The Mohali-based franchise splashed out a handsome Rs 8.5 crore (US$1,139,160.65) for the fast bowler who has become known as much for his blistering pace as his Rockstar-style army salute. During the draft, however, the former army man admits that he had simply hoped to be selected and could not stand to watch for the figure the gavel would eventually rest at.
“I was in a hotel room with Evin Lewis. So, I watched everyone’s auction before me and I was comfortable watching it. But then when my turn came, I was like ‘oh man!’. And when I was heard the first bid on me, I just went to the balcony and I was like ‘yes!’. I didn’t want to see it anymore, I wanted to see just one bid, to be honest. ‘Yes, I am going to play in the IPL!’. But then two minutes after the bidding was still going, I took a peek and Evin Lewis was more excited than I was. I was just nervous. But yes, it was a great feeling. I can never forget that feeling and moment ever in my life,” Cottrell said in a recent interview with WION.
The onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, however, put the player's dream debut on hold. With the tournament, which will now be held in the United Arab Emirates, scheduled to bowl off next month, Cottrell is shifting into competition mode.
“I am really looking forward to it. I have been waiting for this for all my cricketing career, to tell you the truth. But more eagerly in the past four to five months. I have been ready mentally and physically. Even with the lockdown, I have been keeping myself in shape, ready, just in case the call comes. So I am totally ready and can’t wait to go onto the park with the Kings XI Punjab.”
Singh shone with his maiden IPL five-wicket haul to bowl Rajasthan out for 185 with the final ball before Agarwal smashed 67 from 43 balls but that proved in vain due to Kartik Tyagi's magical final over to push the Royals to victory.
Evin Lewis (36) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (49) shared a 54-run opening stand as the Royals started rapidly, with Liam Livingstone (25) and Mahipal Lomror's 17-ball 43 providing further impetus.
However, Singh (5-32) and Mohammed Shami (3-21) pegged their opponents back with some superb death bowling to carry momentum forward to their innings.
KL Rahul (49), who was dropped three times, and Agarwal then put on 120 in 11.4 overs to propel Punjab Kings towards the target before Chetan Sakariya and Rahul Tewatia removed the respective openers.
Nicholas Pooran (32) and Aiden Markram (26 not out) steadied the ship to edge their side towards victory but, with just six required off the last over, Tyagi struck twice and conceded only four runs to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.
Poor fielding does not cost Rajasthan
Rahul could have been dismissed three times, with drops coming on two, 29 and 31 by Lewis, Riyan Parag and Sakariya, and then it would have been a completely different game.
Rajasthan failed to take their chances, gifting the openers the opportunity to build a match-winning stand,
Horrific Hooda
Deepak Hooda conceded 37 runs in two overs as Rahul's middle-overs gamble failed to pay off with the off-spinner carted around the ground before his two-ball duck at the end of Punjab's innings.
Indeed, Hooda only managed two dot balls in his 12-ball spell, with Lomror running riot in the 15th over as he launched 24 runs to push the Royals to a competitive total, which proved to just be enough.
After being put in to bat by KKR in the second match of the new campaign, hosts Punjab racked up 191-5, as an 86-run second-wicket partnership between Bhanuka Rajapaksa (50) and captain Shikhar Dhawan (40) set them up.
Rajapaksa reached his half century from just 30 balls, with Jitesh Sharma (21 off 11) and Sam Curran (26 off 17) helping to keep up the momentum after the Sri Lanka batter's dismissal.
Wickets fell regularly for KKR in their reply, with Arshdeep Singh (3-19) removing Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy in his first over, before later returning to claim the key scalp of Venkatesh Iyer (34).
The chase looked doomed at 80-5, but a typically big-hitting display from Russell (35 from 19) got them back in with a chance before Curran removed the danger man with a short ball that was skied to Sikandar Raza.
After Sunil Narine smashed a six, KKR were still in with an outside chance at 146-7 needing 46 runs from the last 24 balls, but rain was in the air at that point and the umpires called the players off with Punjab narrowly ahead via DLS and no resumption of play proved possible.
Kings hope to end play-off drought
With Curran, the England all-rounder who this season became the most expensive player in the IPL's 16-year history, in their ranks and Arshdeep looking impressive, Punjab look primed for a strong campaign.
Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone are among the stars still to come into the team, with the Kings desperate to end an eight-year run without reaching the play-offs.
So far, so good after they beat KKR for only the third time from their last nine IPL attempts despite the best efforts of Russell.
