Lynn returns in Knight Riders victory

The Result: Kolkata Knight Riders 6-177 (Narine 50, Woakes 3-36) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore 7-176 (De Villiers 44, Rana 2-11) by four wickets.

The Match in a Tweet: KKR cool, calm and collected to overcome top order of McCullum, De Kock, Kohli and De Villiers and claim win one of IPL 11 #RCBvKKR

Narine punishes RCB – again: Virat Kohli must get sick of watching Sunil Narine at the crease, with the Trinadian blasting a vital 50 from just 19 balls to give Kolkata the perfect platform to launch from. Narine has been particularly brutal against the Bangalore franchise in recent times, with his last three innings yielding 138 runs from just 53 balls. He took a particular liking to Yuzvendra Chahal, with Kohli persisting with the spinner throughout the powerplay despite going at just under 10-per-over.

Return of the Lynn: Chris Lynn played his first competitive match since the T20 Tri-Series final against New Zealand where another shoulder injury cut his tournament short. He was kept inside the inner-circle throughout the first innings before re-igniting Kolkata’s damaging opening duo alongside Sunil Narine. He swung hard and looked confident with the stability of his shoulder, inside-edging a boundary through fine-leg. Though an attempt to go over the ring saw AB De Villiers take a good catch running back with the flight of the ball, Lynn gone for a quick five but more importantly showing he still has the ability to strike hard.

Part-time perfection: Commentators were baffled when Dinesh Karthik opted to turn to part-time spinner Nitish Rana with superstars AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli occupying the crease. They were somewhat justified when Rana delivered a half-tracker and was deposited over the mid-wicket fence by the South African. But his next two deliveries saw De Villiers mistime a pull shot into the hands of Mitchell Johnson, and then slide one through the defence of Virat Kohli. Within two balls, Rana claimed world cricket’s two-most destructive batsmen and set Kolkata on a course for victory. Despite his double-strike, he was taken off after the solitary over, finishing with figures of 2-11.

The Aussie Pack: Both Aussies featured for KKR, with Chris Lynn’s stay at the crease short at the top of the order, Mitchell Johnson had more success, removing Sarfaraz Khan and finishing with 1-30 from his four overs. RCB do not have any Australians on their list with both Travis Head and Shane Watson not retained for IPL 11.

The Next Stop: A short turnaround for Kolkata who take on Shane Watson’s Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday with Virat Kohli’s side to meet Kings XI Punjab fresh off a victory and packed full of Australians, with Aaron Finch likely to slot straight into the final side after missing the first game due to his wedding.