16:59 Lynn hits 30-ball fifty to boost KKR:
KKR 112-3 (12 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Mujeeb comes back as Punjab claim another wicket as the in-form Rana is run out for three.
He cuts the ball to short thirdman and sets off for a quick run before he is sent back but is caught short by a long way.
KKR captain Dinesh Karthik gets off the mark with a single from the last ball.
Karthik looks to keep the runs flowing as he sweeps Ashwin for a four before he flicks the next through midwicket for another boundary.
Karthik then taps the next two deliveries on the leg side for two runs off back to back deliveries and then takes one.
Part-timer Yuvraj Singh comes into the attack. Karthik opens the face of the bat at the last minute runs the first ball past the wicketkeeper for a four.
A single before Lynn smashes the third ball straight down the ground past mid-off for another four before he complete his fifty off the last ball of the over with two runs to long-off.
16:44 Uthappa out for 34, KKR 2 down:
KKR 83-2 (9 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Ashwin strikes after the first time out. Infact, Uthappa manages to pull a short ball straight into the hands of Nair at deep midwicket to perish after scoring 34 from 23 balls.
Uthappa and Lynn rallied KKR after an early wicket as they put on 72 runs from 41 balls for the second wicket.
Nitish Rana gets off the mark with one to long-off before Lynn nudges the next ball to square leg for two runs followed by one and Rana takes one.
KKR 78-1 (8 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin comes into the attack. He makes a quiet start, giving away just five singles in his first over.
Sran is back into the attack after just one over from Tye.
The first ball is short as Uthappa pulls it over the square leg fence for a six followed by a single.
Lynn hammers the third ball over the covers for a four before he smashes the fourth ball over midwicket for a huge six, to raise the 50-run stand for the second wicket.
The last ball is a slow ball but Lynn has read it as he despatches over midwicket for the third six of the over, which goes for 23 runs.
This is brilliant batting from the duo with Lynn hitting 40 from 23 balls and Uthappa on 34 from 22 balls, having added 72 runs from 40 balls so far.
16:28 Uthappa, Lynn rally KKR:
KKR 50-1 (6 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Left-arm pacer Barinder Sran comes into the attack. Lynn clips the first ball behind square for two runs before he pulls the slower bouncer through the leg side for a four.
But Sran makes a good comeback with three dot balls in a row.
Andrew Tye comes into the attack and he starts with a no ball. But its a shocker from the umpire as the pacer’s front foot was clearly behind the crease as is evident in the replays and Punjab’s players are clearly unhappy with the call after watching the replay on the big screen.
But Tye bowls a good delivery, a yorker, as Lynn can only stroke the free hit delivery to long-on for one.
After playing three dot balls in a row, Uthappa picks the slower bouncer as he pulls it over square leg for a four and steers the last ball to thirdman for one as KKR reach 50 for one in six overs with Uthappa on 24 from 16 balls and Lynn on 22 from 17 balls.
16:19 Uthappa, Lynn rally KKR:
KKR 36-1 (4 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Uthappa plays away from his body as he edges Rajpoot but Chris Gayle in the slips is slow to react with the ball flying away for a four.
He is beaten two balls later with another one that moves away and then takes a single off the fifth ball.
The last ball is short as Lynn deposits over the square leg fence for a six.
Uthappa on the charge as he hits Mujeeb for three boundaries in a row. He reverse sweeps the second ball for a boundary through thirdman before sweeping the next for the same result.
Mujeeb then gets one to turn big as Uthappa gets the inside edge to make it three fours in a row followed by singles off the last two balls as KKR recover to 36 for one in four overs.
16:11 Narine out for 1, KKR lose early wicket:
KKR 10-1 (2 ovs) vs Punjab | Scorecard
Pacer Ankit Rajpoot to bowl the first over. Chris Lynn taps the first ball on the off-side for one to get KKR off the mark and Sunil Narine clips the next on the leg side for a single.
A couple of single each and a leg bye as KKR get five runs from the first over.
Mystery spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman strikes in his first over, with the wicket of the dangerous Narine (1). He comes down the track and swings it over midwicket but Karun Nair runs it across to his right and manages to hold on to a low catch.
Mujeeb drops slightly short as Lynn slaps it through the covers for a four.
15:44 Check out the playing XIs of the two teams:Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (captain, w/k), Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav.
Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin (captain), KL Rahul (w/k), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh,Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
15:37 Kings XI Punjab elect to bowl vs KKR: Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin has won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Hosts KKR are unchanged, while Punjab have made one change as Ankit Rajpoot replaced fellow opener Mohit Sharma.
The winner of the match will go top of the IPL standings.
15:15 IPL updates: Gayle, Russell storm in offing as Kings take on Knights: Welcome to the coverage of the 18th match of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab in Kolkata on Saturday.
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and a transformed Kings XI Punjab cross swords in an Indian Premier League contest in which big-hitting Jamaicans Andre Russell and Chris Gayle will be up against each other in Kolkata on Saturday.
Gayle was at his best on Thursday night, registering this season’s first century — a 63-ball 104 not out — at the expense of Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has one of the best bowling combinations.
The Jamaican smashed 11 sixes, seven of them coming against the world’s top-ranked T20 International bowler Rashid Khan, and gave a fitting response to his critics after the humiliation he faced at the IPL auctions where he went unsold.
The 38-year-old enforcer, who represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and KKR, twice went unsold after 10 glorious years before the Virender Sehwag-mentored side gave him a lifeline.
Gayle still had to sit out the first two matches, but when his moment came he played two match-winning knocks, including a 63 against Chennai Super Kings.
Russell, another explosive Jamaican, singled-handedly decimated Delhi Daredevils in his 12-ball 41 in their last match at the Eden.
The biggest gain for the home side is that of Mumbai Indians recruit Rana, who got back-to-back Man of the Match awards in their wins over Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals.
The left-hander has showed fine temperament, forming the backbone of their batting, which wore an unsettled look at the start.
Source: Rediff