Mohit Sharma, KXIP, KKR, IPL 2017, Lynn
Mohit Sharma was brilliant with the ball for KXIPIANS

When Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine started another KKR innings off in a hurry, it looked like the top four of IPL 2017 was going to be signed, sealed and delivered on Tuesday. However, the Kings XI Punjab, needing a win to stay alive in the playoffs race, stopped the batsmen's charge brilliantly and a comfortable win for KKR turned into a stunning victory for KXIP, a win that keeps the race for the top four still interesting.

This game did not begin too well for Kings XI, with KKR putting the home team in to bat in Mohali, and Glenn Maxwell and co. only managing 167 in their 20 overs.

IPL 2017 points table

Having failed to defend 189 on the same ground a couple of days back, it looked like KKR would cruise the chase, especially after the great start given to them by Lynn and Narine, only for the Kings XI Punjab bowlers, led by the leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia, to bring their team back in brilliant fashion.

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Thanks to the win, Kings XI are still in with a chance of finishing in the top four, with KKR's playoff spot still not sealed.

For the second straight game, Narine and Lynn did the business at the top for KKR. It wasn't quite as spectacular as the one against RCB and didn't last as long either, but, once again, it was quite effective.

The two put on 39 in just 3.4 overs, and when your required run rate is under eight and a half, that just eases the pressure off the rest of the batsmen.

Once Narine (18, 10b, 4x4) was castled by Mohit Sharma in the fourth over, Gautam Gambhir and Lynn took KKR to 61 after the six Powerplay overs.

Chris Lynn, KKR
Chris Lynn could not quite get KKR over the lineIANS

After the Powerplay, though, the run rate came down considerably, as the spinners took hold, Lynn went down a gear and Gambhir found it difficult to rotate the strike.

As a result, the pressure built up, and KKR lost two quick wickets trying to up the ante.

Gambhir (8, 18b) was the first to go, finding deep midwicket off Tewatia, with the leg-spinner, who bowled a brilliant spell, then dismissing Robin Uthappa (0, 1b), who also holed out in the same area.

Suddenly, with three wickets down, KKR saw the required run rate creep up above ten, but with Lynn at the crease and plenty of batting still to come, the game was still theirs to win as long as they didn't panic.

Manish Pandey (18, 23b, 1x4) did, swinging and missing time and again as Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma bowled some really good slower balls, with Matt Henry, on his IPL debut, ending the right-hander's misery in the first ball of the 18th over, leaving KKR needing 37 from 17.

It had to be Lynn now to take the Kolkata Knight Riders home, even with the big-hitter Yusuf Pathan at the other end. It was not to be as Lynn (84, 52b, 8x4, 3x6) was run out a ball later, leaving the new batsmen in the middle with just too much to do as Kings XI stayed alive.

The Kings XI Punjab innings could have been so much better had one batsman really stuck around to make a big one, because, despite nobody really going gung-ho, they still got near 170.

Shaun Marsh, IPL 2017, Kings XI Punjab, KKR, stumps
Shaun Marsh is clean bowled by Chris Woakes, May 9, 2017IANS

Manan Vohra (25, 16b, 4x4), again, had one of those makes-a-decent-start-and-then-throws-it-away innings, with Umesh Yadav picking up his wicket off a short delivery, before Martin Guptill (12, 16b, 1x4) failed to make his presence felt in this must-win, falling to Narine after missing a sweep shot.

Then, Chris Woakes, KKR's bowler of the day, dismissed the dangerous Shaun Marsh (11, 10b, 2x4), who looked like he might be in the mood with a gorgeous straight drive, leaving Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha to repair the innings.

They did that really well with a 71-run partnership, with Maxwell taking off in the back end of that alliance.

However, the problem, so often with Maxwell, is he doesn't know when to say enough once he gets into that six-hitting mode. This time, after taking Kuldeep Yadav for two maximums, Maxwell (44, 25b, 1x4, 2x6) holed out at wide long-off while going for a third, with the spinner bowling a really smart wrong'un well outside the off-stump.

Another one of those deliveries also dismissed Saha (38, 33b, 2x4, 1x6), and while Tewatia (15 n.o., 8b, 3x4) hit a few timely boundaries towards the end, you always felt KXIP were 15-20 runs short.

However, thanks to their bowlers, it turned into a match-winning score.

Watch KXIP vs KKR match highlights

Scorecard:

Toss: KKR, who chose to bowl.

 

KXIP: 167/6 in 20 overs.

 

KKR: 153/6 in 20 overs.

 

Result: KXIP won by 14 runs.

 

Bowling: KKR: Umesh Yadav 3-0-26-1; Colin de Grandhomme 4-0-37-0; Sunil Narine 4-0-27-1; Chris Woakes 4-0-20-2; Ankit Rajpoot 2-0-17-0; Kuldeep Yadav 3-0-34-2.

 

KXIP: Sandeep Sharma 4-0-31-0; Matt Henry 3-0-31-1; Mohit Sharma 3-0-24-2; Axar Patel 4-0-28-0; Rahul Tewatia 4-0-18-2; Swapnil Singh 2-0-19-0.

 

Fall of wickets: KXIP: 39/1, Manan Vohra (4.5 overs); 41/2, Martin Guptill (5.5 overs); 56/3, Shaun Marsh (8.3 overs); 127/4, Glenn Maxwell (15.3 overs); 146/5, Wriddhiman Saha (17.5 overs); 149/6, Swapnil Singh (18.2 overs).

 

KKR: 39/1, Sunil Narine (3.4 overs); 78/2, Gautam Gambhir (9.3 overs); 79/3, Robin Uthappa (9.5 overs); 131/4, Manish Pandey (17.1 overs); 132/5, Chris Lynn (17.2 overs); 139/6, Yusuf Pathan (18.1 overs).