Mandeep Singh batted through the innings just two days after the death of his father to see Kings XI Punjab to a fifth straight win in the Indian Premier League in Sharjah yesterday.
Singh hit 66 not out off 56 balls and Chris Gayle slammed 51 off 29 balls as Punjab beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets and moved into the playoff places for the first time.
Punjab had lost five games before the current winning streak. They have beaten table toppers Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals to force their way into contention. The defeat was a double blow for Kolkata who lost fourth place on run rate to Punjab. Both teams have 12 points from 12 games with two to go.
Earlier, Shubman Gill hit 57 and captain Eoin Morgan 40, but Kolkata managed only 149-9 off their 20 overs. Gill scored a 45-ball 57 and shared an 81-run partnership with Morgan for the fourth wicket. Lockie Ferguson hammered a 13-ball 24 to give some respectability to the total.
Indian speedster Mohamed Shami returned excellent figures of 4-0-3-53. His two wickets early on had reduced KKR to 10 for three. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi picked 2/20 and Chris Jordan took 2/25.
In reply, Singh led the latest Punjab victorious onslaught as they reached 150-2 with seven balls to spare. He put on 47 for the first wicket with captain KL Rahul and then 100 with Gayle, who smashed five sixes in his 51.
“This was very special. My father always used to tell me you should remain not out in the game. This one is for him,” said Singh who pointed to the sky on reaching his 50, in tribute to his athletics coach father.
Singh said he had to convince Rahul to let him play a slower game while the captain and Gayle went for the runs. “I told Rahul, ‘if I play my natural game, I can see this through’. So he was okay with me taking my time and he went after the bowling.”
Rahul and Gayle understood Singh’s emotions. “I am just so proud of him, he made everyone emotional,” said Rahul. “It was so good to see him look up to the sky. We knew it was a message to his dad,” said Gayle.
Brief scores
Kolkata Knight Riders: 149/9 in 20 overs (S Gill 57, E Morgan 40, L Ferguson 24 not out, M Shami 3/35, R Bishnoi 2/20, C Jordan 2/25) lost to Kings XI Punjab 150/2 in 18.5 overs (Mandeep Singh 66 not out, Chris Gayle 51, Lockie Ferguson 1/32) by eight wickets
Kings XI Punjab’s Mandeep Singh plays a shot as Kolkata Knight Riders’ Dinesh Karthik looks on during the Indian Premier League match in Sharjah . (Sportzpics for BCCI)