Narine negated
Narine has a superb IPL track record, having taken 152 wickets for KKR. He recorded a dot ball rate of 42.3 per cent last season, the best of any spinner in the IPL (min. 25 overs).
But the Kings played him well. Rajapaksa made his team's intentions clear by hitting 14 runs – including a six – from Narine's opening over and the spinner went on to leak 36 runs without claiming a wicket from his first three.
Narine did respond with the late wicket of Raza (16) but the batting team would have gladly settled for his final figures of 1-40 had they been offered.
The England duo each hit half-centuries as the Kings hit 209-9, before Kagiso Rabada (3-21), Rishi Dhawan (2-36), and Rahul Chahar (2-37) wrecked RCB's top-order.
Glenn Maxwell's 35 marked the best individual performance of Bangalore's chase, as they finished 54 runs short of the Kings' tally.
With 14 points, RCB's place in the play-offs now looks vulnerable ahead of their final clash with table-topping Gujarat Titans, while the Kings kept their own hopes of a top-four finish alive with two games left to play.
Having been put in to bat by Faf du Plessis, Punjab quickly set about building a tough target, reaching 60 before their first loss when Shikhar Dhawan went for 21.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa followed, but that simply allowed Livingstone to step up and produce a terrific display alongside Bairstow, who struck 66 from 29 balls before falling to Shahbaz Ahmed in the 10th over.
Livingstone plundered a rapid 70 to ensure the Kings recovered, and RCB's hopes were severely dented when Virat Kohli, Du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror were sent packing within the opening five overs.
Maxwell's 12th-over dismissal all but sealed victory for Punjab, with Rabada adding the wickets of Shahbaz Ahmed and Harshal Patel.
Dhawan's blushes spared as Bairstow and Livingstone turn on the style
Although the Kings' best-performing batsmen Dhawan fell short of his season average of 40, a combined 136 from Bairstow and Livingstone propelled Punjab to victory.
Rabada on a roll
Fast-bowler Rabada led the Kings' attack admirably to end the contest with three wickets, taking his tally for the season to 21, some seven clear of his closest team-mate in Rahul.
An opening stand of 160 between David Warner (52) and Bairstow (97) put Sunrisers firmly in control, though they would have been slightly disappointed to finish on 201-6 given the platform laid for them.
Kings XI required something special if they were to chase down 202 and a 17-ball half-century from Nicholas Pooran (77) certainly gave them hope.
However, he was one of three victims for Rashid (3-12), whose stingy four-over spell proved pivotal as bottom side Kings XI collapsed to be dismissed for 132 inside 17 overs.
There were five wides in the first over of the match, setting the tone for an innings that was only slightly rescued from a Kings XI perspective by Ravi Bishnoi (3-29) and Arshdeep Singh (2-33), as Sunrisers scored only five boundaries in the last 38 balls.
Kings XI were three down inside seven overs, the dangerous KL Rahul - the leading run-scorer in this IPL - falling for 11, but Pooran's brutal hitting ensured Sunrisers were far from home and hosed.
However, Kings XI slumped from 105-3 to 132 all out, with Sunrisers claiming a win that moved them up to third in the table.
BAIRSTOW OUTSHINES MILESTONE MAN WARNER
Warner hit five boundaries from his first 14 balls and went on to make his 50th IPL half-century.
However, it was opening partner Bairstow's boundary-laden knock that really caught the eye, the England batsman smashing seven fours and six maximums in a fine effort.
POORAN HITS TARGET
West Indian Pooran scored the fastest half-century of this IPL by bringing up the milestone in just 17 deliveries.
Prior to the tournament he said making the most rapid 50 was on his agenda, and boy did he deliver as he smashed Abdul Samad for three sixes and a four to get there.
Pooran also has three of the five biggest sixes in this edition of the IPL - all over 100 metres.
The England batter scored an unbeaten century as the Kings successfully chased down 262 - the highest in T20 history - with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow hit a wonderful 108 not out from 48 balls - with nine sixes along the way - while Shashank Singh chipped in with 68 from 28 deliveries as the Kings ended their four-game losing streak.
"We knew that we had to go ballistic after how they batted," said the 34-year-old, who made his second IPL century five years after his first. "We had to take risks, and thankfully they came off.
"I've never been faced with a target like that before. So, we knew the powerplay would be important, and if anything is close to being in your area, you've got to make the most of it."
The performances of Bairstow and Singh contributed towards further history, with the overall tally of 42 sixes the highest recorded in a single T20 match.
