Kolkata:<\/span> It was one of those chases that leave you feeling breathless. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) eventually failed to chase down Lucknow Super Giants\u2019 (LSG) 238\/3, falling short by four runs (234\/7), despite appearing to be very much on course at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.
Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram gave LSG a score that seemed safe, before KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine put it under serious threat.<\/p>\n

When faced with a mammoth chase, aggression is perhaps the best option. KKR did just that, coming out all guns blazing. Helped by some wayward bowling by LSG, KKR raced to 50 off just 19 balls. In the six Powerplay overs, scoring 90 with the loss of only Quinton de Kock. That is the second-best score in the Powerplay period this season, behind Sunrisers Hyderabad\u2019s 94\/1 against Rajasthan Royals. That is also KKR\u2019s second-best ever. In comparison, LSG were 59 without loss after six overs. Needing a shade below 12 runs per over, KKR were cruising at 15.
LSG badly needed a wicket and Digvesh Rathi gave them just that, sending back Narine and following it up with his signature celebration, this time on grass.<\/p>\n

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Kolkata Knight Riders posted 234 for 7 while chasing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With Rahane going hammer and tongs, Iyer could comfortably settle down before stepping on the gas. As the KKR skipper and his deputy took the defending champions closer to their target, the furrows in LSG captain Rishabh Pant\u2019s forehead increased.
That things were slipping out of LSG\u2019s hands was evident in the 13th over when Shardul Thakur bowled five consecutive wides. Pant\u2019s frustration was understandable as Thakur demanded an unnecessary review. A lucky wicket to dismiss Rahane in the same over came as a relief for the LSG bowler.<\/p>\n

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And then KKR imploded. Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Iyer, and Andre Russell all departed quickly, leaving braveheart Rinku Singh and the tail a task too tall for them.
Earlier, LSG unleashed their overseas power with Pooran, Marsh and Markram all hammering the KKR bowlers. Markram and Marsh entered the Eden arena like a double-edge sword, shredding the Knights\u2019 bowling to bits.
And when Markram departed, three runs short of his half-century, after accumulating 99 runs with Marsh for the opening stand, he was replaced by a sharper and more lethal Pooran.<\/p>\n

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Such was the savagery that Pooran collected 76 of his unbeaten 87 from boundaries. Marsh, who hammered his fourth half-century in five innings, got 54 of his 81 runs through boundaries.
If LSG were off to a subdued start, managing just three runs from the opening over bowled by Vaibhav Arora, it was more than compensated in the next with Spencer Johnson giving away 12. In fact, of LSG\u2019s 38 runs from the first four overs, Arora had given away just eight in his two, with Johnson leaking 30.
The visitors\u2019 run-rate hovered around the 10-run mark throughout, with the Pooran blitz providing the bonus.
Pooran and Marsh added 71 runs for the second wicket in just 30 balls.<\/p>\n

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