Aussie pace ace Mitchell Starc finally lived up to his high price tag with a three-wicket haul and Phil Salt scored a brilliant half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders posted a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
After restricting LSG, which sought home comfort by donning city-based sister concern Mohun Bagan’s green-and-maroon colours, to 161 for seven, KKR achieved the target with 4.2 overs to spare to please its fans on Bengali New Year.
Right from the toss, the host remained in control. Vaibhav Arora struck early to dismiss Quinton de Kock.
Starc bowled a shorter length and utilised the bounce well to test the LSG batters. He tasted success in the third over of his extended first spell as Ramandeep Singh took a spectacular diving catch at backward point.
Captain KL Rahul (39) played some handsome shots on either side to build a platform. He hammered Andre Russell for a six over point before pulling the Caribbean straight to deep midwicket.
With the ball gripping the surface, KKR spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy kept it tight and picked up a wicket apiece. Varun accounted for Marcus Stoinis, while the parsimonious Narine removed the set Ayush Badoni (27).
Leading LSG run-getter Nicholas Pooran (45) tried to finish well. His trademark stroke-play, combining power and confidence, produced some big sixes on the leg-side, including two in a row off Arora.
The southpaw was caught behind as Starc returned to bowl expertly, capturing two for six in the last over to record his best figures this season.
In reply, KKR had a dream start as debutant West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph leaked 22 runs in the first over. Mohsin Khan pegged the hosts back by claiming Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi cheaply.
But Salt’s clean and smart hitting on both sides of the wicket entertained the crowd and kept KKR moving. After impressing behind the stumps, Salt (89 not out), who was dropped on 31 off Joseph as Arshad Khan conceded a six at deep square-leg, got his second fifty. He added 120 with Shreyas Iyer (38 not out) rapidly as KKR crossed the line comfortably.
