Glenn Maxwell was on strike for the last ball, with KXIP needing 7 to win vs KKR. (BCCI/IPL)Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by two runs — or two centimetres — in Saturday’s IPL match. Glenn Maxwell came within tantalising reach of hitting a six off the last ball to take the match to a Super Over, and the players waited anxiously after the last ball, till replays zoomed in to show that the ball had landed just within the boundary.
SO CLOSE! 🤏#KXIP needed six for a Super Over against #KKR but Maxwell’s shot off Narine over the off-side dropped inches short of the rope.
Kings XI remain at the foot of the #IPL2020 table, Knight Riders up to third #️⃣ #Dream11IPL
📄 Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/RezUQJg8Df pic.twitter.com/B6PL1z5wAb
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2020
KXIP were consigned to their sixth defeat in seven matches on Saturday, as they managed to lose yet another match from a seemingly comfortable situation.
Every single run, every single shot matters! Missed the 6 by few inches, else it would have been a super over! Well tried Maxwell!#IPLT20 #punjabvskkr pic.twitter.com/SxFz55gl9d
— Akshay Nahar (@acnahar) October 10, 2020
KXIP needed 21 off 16 deliveries to win, following a 115-run opening stand between KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. However, things changed thereon. Number 4 batsman Simranjeet Singh played out three dot balls and then took a single off the last ball of the 18th over. KL chopped one on to his stumps in the 19th over, plunging the team into unexpected crisis.
And it happened. It did. #KXIP just snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. #KKR defeats #KXIP by two runs and two cms. A first in cricket, perhaps. 🙏 #IPL2020
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 10, 2020
Game of inches…..
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 10, 2020
With 7 runs to win off the last ball, Maxwell swung over covers as Sunil Narine bowled the 20th. As the ball landed, there was initial confusion. The on-air commentator thought it was a six. Umpire Chris Gaffaney signalled four. Narine was quick to shake Maxwell’s hands, but the players then waited for the replay. Which soon confirmed that the umpire’s call had been correct — by inches.
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