KL Rahul powers Kings XI Punjab to victory over Chennai Super Kings; Mumbai Indians ease past Kolkata Knight Riders

[caption id=“attachment_6581171” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Ravichandran Ashwin captain of Kings XI Punjab and MS Dhoni captain of Chennai Super Kings during Toss before the start of the first match on Sunday, with KXIP winning the match and electing to bowl first. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581141” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Faf du Plessis of Chennai Super Kings came agonisingly close to scoring a century, but was bowled out at 96 by Sam Curran. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581191” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  English youngster Sam Curran played a significant role in containing an explosive Chennai Super Kings attack by taking the wickets of Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina and Shane Watson. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581151” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Kings XI Punjab’s KL Rahul came out swinging, scoring an excellent knock of 71 from 36 balls before being caught out on a Harbhajan Singh ball. However, the damage was already done, and KXIP went on to win with two overs remaining. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581211” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Rohit Sharma, captain of Mumbai Indians and Dinesh Karthik, captain of Kolkata Knight Riders during the toss of the second match on Sunday. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581201” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill got Kolkata Knight Riders off to a promising start, making a partnership of 49 runs, but KKR’s momentum slowed a bit at the loss of Gill’s wicket. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581161” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Lasith Malinga was a constant thorn in the side of KKR’s attack, and the Sri Lankan pacer got a couple of crucial wickets in the shape of captain Dinesh Karthik and power-hitter Andre Russell. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_6581181” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  KKR were limited to a score of 133 runs, which the Mumbai Indians managed to outdo in 16 overs. Rohit Sharma played an important role in the chase, striking up decent partnerships with Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav to take MI into the playoffs in pole position. Image Courtesy: SportzPics[/caption]