The collective sigh of relief in the visitors’ camp was palpable, not the least because it came after an unsettling scare. Lucknow Super Giants beat Kolkata Knight Riders by just one run on Saturday to book a berth in the Playoffs but not before Rinku Singh had threatened to upset the applecart with his now-familiar flair.

The battle between KKR and LSG in front of a wildly cheering 50,000 at the Eden Gardens turned out to be essentially a tale of two innings that were similar and contrasting in equal measure. Nicholas Pooran dragged LSG out of a hole to help them post a challenging 176 for eight before Rinku resurrected KKR’s dying hopes towards the end of the contest and was just two runs short of the target when the overs ran out.