"Cricket has turned to baseball, hasn't it?!" Punjab skipper Sam Curran added. "Guys can hit balls for long periods of time, the coaches, training, the dew, dot balls become wide after reviews and you get the extra ball. Stats are going of the window."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was left disappointed to see his side's impressive haul overturned, but urged his team-mates to learn from the experience.
"Both teams played tremendously. You have to go back to the drawing board and see where you went wrong," he said. "Not defending hurts, but it's a great lesson for the players."
Punjab always looked likely to fall to a third straight defeat after they could only post 120 all out at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
After losing skipper KL Rahul for just four, their innings looked doomed when Mayank Agarwal (22) departed and Nicholas Pooran (0) in consecutive balls, with Chris Gayle (15) also dismissed before the halfway point.
Pooran was run out without facing a delivery after being promoted up to number four in the order.
Shahrukh Khan added 22 and scored the only two maximums of a disappointing Kings innings, as Khaleel Ahmed led the Sunrisers with figures of 3-21 from his four overs.
Openers Bairstow and David Warner scored 73 from the first 10 overs to ensure a maiden win of 2021 never looked in doubt for Sunrisers.
The Australia batsman fell for a run-a-ball 37 after Agarwal held on to a catch off the bowling of Fabian Allen (1-22).
But Bairstow (63 not out) remained for the duration of a comfortable run chase after being joined by Kane Williamson (16no).
SUNRISERS UP AND RUNNING
Sunrisers had lost their first three matches by just 10, six and 13 runs respectively, so they have not been far away despite their winless start.
Having also lost the last game they played in 2020, defeat in this game would have equalled their longest ever IPL losing run of five.
But having made the play-offs in each of the last five years, they will hope this much-needed victory kickstarts their season to ensure that impressive streak can continue.
BAIRSTOW FORM CONTINUES
It has been a good start to the competition for England batsman Bairstow, whose unbeaten 56-ball innings here contained six boundaries and included three maximums.
After coming into the match with scores of 55, 12 and 43 to his name, Bairstow now averages 57.66 and will be key to the Sunrisers' hopes of contending.
In the end, Glenn Maxwell agonisingly missed out on a six that would have forced a Super Over.
Kings XI had looked to be cruising towards a target of 165 but, just as they did in their previous match with Chennai Super Kings, some excellent death bowling turned the tide in Kolkata’s favour.
It left Maxwell needing a six off the final ball to prolong a see-saw contest and while he lofted a ball high over cover, it dropped just shy of the rope for four in a remarkable finish.
The Knight Riders have eight points from their six matches while Kings XI have just one win from seven outings.
A 29-ball 58 from captain Dinesh Karthik helped Kolkata post a useful target, Shubman Gill (57 off 47) also providing a valuable half-century.
It appeared as if their efforts would be in vain, as KL Rahul (74) and Mayank Agarwal (56) combined for a first-wicket stand of 115.
Even when Agarwal eventually fell to Prasidh Krishna (3-29) there appeared little sign of a turnaround, Nicholas Pooran coming to the crease after a sparkling 77 against Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out.
However, the game turned when Pooran was undone by a slower ball from fellow West Indian Narine, departing for 16 as Kings XI stuttered badly as the pressure mounted. With 14 required off the final over, KKR opted for Narine and he conceded 11 runs to win the match for his side.
FELL APART TO THE SEAMERS
The excellent Prasidh utilised an off-cutter to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh (4), then drew an inside edge from Rahul to leave Kings XI needing 14 off the final over.
When Mandeep Singh holed out from the penultimate delivery, it was left to Maxwell to rescue Kings XI. Despite his best efforts in attacking a wide outside-off delivery, his shot did not have the power to get over the line.
KNIGHT RIDERS STUTTER
Kolkata struggled for momentum in the first half of their innings after opting to bat first, slipping to 63-3 in the 11th over when Eoin Morgan departed for 24.
However, skipper Karthik raised the tempo as he combined with Gill to put on 82 for the fourth wicket. The former was run out from the final ball of the 20th over, having hit eight fours and two sixes.
Marcus Stoinis made 53 from 21 deliveries as Delhi recovered from a shocking start to post 157-8, though their fightback appeared in vain when their opponents matched their total with three balls to spare.
However, needing just one more run to prevail, Kings XI were somehow unable to get over the line, losing wickets off the final two deliveries.
Mayank Agarwal was the first of those to depart having made a superb 89, the opener rescuing his side after they had slipped to 55-5 in their reply.
