively, minimizing the damage. Mitchell Starc dismissed Pooran with an edge off the first ball of the final over and wrapped up the innings by taking the wicket of Arshad, concluding a commendable bowling effort by KKR.

Summary: Lucknow Super Giants posted 161/7 in their allotted 20 overs, with Nicholas Pooran contributing 45 runs and KL Rahul adding 39 runs, despite Mitchell Starc’s impactful bowling performance of 3-28. However, their efforts were overshadowed by Kolkata Knight Riders, who chased down the target of 162 runs in just 15.4 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Philip Salt remained unbeaten on 89 runs, while Shreyas Iyer scored an undefeated 38 runs, guiding KKR to victory. Mohsin Khan claimed 2 wickets for LSG, but it wasn’t enough to stop KKR’s dominant performance.

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