Left Arm Around

Phil Salt’s unbeaten 89 guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

His brutal knock of 89 from 47 deliveries, featuring 14 fours and 3 sixes, led his side to their target of 162 with a resounding 26 balls to spare.

Salt, 27, was slightly fortunate to remain at the crease for so long having been dropped on 31 by Arshad Khan at deep-square leg.

Captain Shreyas Iyer ably supported Salt with an important 38 not out, however the Englishman undoubtedly dominated their unbroken stand of 120.

West Indian Shamar Joseph made his long-awaited IPL debut for LSG- returning expensive figures of 0/47 from four overs.

Despite remaining wicketless and overstepping multiple times, the visitors will be buoyed by the pace and sharpness of the young Guyanese quick.

Mohsin Khan impressed with 2/29 removing Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi in quick succession, but the rest of the LSG attack struggled for control as Salt peppered the boundaries with regularity.

Earlier, LSG showed early promise yet struggled for fluency and intent in an under-par total of 161/7.

Captain KL Rahul hit 39 before holing out to Andre Russell, while Nicholas Pooran continued his impressive 2024 form with 45 off 32 deliveries.

IPL record signing Mitchell Starc returned to his best for KKR with a fantastic spell of 3/28- taking two wickets and conceding only six in the final over of the innings.

His dismissal of the dangerous Pooran was an integral one with LSG looking to push on and reach 180+ on a flat, fast outfield at Eden Gardens.

After being well-set at 54/2 from seven overs, Justin Langer’s side will be extremely disappointed by a batting effort that seemed to flatline and stutter in the middle phase of the innings.

Sunil Narine ended with economical figures of 1/17 as LSG added only 72 runs in 60 balls from the end of the seventh to the end of the 17th.

Although Narine and fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled with great discipline, it appeared LSG were reluctant to take risks and propel themselves to a more challenging score.

Victory for KKR leaves them in second position with four wins from five fixtures so far.

They face Rajasthan Royals at home on Tuesday knowing another triumph will move them top of the table.

LSG sit fifth and on the cusp of the play-off places with three wins and three losses from six fixtures so far.