He hit 10 runs off Stoinis' first three deliveries at the start of the 20th over, but the bowler hit back when a wide full toss was slapped to Shimron Hetmyer in the deep.
Chris Jordan then clipped a full toss straight to Kagiso Rabada at square leg to leave the scores level, meaning a super over was required to decide the outcome of a see-saw contest.
Kings XI managed two runs off the opening ball but Rabada then claimed a pair of wickets, leaving Delhi needing three. They easily reached the paltry target to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
STOINIS STUNS KINGS XI
Having come together at 13-3, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant made 39 and 31 respectively. Still, when both fell in successive balls, the Capitals were reeling at 87-5.
Stoinis, though, emphatically changed the tempo of the innings. Kings XI leaked 57 from the final three overs – including 30 off the last, bowled by Chris Jordan – as Delhi finished with a flourish.
PAINFUL OUTING FOR ASHWIN
Playing against his former franchise, Ravichandran Ashwin's involvement was cut short when he suffered an apparent shoulder injury.
The India spinner claimed two wickets in his opening over before getting hurt when diving to stop a ball, forcing him to leave the field with his left arm in a makeshift sling.
PAIR FOR POORAN
It is not often you get to bat twice in a Twenty20 game. However, Nicholas Pooran failed to capitalise on either opportunity he had for Kings XI.
The West Indies batsman was dismissed by Ashwin first time around and then, called into action again in the super over, was cleaned up first ball by Rabada.
Making his 50th appearance in the competition, Chahar helped ensure Punjab's innings never got going as they were restricted to 106-8.
He finished with 4-13 from four overs, including one maiden, Punjab never getting to grips with a challenging surface in Mumbai.
Faf du Plessis (36 not out) and Moeen Ali (46) combined for 66 to help CSK ease to their target with 26 balls to spare, winning by six wickets.
Mayank Agarwal went for a two-ball duck to Chahar in the opening over, misjudging a wondrous delivery that pinged the top off-stump.
A direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja saw KL Rahul run out before the West Indian pair of Chris Gayle (10) and Nicholas Pooran (0) each fell to Chahar before the end of the powerplay.
Deepak Hooda tamely chipped to mid-off for Chahar's fourth wicket, leaving Punjab on 26-5 in the seventh over.
Shahrukh Khan's 36-ball 47, which included two sixes, at least made sure Punjab had something to defend, but a lack of support from the lower order meant the target was always one well within CSK's grasp.
Moeen and Du Plessis extinguished any hopes of Punjab claiming an unlikely win, their second-wicket stand allowing the Super Kings to coast to victory despite a 15th-over blitz from Mohammed Shami that saw Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu dismissed.
Chahar makes mark on landmark appearance
Chahar let out a huge roar when he castled Agarwal and he had every right to do so after producing a delivery that nipped away from middle stump to deceive the opener.
The subsequent dismissals owed more to a fine catch from Jadeja to get rid of Gayle and batting errors from Pooran and Hooda, but nothing should be taken away from Chahar after he tilted the game firmly in CSK's favour.
Moeen gets things moving
Moeen and Du Plessis showed Punjab how to bat on the surface with an excellent partnership, the England all-rounder's 46 coming off 31 deliveries, his strike rate of 148.38 the best in the contest.
He recorded seven fours and one maximum, with Du Plessis' sole six coming off a scoop shot in the fourth over. The South African was still in at the end when Sam Curran wrapped things up after a brief wobble.
The KL Rahul-led franchise, which also features Chris Gayle, has had a tough start to the new season after winning only one of their first four matches. In the last fixture, a 48-run loss to Mumbai Indians, Rahul raised eyebrows with his death bowling selection. Rahul chose K Gowtham to bowl the last over against Mumbai, with the in-form Cottrell left to watch.
Gowtham gave away 25 runs, one of the reasons the Rohit Sharma-led side managed to post a hefty total.
Cottrell had earlier claimed the wicket of Quinton de Kock and conceded just 20 runs in his four overs. The fast bowler had recovered from a tough outing against Rajasthan Royals', where Rahul Tewatia smashed 5 sixes off one of his overs during a record run chase.
Despite the circumstances, Cottrell, however, insisted he remained confident in Rahul’s decisions.
"Honestly, I back my skipper (KL Rahul) 110%. Whatever his decision is, I'm going to back it. It was a decision he felt was best for the team. It didn't work today (Thursday), unfortunately, but on another day I'm sure it will work," Cottrell said.
