Kings banish Knights from Eden

Kolkata, April 21 

The legend of Chris Gayle continued to grow in the company of young KL Rahul as Kings XI Punjab outclassed Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in a rain-hit IPL encounter.

While KKR scored a competitive 191/7 in 20 overs, KXIP had a revised target of 125 in 13 overs after a sharp spell of shower halted play for 95 minutes. Gayle completed a hat-trick of half-centuries with an unbeaten 62 from 38 balls that had five fours and six sixes while Rahul helped himself to a 60 off 27 balls.

Gayle hit the winning runs with a six off Tom Curran over long-on as they sealed the issue with 11 balls to spare. Having scored the fastest half-century in the IPL, Rahul once again underlined his credentials as an opener in the shortest format with nine fours and two sixes as KXIP climbed to the top of the table with eight points from five games. This was also their first win at the Eden Gardens since 2012.

KXIP were 96/0 in 8.2 overs, 31 runs ahead of the DLS par score, when rain halted the play at 6.40pm, but there was no let up in intensity for Gayle as he resumed his innings with a huge six over long-off to complete his 50 in only 28 balls.

Earlier, Chris Lynn got into his groove in his 74 off 41 balls (6x4, 4x6) en route to his maiden half-century in this IPL to lift KKR to a challenging 191/7. Lynn stitched two crucial fifty-plus partnerships in the middle — first 72 runs from 41 balls with Robin Uthappa (34) and then 62 off 34 balls with Dinesh Karthik (43) — to help KKR overcome a shaky start after they were sent in to bat by R Ashwin. — PTI