Team Kolkata continued to battle it out for the final playoff berth following victory by a margin of seven wickets against Punjab on Friday in a virtual eliminator.
Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and opted to field.
Punjab registered a poor start to the innings with openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle who have been in good form in IPL 2019, dismissed cheaply.
Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal attempted to rebuild the innings with a partnership of 69 runs.
However, Pooran’s dismissal for 48 runs off 27 deliveries helped Kolkata make a comeback in the game. Agarwal soon walked back to the pavilion for 36, with the cheap dismissal of Mandeep Singh making it all the more difficult.
Punjab eventually posted a competitive total of 183 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs, following a quick-fire 55 off 24 deliveries by all-rounder Sam Curran.
Kolkata openers Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill registered a strong start to the innings, with nearly sixty runs scored off the powerplay overs.
Gill continued to bat through the innings despite the dismissals of Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell with a second consecutive half-century.
Kolkata eventually chased down the target in 18 overs, with seven wickets in hand.
The doubleheader on Saturday is set to witness a clash between Delhi and Rajasthan in the 4 pm clash, followed by a contest between Bangalore and Hyderabad in the second clash of the day.
