Revenge is swift

KKR crush Kings XI by eight wickets to avenge their shocking defeat at Eden three days ago.

As the duo walked back towards their respective dugouts after the match,the contrast in their body language was telling. Adam Gilchrist,captain of the struggling Kings XI Punjab outfit,had a faint,wry smile on his face,as he reflected perhaps on a game that had left him with a bruised ego his team were crushed by eight wickets at home and he had a poor day behind the wicket and,more worryingly,a suspect hamstring injury.

On the other hand,his counterpart,Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir,had a spring in his step. Clearly unamused after a shocking two-run defeat at the hands of same rivals just a few days ago,the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper had told his teammates to perform or perish. He had thrown a challenge at them,and a bigger one at himself,for the left hander8217;s own form in the campaign so far had been largely indifferent.

On Wednesday,he backed his words with action as he led the Knight Riders from the front,scoring an unbeaten 66 off just 44 balls. It can be argued that 125-run target was hardly a stiff one,but given the way KKR,chasing 135 three days ago,imploded,it couldn8217;t be taken lightly.

Perfect start

But Gambhir calmed the nerves in the dugout very soon as he,together with Brendon McCullum,launched the innings in a whirlwind fashion. The 50 was up in the sixth over and though McCullum fell to a rather innocuous delivery by Punjab leg-spinner Piyush Chawla,there was no stopping Gambhir who kept hitting boundaries. Manvinder Bisla,who got a reprieve when Gilchrist failed to stump him off Chawla,couldn8217;t make most of the chance,but their new No.4 Jacques Kallis played with soft hands and a cool mind to see the team through.

Earlier,Punjab8217;s innings was off to an encouraging start too,with Gilchrist looking like regaining the touch,with a couple of delectable boundaries. However,he pulled his right hamstring in attempting a quick single and had to retire. Punjab couldn8217;t recover from that blow. Their run-rate dropped from 7.50 to below 6,and though he did come back towards the end but his unbeaten 30-ball 40 could only take his side to a disappointing 124 for 7 in the 20 overs. The only six in the KXIP innings came in the last over when Gilchrist smashed the ball in the crowd.

Their captain apart,the KXIP hopes rested on the other two Aussies,Shaun Marsh and David Hussey. While Hussey was run out,Marsh was controversially given caught behind off Brett Lee even though the television replays remained inconclusive whether the ball had carried to the 8216;keeper or not. Marsh walked back after asking the wicket-keeper,Bisla,but KXIP co-owner Preity Zinta,clearly incensed,walked up to the reserve umpire Bharti Vij and KXIPs assistant coach Vikram Rathore before Gilchrist explained her the situation.

The team might have felt hard done by with regard to that particular wicket,but even they would agree that the end result was fair.