Mandeep, Gayle extend Kings XI hot streak

Mandeep Singh and Chris Gayle smashed half centuries as Kings XI Punjab opened up the playoff race in the Indian Premier League with an eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

Punjab, which lost six of its first seven league games, broke into the top four with their fifth consecutive win and pushed Kolkata down to fifth.

Both Punjab and Kolkata have 12 points from 12 games, but Punjab is ahead on net run-rate.

It was a quiet night for the Australians in action, with Pat Cummins going wicketless but only conceding 31 runs from his four overs. Glenn Maxwell took a wicket off his second ball – the second of the match – to have Nitish Rana caught as he claimed 1-21 from two overs, and wasn't required with the bat.

Mandeep, whose father died on Friday, put the personal tragedy behind him and scored an unbeaten 66 off 56 balls including eight fours and two sixes, while Gayle bludgeoned five sixes and two fours in making 51 off 29 balls as Punjab reached 2-150 with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, fast bowlers Mohammed Shami grabbed 3-35 and Ravi Bishnoi claimed 2-20 with his sharp googlies and leg-breaks to restrict Kolkata at 9-149.

"This was very special, my father always used to tell me you should remain not out in the game. This one is for him," said Mandeep, who got an opportunity to open the innings in the absence of Mayank Agarwal.

"Even if I scored a double hundred or a hundred, he used to ask me, 'Why did you go out?'"

Shami's double strike in his first over had pegged Kolkata back to 3-10 as Dinesh Karthik went without scoring in his 300th Twenty20 game.

Shubman Gill (57) and captain Eoin Morgan (40) counter-punched with an attacking 81-run stand before Bishnoi struck in the 10th over when Morgan was caught at deep backward square.

Kolkata lost wickets with regular intervals after Morgan departed and Gill also holed out at deep midwicket off a low Shami full toss in the penultimate over.

Punjab skipper KL Rahul (28), who is the tournament's leading run-scorer with 595 runs and was named India's new ODI and T20 wicketkeeper for the Australia tour, provided a watchful start of 47 off 48 balls with Singh before leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy – another surprise inclusion in the touring party for Australia – trapped him lbw off a sharp googly.

But then it was all Gayle and Mandeep as the hard-hitting West Indian lofted Chakravarthy for successive sixes before thumping a straight six to fiery fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.

The batsmen shared a 100-run stand to seal the game before Gayle gloved a catch to Ferguson with only three needed for victory.

"Fingers crossed that we can win a few more games," Rahul said.

"The kind of toughness Mandeep has shown, everybody is emotional. Just to put his hand up, just to be there, just to finish off the game, makes us so proud."