As for the tough outing against RR, the bowler insisted he never lost confidence and backed the team, to much like he has, recover from a slow start.
"My comeback was excellent. My confidence was always there. But I wish my bowling effort could have helped Kings XI cross the line. I'm feeling pleased about my performance," he added.
"I have been working hard on death bowling, and so have my bowling partners. We're getting there and we've been learning from our mistakes and practising it on the training grounds. I'm sure we're going to pull it off very soon. I wouldn't say worrying, it's just a matter of time for us.”
The England all-rounder, fresh from a standout white-ball performance at the T20 World Cup that saw him named Player of the Tournament, is returning to Punjab Kings for 2023.
Curran was the subject of a record bid from Punjab, eventually selling for an all-time high 18.5 crore (£1.85million) in Friday's auction.
"I'm absolutely overwhelmed and incredibly humbled to receive that bid," he told Star Sports. "Punjab is where I did my debut season a few years ago.
"I feel confident going into this tournament. We had a fantastic World Cup. I'm incredibly excited to come to India for this big opportunity.
"There's so many things running through my mind. I knew this morning about the auction, but I was struggling to find a stream. It wasn't on TV.
"I saw the bids coming from Mumbai, then Chennai. Having played for Chennai earlier, it was cool to see them, [and then] I got a call about joining Punjab."
Opener De Kock scored 46 from 37 balls as the Super Giants reached 153-8 from their 20 overs on Friday.
That was despite the efforts of Kagiso Rabada, who took 4-38, including the early wicket of Super Giants captain KL Rahul.
Yet after Rahul's dismissal, De Kock – with the assistance of Deepak Hooda (34) – guided the Super Giants from 13-1 to 98-2 before falling to Sandeep Sharma (1-18).
Deepak was run out by Jonny Bairstow in the next over to kick-start a middle-order collapse, but Dushmantha Chameera's 17 from 10 balls and an unbeaten 13 from Mohsin Khan added vital runs.
Mohsin went on to impress with the ball for the Super Giants, taking 3-24 from his four overs, which included a maiden.
Mayank Agarwal (25) and Bairstow (32) tried to get Punjab going, but both fell to Chameera (2-17) before Khan sent dangerman Liam Livingstone packing on 18 to all but end the Kings' hopes – Rishi Dhawan's flurry of 21 proving too little, too late.
De Kock back to form
Rabada gave his best but it was fellow South African De Kock who was the difference in this match.
The wicketkeeper-batsman had only scored a combined 13 runs across his previous two appearances but was the anchor of the Super Giants' innings here, with his 46 coming at a strike rate of 124.32 and including six boundaries – two of those were sixes.
Mohsin shows his worth
After adding a useful tally to the Super Giants' score, Mohsin – who had only taken one wicket this season before Friday's match – delivered with the ball, taking the key wicket of Livingstone (who has scored 60+ three times already this season) before dismissing Rabada and Rahul Chahar in the 18th over.
Dhawan became the first player in the history of the tournament to register back-to-back tons, carrying his bat for an accomplished 106 not out that accounted for the bulk of 164 for five.
The lack of support for the India opener cost Delhi dear, however, with 14 their next highest individual score, and contributions throughout won the day for the Kings XI.
In at number three after a breezy 15 from captain KL Rahul, Chris Gayle tucked into the beleaguered Tushar Deshpande, hitting three fours and two sixes in a riotous fifth over.
After Gayle was bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin for 29 and Mayank Agarwal was run out in the sixth over, another West Indian in Nicholas Pooran thrillingly picked up the baton.
Pooran compiled a blistering half-century as he added 69 for the fourth wicket alongside Glenn Maxwell. He departed the ball after reaching his milestone, edging the impressive Kagiso Rabada (2-27) behind for a 28-ball 53.
Maxwell departed for 32 when Rishabh Pant pouched a swirling chance off Rabada but Deepak Hooda and Jimmy Neesham - 15 and 10 not out respectively - finished the job authoritatively, the New Zealander planting Daniel Sams over midwicket to finish matters with an over to spare.
Dhawan plays stunning lone hand
Dhawan is in simply irresistible form. His knock on Tuesday made it two centuries and two fifties in his past four innings. During that time he has scored 333 runs and been dismissed only once. However, it would be nice for some of his team-mates to join him. Pant matched skipper Shreyas Iyer's 14 but did so glacially off 20 deliveries.
