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Kolkata Knight Riders registered a dominant 98-run win over Lucknow Super Giants to clinch the top spot on the points table. The second-placed Knight Riders pipped league leaders Rajasthan Royals, who maintained a strong hold on the top of the table by winning eight out of ten games. On the other hand, the Super Giants went down to the fifth spot as this loss took a massive hit on their net run rate.
Talking about the game, Lucknow won the toss and opted to bowl which in hindsight turned out to be the wrong decision as the Sunil Narine and Phil Salt partnership put up a blistering quick stand of 61 runs in 4.2 overs before the Englishman was dismissed after a 14-ball 32. After this hiccup, Narine continued his purple patch and stitched up another massive partnership with young Angrish Raghuvanshi.
The duo added 79 over the next seven overs when Narine was dismissed at a score of 81 in 39 balls with six fours and seven sixes. Post this onslaught, KKR's remaining batters chipped in with valuable cameos to take the total to 235, a record at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Chasing this massive total, Lucknow had a quick start but lost wickets at regular intervals. These recurring wickets broke the back of the chase as LSG were reduced to 85-4. Kolkata bowlers continued tightening the screws and bundled out the Super Giants at 137 in 16.1 overs. The top performers with the ball were Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy, who combined to pick up six wickets in their 6.1 overs.
