Rinku Singh headlines KKR's Super Over victory

Mohsin Khan picked up a five-wicket haul. Kolkata Knight Riders were reduced to 93 for 7, but they finished with 155 for 7, thanks to Rinku Singh's 51-ball 83 not out. Lucknow Super Giants were in no hurry in the chase, meaning they had a lot to do in the back end, needing to score over 12 an over in the last five. LSG's lower order responded with a fighting performance that forced the game into a Super Over. But the home team lost steam in the closing stage, managing only a solitary run in the Super Over bowled by Sunil Narine. KKR's hero of the night, Rinku, aptly finished it off with a boundary, securing KKR's second win and pushing LSG to the bottom of the table.

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Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83* off 51, Cameron Green 34 off 21; Mohsin Khan 5-23) tied with Lucknow Super Giants 155/8 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42 off 38, Aiden Markram 31 off 27; Vaibhav Arora 2-24).

LSG 1/2 in 0.3 overs (Sunil Narine 2-1) lost to KKR 4/0 in 0.1 overs (Rinku Singh 4*).

Nicholas Pooran came out to face the first ball, with Aiden Markram at the other end. Sunil Narine had the ball in hand and began with the wicket of the West Indian, who attempted a slog sweep and missed. Rishabh Pant took a single before Markram was caught in the deep, thanks to a tag-team effort from Rovman Powell and Rinku Singh. Rinku played with an open face, guiding Prince Yadav's delivery past point for a four and providing the finishing touch.

LSG needed 64 off the last five overs and KKR edged further ahead when Anukul Roy picked up the wicket of Mukul Choudhary, leaving the home team at 93/5 in the 16th over. But Ayush Badoni wasn't ready to wave the white flag yet, smashing a six off Anukul and two more maximums off Tyagi, with Himmat Singh's six also aiding the fightback.

The end overs were a see-saw battle as Badoni got out to Varun, Linde hit two fours in the same over before falling to Arora, and then Shami and Himmat ended that over with two fours, bringing the equation down to 17 off the last over. And what an eventful final over that was. A bye, two no balls and a four later, LSG needed 8 off 4. That was when Himmat got out to Tyagi. It came down to seven off the last ball, with KKR's camp looking more hopeful. But Shami had different ideas, tonking a full delivery over the long-off fence to take the game into the Super over.

LSG began the chase rather conservatively. After losing Mitchell Marsh in the second over to a mistimed pull off Vaibhav Arora, Rishabh Pant and Aiden Markram built a partnership in a conventional manner, minimising risks by hitting occasional boundaries and rotating strike.

A six and a four for Pant, and two fours for Markram were all that LSG managed in terms of boundaries, reaching 37/1 at the end of the Powerplay. The combined Powerplay score of 68 in this game also happened to be the lowest in this IPL. At the halfway stage of the innings, it was still a watchful partnership - a six for Markram and a four for Pant being the only boundary additions - as KKR moved to 63/1 after 10 overs.

The 57-run second wicket stand, which took 55 deliveries, finally came to an end when Green bagged the wicket of Markram - thanks to a good catch by Rinku close to the long-off boundary. The equation was 89 off the last nine overs when Pant decided to accelerate, getting a six and a four off Kartik Tyagi, followed by a boundary off Sunil Narine. But the West Indian got the better of Pant in the same over, with KKR using the review successfully for a caught-behind not given. Nicholas Pooran, who got off to a slow start, managed a six off Varun Chakaravarthy but the Indian spinner also had the last laugh, leaving KKR at 89/4 after 14 overs.

KKR's opening stand had not crossed 20 in the last five innings before this game, and the woes continued. Tim Seifert got out for his second successive duck, chipping a Mohsin Khan delivery straight to cover. Ajinkya Rahane clubbed a six over midwicket off Shami but fell to Mohsin soon after, miscuing one to mid-off. There was a touch of controversy too as Angkrish Raghuvanshi was given out obstructing the field while running to the keeper's end. This was the 18th wicket KKR lost inside the first six overs in this IPL, joint-most alongside Chennai Super Kings. The troubles deepened for KKR as Mohsin accounted for Rovman Powell, reducing them to 31/4 in the seventh over.

Only momentarily. Cameron Green tried to inject some momentum to the innings as he struck two sixes off George Linde and one maximum off Mohsin. But the left-arm seamer hit back with the wickets of Green and Anukul Roy off successive deliveries to become the first to bag a five-wicket haul in this IPL season. Barring Rinku Singh's two fours off Digvesh Rathi, nothing was going KKR's way as Ramandeep Singh fell in his attempt to hit a six off Linde, leaving them seven down in the 15th over with only 93 on the board.

Thanks to Rinku's late blitz. He was on 43 off 40 at the end of the 18th over, with KKR having reached only 112/7. With a six and a four off Shami, Rinku reached a 42-ball fifty and struck another four in the 17-run penultimate over. He saved his best for last, and Digvesh was at the receiving end. Four sixes on the trot, along with a couple of wides, gave KKR 26 runs in the last over with Rinku racing to a quick-fire 80-plus.

After a much-needed win that took them up to the eighth spot, KKR enjoy a six-day break before their away game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 3. LSG have a seven-day break to contemplate their season so far and come back afresh to face Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on May 4.