It required the brilliance of Kolkata Knight Riders’s (KKR) batters to breach the 200-run mark for the first time in a T20 match at the Ekana Stadium last night. It was in-form opener Sunil Narine, who led the charge, with a superb 81 from a mere 39 balls as KKR, put in to bat, ran up a massive 235-6 in their 20 overs. The hapless Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowlers were taken to the cleaners as fours and sixes flowed from the bats of the KKR batters much to the delight of the near-full house.

LSG captain KL Rahul took a big risk in asking KKR to bat first, as their openers Phil Salt and Narine are capable of taking a match away in the Powerplay itself. And that’s exactly what happened, as Salt and Narine collected 61 in 4.2 overs. Though Salt departed after making 32, he had set the stage for the remaining batters to continue the rampage rarely seen at this venue.