That's it from today, guys. KXIP will now play their next three games in Mohali whereas KKR now hit the road, playing four away games in a row. Join us for RCB vs MI tomorrow from the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Until then, ta-ta!
Post-match presentation gold
Russell, who's the player of the match, thanks the "new player" who wasn't inside the ring and cost Mohammed Shami and KXIP his wicket. And we all know what transpired after that. BTW, here's the match report.
KKR win by 28 runs!
A win so good that it bordered on boring. Can't blame me, can you? After all that happened in the first innings - when Russell was bowled by a pinpoint Shami yorker but then called back because Ashwin didn't have the field right - it got a bit too predictable towards the end. David Miller and Mayank Agarwal scored fifties in the chase, yes, and attractive fifties at that, but were left with too much to do in the end. It had to be KL Rahul or Chris Gayle getting them close to the finish line but it wasn't the case.
Stat -Most sixes in an IPL match at the Eden Gardens - 23 - today!
Aaaand I've jinxed him..
Mayank Agarwal is gone. Gets low to slog-sweep and misses Piyush Chawla's googly altogether. That brings Mandeep to the crease and it's all down to him and Miller. KXIP need their own Russell right now. 82 needed off 4 overs...
Equation - 86 runs needed off last five overs
Mayank has a fifty
A fifty off 28 balls. 6 fours and 1 six. Timing. Placement. An innings so subtle from Mayank Agarwal this. "Mayank Agarwal's last IPL fifty came on 1 May 2015 - 52* for DD v KXIP at Delhi - 21 inngs ago!" Mohandas Menon pings me.
Need 103 runs off 7 overs
KXIP are definitely in the game. 46 runs have been scored off the last four overs and Miller, with a couple of sixes off the spinners already, is looking good.
Narine on in the 10th over
Play and a miss. And then another. That's how Miller faced the first two deliveries from Narine, who's been brought on only in the 10th over! Not a bad idea, is it.
Russell too good for Sarfaraz
He'd just sliced a ball through backward point for four but loses his wicket to a slower delivery down leg. Leading edge that Karthik runs across to catch. And KXIP stutter in this big run chase. Will Miller be the guy?
Ashwin making things happen, again
Powerplay score update - 51/2
Gayle's gone
Andre Russell. Again. Gayle looked increasingly comfy against Ferguson's pace in the last over, hitting him for a 4 and a 6 off the last two balls, but Russell gets Gayle with a short ball here. Cued up in the air and Prasidh takes it .. as he avoids a collision with Narine. Both openers gone.
Mayank carving away boundaries
Prasidh Krishna has bowled quick, bowled all his deliveries above 140ks tonight but look at Mayank, timing away three pristine boundaries in one over. Looks in some touch. Also, it must have helped that he's played Krishna many a times in the nets before.
Rahul falls early in the chase
Spoons it to mid-off after struggling with Lockie Ferguson's pace. Gayle, at the other end, has started off well with a four and a six. You never know what's up with him.
INNINGS BREAK - KKR up to 218 in 20 overs
48 off 17 balls for Russell then. Was picked by Tye in the last over but how does it matter. He's done it again, helping KKR score 22 and 25 runs in the 18th and 19th overs. And then there was Nitish Rana's 34-ball 63 and Robin Uthappa's unbeaten 50-ball 67 and Sunil Narine's fast start at the top. It's a flat deck but how often do teams chase 200-plus totals in Twenty20s? Join us after the break!
Russell detonates at the Eden
There's more sixes from Russell. KKR bring their 200 up. Somebody stop him, somebody stop Russell. There are actual human heads in the crowd. Remember me telling you how Shami was denied Russell's wicket after Ashwin got the field wrong? Well, Shami returned to bowl the next over, the 19th off the innings, and was hit for 6, 6, 6 and 4 in the next over. You only get that yorker right once against Russell.
Drama, drama, drama
Ever heard about good karma? Andre Russell must have a lot of it. He looked at sea against that Shami yorker, even lost his stumps but Ashwin only had three fielders inside the ring. SO IT'S A NO BALL. WOW. WHAT IS GOING ON.
And Russell in Tye's next over: 6, 4, 4, 6
WICKET - Varun's off the mark in IPL
Gee Chakravarthy's looking in his elements now. He's bowling good lines and has cut down on the pace too. Rana wasn't reading him. Reversed his stance for the switch-hit first ball but was befuddled by the googly, and now slogs at another googly, miscues and is caught by Mayank Agarwal in the deep. First IPL wicket for Varun Chakravarthy then.
Remind you of someone? ©IPL
Mandeep Singh is bowling..
Well, no words. KXIP only had five bowling options and it's showing through on this flat pitch. Mandeep Singh's been brought in to fill in for Varun but he's conceded 18 runs in one over. Rana brings up a 28-ball fifty and Uthappa, the more sedate of the two, should be there soon. They are just carting everything away now.
