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Knights lord over Kings in thrilling IPL grand finale


Chasing an imposing target of 199 set by KXIP, courtesy Bengal stumper Wriddhiman Saha’s swashbuckling unbeaten ton, KKR were in a fix after the in-form Robin Uthappa (5) perished in the very first over bowled by Mitchell Johnson. 

Skipper Gautam Gambhir too didn’t last long, holing out to David Miller off leggie Karanveer Singh in the seventh over and it was left to Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan to lead KKR’s charge. And the duo didn’t disappoint, adding 71 runs in quick time before the big hitting Pathan (36) mistimed a pull shot and was snapped by Glenn Maxwell in the deep. 
But there was no stopping Pandey who continued to send the opposition bowlers on leather hunt with some crisp shots down the ground. 

KXIP finally got the breakthrough in the 17th over when Pandey hit one straight to George Bailey off Karanveer but the damage was done by then with KKR needing 21 runs off 18 balls.  
Some sloppy fielding at this stage hurt KXIP as KKR inched closer to the target. Requiring five runs off the last over, Piyush Chawla finished in style as he made room and sliced the third delivery by Parvinder Awana behind point for four.

Earlier, Wriddhiman Saha powered KXIP to 199/4 with a brilliant unbeaten century. Saha slammed 115 from just 55 deliveries which included 10 boundaries and eight sixes. He was given good support in the middle by Manan Vohra (67) after KXIP lost few wickets in quick succession inside the power play period. 
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