IPL Results 2016: Updated Scores, T20 Points Table After Lions vs. Knight Riders
Gujarat Lions grabbed a much-needed six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders during Thursday's Indian Premier League Twenty20 action, moving one step closer to a play-of ticket.
Dwayne Smith put on a bowling clinic, taking four wickets and finishing with an economy rate of 2.00, as Gujarat restricted Kolkata to a total of just 124. The chase was never in doubt, with the team hitting the target with 39 balls to spare.
Here's a look at the latest IPL standings:
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| 1 | SRH | 12 | 8 | 4 | +0.400 | 1775/219.5 | 1746/227.3 | 16 |
| 2 | GL | 13 | 8 | 5 | -0.479 | 1957/246.4 | 2113/251.1 | 16 |
| 3 | RCB | 13 | 7 | 6 | +0.930 | 2474/252.1 | 2207/248.3 | 14 |
| 4 | KKR | 13 | 7 | 6 | +0.022 | 1952/233.2 | 1972/236.2 | 14 |
| 5 | MI | 13 | 7 | 6 | -0.082 | 2022/252.2 | 2017/249.1 | 14 |
| 6 | DD | 12 | 6 | 6 | -0.125 | 1741/219.1 | 1810/224.2 | 12 |
| 7 | RPS | 13 | 4 | 9 | +0.013 | 1852/224.5 | 1819/221.1 | 8 |
| 8 | KXIP | 13 | 4 | 9 | -0.693 | 1962/249.4 | 2051/239.5 | 8 |
The schedule for the upcoming fixtures:
| Friday, May 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Delhi Daredevils vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad | Raipur |
| Saturday, May 21 | 11:30 a.m. | Rising Pune Supergiants vs. Kings XI Punjab | Visakhapatnam |
| Saturday, May 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Gujarat Lions vs. Mumbai Indians | Kanpur |
| Sunday, May 22 | 11:30 a.m. | Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad | Kolkata |
| Sunday, May 22 | 3:30 p.m. | Delhi Daredevils vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore | Raipur |
For the full schedule, visit the IPL's official website.
Gujarat Lions vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
Gujarat, 125/4 (Raina 53, Smith four for eight) beat Kolkata, 124/8 (Pathan 36, Narine one for 30) by six wickets (with 39 balls remaining).
Lions were in dire need of a win to keep their play-off bid alive and decided to field after winning the toss, facing a Kolkata squad that was without star Andre Russell.
A defensive battle was expected between two of the best bowling sides in the IPL, and Lions got things started in a hurry. Kolkata opener Gautham Gambhir (eight from eight) was run out in the fourth over, and replacement Manish Pandey (one from three) was caught in the fifth.
Robin Uthappa (25 from 19) did some damage, but Gujarat did a sensational job limiting boundaries, with no Kolkata batsman hitting more than four. Uthappa was caught in the seventh over, and cricket writer Ayaz Memon wondered how Knight Riders would react to losing three stars so early:
Smith took the wickets of Pandey and Uthappa and added those of Piyush Chawla (11 from 16) and Shakib Al Hasan (three from eight) as part of a sensational performance. Gujarat relied on the 33-year-old early, and the tactic paid off, as he finished with figures of four for eight through four overs.
Memon was impressed:
Yusuf Pathan (36 from 36) increased Kolkata's score with a patient knock, but even the Indian slugger couldn't increase the team's run rate, a pedestrian 6.20 by the end of their innings. The target of 125 looked like a cakewalk, with Russell not bowling for a struggling Kolkata side.
But Smith was caught for a golden duck by Uthappa, and fellow opener Brendon McCullum (six from three) didn't last much longer, as Sunil Narine took his wicket in the second over. The two quick wickets gave Kolkata hope, and Morne Morkel soon bowled Dinesh Karthik (12 from eight) as well.
But Suresh Raina (unbeaten 53) and AJ Finch (26 from 23) soon got the chase on track, pushing the run rate to double-digits by the ninth over. At the halfway point, Gujarat needed just 28 from 60.
It was Raina who scored the decisive run with a single, completing his half-century in the 13th over and finishing the job in the next.
Per ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir didn't like his team's performance in the losing effort, saying: "I thought we did not turn up properly. It was a decent wicket. We could have scored 150-160. When you end up with 124 it is difficult to restrict the opposition. It was one of those days where nothing worked for us."
The win sees Gujarat leap from sixth to second place in the standings and sends a clear signal to the rest of the IPL. Kolkata may have been without Russell, but the Knight Riders were among the favourites to win this year's title, and they didn't even come close to beating Lions.
It would be some achievement for the new franchise to win the IPL title in its inaugural season, but after a strong start to the campaign, Lions are finding their best form at the right time, and success in the play-offs seems likely.
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