Somebody's whispered in my ear: R-U-S-S-E-L-L
Uthappa, Rana build
They aren't exactly setting stands on fire but both have hit a couple of sixes, keeping the runs coming at a decent rate. Ashwin's struggling because this isn't a pitch for him and Varun, but he doesn't have a sixth bowler. There's Gayle though... Brendon McCullum, on air, has predicted 199. He expects "fireworks".
When @ashwinravi99 is bowling both #NitishRana and @robbieuthappa well inside the crease.. they are more cautious @prat1204 @cricbuzz #KKRvKXIP #KKR
27 Mar 2019
27 Mar 2019
A word this pitch
It's an ironing board. It's that flat. The moisture seems to have dried up and you can just hit through the line, bringing Eden Gardens' diminutive boundaries into play. Ask Varun Chakravarthy, who bowled his second over from the opposite end and still conceded nine runs. Uthappa with two fours.
Why the width outside off, Varun? Nerves.
WICKET - Narine is out
Another good take, this time by KL Rahul. Runs back and collects this top-edged pull from Narine. And just like that, both the openers are gone.
WICKET - Lynn goes
Wow, that's some catch from Miller at cover. Off Lynn's toe-end, the white ball's high up in the night sky, Miller swirls under it, settles and then plucks the ball out. That's a difficult take. Shami with the wicket there .. but we aren't done. There's a dropped return catch next ball. Difficult, not taken but more importantly, it's hurt Shami and he's walked away for now.
Here's Varun Chakravarthy
Bowling the second over of the innings. And if he doesn't run in first ball and burn a hole through Lynn's bat with his mystery spin, I'll be disappointed. A first-ball single it is for Lynn.. but haha! .. here's the fun. Sunil Narine's on strike, and he's done this mystery thing for far too long. Smacks 6, 2, 4, 6 and 6 off the next five deliveries in the over. It's carnage. 25 runs off Varun's first over in IPL.
5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. let's go!
It's back to Lynn and Narine at the top, so that Nitish Rana makeshift arrangement lasts only one game. And there's swing for Shami, who's been off the radar for the first two balls, straying leg-side with an obsessive penchant for the pads but we will give him more deliveries before we get our red markers out. And aren't we right. The third ball is perfect outside off and the fourth jags back to hit the pad. Slight appeal but no dice. Only one run off Shami's opening over.
Bell update - Andre Russell rang the famous Eden Gardens BELL. Capslock to do justice to the size of it. The decibels it generated though were comfortably outnumbered by the number people clicking Russell. Oh Calcutta!
TOSS - KXIP opt to bowl
So Ashwin thinks it'll do a bit upfront, and tell you what, the pitch is absolutely decked with rolled grass. No Mujeeb today, who's made way for Varun Chakravarthy's debut. Andrew Tye, David Miller and Hardus Viljoen make the cut while Sam Curran has been dropped. KKR ARE UNCHANGED.
IN - Miller, Viljoen, Chakravarthy, Tye. OUT - Pooran, Curran, Rajpoot, Mujeeb
KXIP: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Andrew Tye
KKR: Chris Lynn, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna
Absolutely true, Vishal. It's the perfect curry start!
1. The Chepauk Turner
2. The Dre Russ and Pant Show
3. Vintage Yuvi
4. Ashwin's Mankading
5. Watto vs Ishant and Rabada
6. CSK's Cliffhanger Chases
Just 5 Matches into #IPL2019 and we've already had enough of Drama, Action and Competition.... @cricbuzz @prat1204 #CricbuzzLIVE
27 Mar 2019
27 Mar 2019
Pitch report -"I think this looks better than the other night. Bit of pace and bounce for the quicks," reckons Michael Clarke.The former Australian captain also mentions that spin would be a good option against Russell early in his innings
Let's read
We have it all lined for you. Check out our running blog for IPL 2019 "That Happened", do read Harsha Bhogle's latest blog on cricket's tussle between the spirit and the laws, and then there's this lovely longform from Tristan Holme on how the increasing demand for domestic leagues is set to impact international cricket. Is the future what you've always assumed it to be?
Latest -David Miller and Andrew Tye are both available for selection today. Moises Henriques will join the squad after the Sheffield Shield finale.
Namaste, Aadab, Vanakkam!
No, we aren't wasting any more time of our lives debating the mode of dismissal that's inspired moral dissertations across the globe, that's mugged our lives (read social media timelines) of the much-needed peace. It's a new day, it's the city of joy Kolkata, and it's KKR taking on KXIP after a manic win the other night. KXIP might call their win manic too, but that's a debate for some other day. See how I'm sucked into discussing that again?
While we wait, here's the match preview by Purnima Malhotra. She's too a Peter Cat fan now. Who's surprised. *googles chelo kebabs*