On a track on which even medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia turned his slower legbreaks appreciably, Kings XI Punjab stuttered to a strictly fighting total. Kolkata Knight Riders' fielders complemented their effort with the ball, while Punjab's indecisive running compounded their woes. Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan caused Punjab the most trouble, accurate throughout their spells, and picking up three big wickets between them for 43 runs in eight overs. Punjab had got off to a decent enough start. Adam Gilchrist relished the early pace provided by Brett Lee and L Balaji, taking Punjab to 22 after three overs. Gautam Gambhir was quick to take the pace off, and Abdulla and Yusuf brought scoring to a near standstill. Trying too hard to force the pace, Paul Valthaty holed out to long-on. Gilchrist, brought down from 18 off 13 to 26 off 26, looked to manufacture a pull off a length. This was the straighter delivery from Abdulla, and snuck through Gilchrist's legs.
Either side of Gilchrist's dismissal, Shaun Marsh and Abhishek Nayar were run out: Marsh caught ball-watching when hit on the pad, and Nayar slow off the blocks when trying a tight single. At 53 for 4 in the 10th over, Gambhir didn't hold back on attack. Abdulla and Yusuf bowled to the new batsmen with a slip and a silly point in place. Bhatia cannily played the role of the third spinner, dealing almost exclusively in slower legcutters. The 18 runs off his four overs included four overthrows.
A 33-run stabilising stand between Dinesh Karthik and David Hussey threatened much, but Abdulla came back to end it in the 15th over. Three overs after he had survived a shout for a plumb LBW, Hussey was now given out to a delivery that could have perhaps slid down the leg side. Karthik nudged and swept his way to 42 off 42, but couldn't provide that final kick. Only 33 came off the last five overs, which meant that the run-rate never crossed six an over after it slipped under the mark in the seventh over.
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