The Kolkata Knight Riders climbed to pole position in the Pepsi IPL 2015 standings after they defeated Kings XI Punjab by one wicket in a thrilling contest at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Set a challenging target of 184 on a slow pitch, KKR lost wickets at regular intervals before Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell turned on the heat at just the right time. Though Yusuf was dismissed in the fifteenth over – after a 19-ball 29, Russell took his team closer with his 21-ball 51. The Jamaican was severe on Anureet Singh in particular, picking three boundaries and three sixes off him; he hit five boundaries and four sixes in all – in the process scoring the fastest half-century of the season – before edging Axar Patel to the wicket-keeper.

Having seen the back of the two dangerous strikers, KXIP tightened the noose on KKR. Axar’s run out of Johan Botha made things a little more difficult. But Piyush Chawla struck two fours of the final two deliveries of the eighteenth over bowled by Beuran Hendricks to put his team a shade in front. He and Brad Hogg ran five singles off the penultimate over, which meant KKR needed eight from the final over.

In the final over, Anureet Singh bowled two tidy deliveries first up – one of which resulted in the run out of Brad Hogg – before making the cardinal mistake of bowling a length delivery, which was duly deposited into the stands at midwicket. With the scores level, Anureet delivered a ball way down the leg side, which Chawla attempted to pull only managing to glove it to the wicket-keeper. The match had suddenly come alive, with the last pair at the crease, one run needed from two balls remaining to be bowled. Off the penultimate ball of the innings, a full length delivery on leg stump, Sunil Narine couldn’t put bat to ball, but scampered through for a leg bye to take his team home.

For KXIP, Gurkeerat Singh rolled his arm over effectively, returning two wickets in his three overs spell. Anureet Singh too picked up two wickets – while conceding 56 runs in 3.4 overs, while Glenn Maxwell, Axar Patel and Hendricks returned with a wicket each.

After opting to bat first on a fantastic batting surface at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Kings XI Punjab got their team off to a solid start – helped to a large extent by some sloppy catching by the KKR fielders. Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra added 45 in just under six overs – by which time three catches were put down; Vijay, who hit Umesh Yadav for three fours and a six in the third over, was the first to be dismissed when he walked across his stumps to sweep the ball to fine leg but didn’t make contact and lost his leg stump.

Vohra was dropped twice in the eighth over before he became Sunil Narine’s second victim; he drove a ball straight back to the bowler who just got enough of his hands under the ball. Vohra made 39 from 34 balls and hit one boundary and three sixes.

With a foundation set, Kings XI Punjab needed someone who could push the scoring rate up, and there could be no better man than Glenn Maxwell. The Australian had been woefully out of form so far in the season, but discovered his mojo on the day and lit up the stadium; there were muscular pulls, the reverse sweeps that one so often saw last season, the lofted hits straight down the ground. He raced to his highest score of the season - 43 from 22 balls, aided with four fours and three sixes, before miscuing an attempted slog sweep which was pouched by Johan Botha running in from midwicket.

The local lad Wriddhiman Saha hit two sixes in his 25-ball 33 before he perished in the same over as Maxwell. The third wicket association between Maxwell and Saha – which realised 65 runs – was the best partnership of the innings. Though only 13 runs were added to the KXIP score in the 18th and 19th overs, David Miller helped the innings end on a high; the left-hander two fours and two sixes to take his team past the 180-run mark. Miller remained unbeaten on 27 from 11 balls as KXIP finished their twenty overs at 183-5.

For KKR, Sunil Narine was the most successful of the bowlers; the Trinidadian conceded only 17 runs in his four overs, but most importantly picked up the wickets of the KXIP top four. Andre Russell, who conceded 50 runs in his four overs, was the only other wicket-taker for the hosts.

Brief Scores

Kings XI Punjab 183-5 in 20.0 Overs (Glenn Maxwell 43, Sunil Narine 4-19) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 184-9 in 19.5 Overs (Andre Russell 51, Gurkeerat Singh 2-17)

Man of the Match: Andre Russell, for his 21-ball 51.