Lynn blitz paves way for Kolkata win

Indian rising star Shubman Gill hit an unbeaten half-century to capitalise on the blistering foundation set by Chris Lynn as the Kolkata Knight Riders kept their IPL playoff hopes alive with a win against the Kings XI Punjab.

Kolkata chased down the 6-183 set by Kings XI for a seven-wicket win with 12 balls to spare, with Gill hitting an unbeaten 65 while Lynn powered his way to 46 from just22 balls in the powerplay.

It was his most prolific powerplay spell in this year's IPL in terms of runs scored and strike rate, laying the foundation for the win that also eliminated Kings XI from the playoff hunt.

Kolkata needed something special from the Brisbane Heat's master blaster after Kings XI had dominated the closing stages of their innings, with Sam Curran triumphing in a battle with fellow Englishman Harry Gurney.

The noted death-bowling specialist and member of last summer's Melbourne Renegades title-winning side was taken about by Curran, who took 22 runs off the final over.

Curran finished with an unbeaten 55 from 24 balls but Lynn and Gill soon wrested back control in a 62-run partnership.

"Sam Curran got the better of us, it was good to watch," Lynn said at the post-match presentations.

"It was a good wicket but momentum is massive in Twenty20 cricket. We did lose that towards the back end (of the Kings XI innings) but obviously grabbed it pretty quickly with the bat in hand.

"We knew it was good conditions, knew it wasn't swinging much, and Shubman was unbelievable."

Lynn started circumspectly but soon exploded against Kings XI seamer Arshdeep Singh as he belted him for three fours in the fourth over of the run chase.

He then launched Ravi Ashwin for a four and a six in the next over before taking the attack to Western Australian Andrew Tye.

The Perth Scorchers T20 specialist was hoisted for a massive six and then belted for another four before he miscued the final ball of the powerplay to sky a high return catch to Tye.

The bowler, upset at letting Lynn – and the Knight Riders – get away, threw the ball into the turf in disgust. Tye finished with 1-41 from three overs

Kolkata will now wait on the result of other matches but must also win their final match against Mumbai on Sunday to stand any hope of making the playoffs, but at this late stage of the season have found a formula that appears to be working.

"It's good to play with a smile on your face and good to get a couple out of the middle and the boys put on a clinic tonight," said Lynn.

"I think we've missed that (playing with a smile) in the last couple of games."

It wasn't all smiles though – Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik laid down the law to his side during the first innings, gesticulating wildly at his charges during the timeout break in the first innings.

"The skipper lost his marbles a bit there," Lynn said. "That's 'DK', we've learned to live with that over the last couple of weeks.

"We responded well over the last couple of weeks and pulled it back."