Deshpande dominated
The right-arm medium pacer found himself in the eye of the storm against Gayle and things got no better when a rampant Pooran tucked into him. A ploy of slow, short deliveries missed the mark horribly and Deshpande's two overs cost 41, featuring five fours and three sixes.
Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal helped Punjab post 195-4 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after being put into bat by Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant.
However, Delhi – who came into the contest having alternated between defeat and victory across their previous seven IPL games – bounced back from a three-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals last time out in stunning fashion.
Dhawan dominated the Kings attack in a well-paced chase, following up his 85 in his side's opener against Chennai Super Kings with a marvellous knock that included 13 fours and two sixes.
Opening partner Prithvi Shaw contributed 32 at the top of the Capitals' order while Marcus Stoinis finished the job in a hurry, the all-rounder making 27 not out from just 13 balls.
Punjab's total had been built on the solid foundation provided by openers Rahul and Agarwal as they shared a 122-run stand, the latter the more aggressive of the pair as his score of 69 came from 36 deliveries.
West Indian duo Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made just 11 and nine respectively as the innings briefly stuttered, but late cameos from Deepak Hooda – who hit two sixes to make 22 not out from 13 deliveries – and Shahrukh Khan (15 off five balls) lifted the Kings.
Delhi had lost five of the past seven meetings between the franchises but Dhawan made sure they prevailed this time, in the process becoming the competition's leading run-scorer in 2021.
Kings run into a spot of trouble
Rahul hit seven fours and two sixes while at the crease, but his 61 runs came from 51 deliveries at a strike-rate of 119.60.
Punjab Kings would have had designs on making in excess of 200 following the start they were given by their openers, but an inability to get after Ravichandran Ashwin – his four overs of spin went for just 28 runs – saw them come up just short.
Capitals gain from in-form opener
Dhawan received the orange cap after the game as he moved above Glenn Maxwell of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the run-scoring table. The left-hander is scoring at 163.15 runs per 100 deliveries in the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 tournament, despite having only hit four sixes.
Bowled within sight of a century as he attempted to sweep Australian seamer Jhye Richardson, Dhawan then watched on as Stoinis rushed his team home with 10 balls to spare.
Deepak Hooda whacked an unbeaten 62 off 30 balls as Kings XI posted 153-6 with Lungi Ngidi (3-39) doing the damage for the Super Kings with the ball.
South African Du Plessis laid the platform for CSK's response with a 34-ball 48 before Ruturaj Gaikwad's unbeaten half-century got them home.
The Super Kings were unable to qualify for the play-offs but their victory, with seven balls to spare, deprived Kings XI of a chance to make the top four.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and asked Kings XI to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and rotated his bowlers with good effect.
KL Rahul (29) and Mayank Agarwal (26) made a slow start and the experienced Chris Gayle (12) was unable to get going, trapped lbw by spinner Imran Tahir (1-24).
Hooda boosted the total with a brutal assault on the Kings XI attack late on as he struck four sixes and three fours and scored his first IPL half-century since 2015 with a strike rate of 206.66
The Super Kings reached 82 without loss from 9.5 overs in their reply before Du Plessis misjudged a slower delivery from Chris Jordan and his attempted ramp shot was comfortably caught by Rahul.
Fellow opener Gaikwad took the initiative from Du Plessis as he hit 62 not out from 49 balls and got CSK over the line with Ambati Rayudu who finished on 30.
DU PLESSIS SHOWS HIS CLASS
This was the type of chase that required a disciplined approach with wickets in hand and Du Plessis produced a typically consistent knock, just missing out on a fifth half-century in the tournament. The CSK opener showed all his composure and experience as he rotated the strike cleverly, but with a dash of inventiveness as he scooped Jimmy Neesham for six.
GAYLE'S IPL SWANSONG?
At the age of 41, Gayle's knees are starting to creak and the left-hander was unable to muster a boundary in a scratchy 12 off 19 balls for the Kings XI here. Handed the ball to bowl an almost ceremonial last over will raise questions of whether he is set to bow out. The elder statesman of T20 cricket is still a draw, but he is not getting any younger and if this ends up being his IPL swansong, it was a meek way to go.
An opening partnership of 137 from the first 16 overs between Virat Kohli (59) and Du Plessis (84) put RCB on their way to setting a target of 175.
Kohli was dropped by Jitesh Sharma on 58, but the wicketkeeper made amends in the next over as he superbly reached the ball to his left after an attempted sweep from Kohli nicked a delivery from Harpreet Brar.
With one came two as Glenn Maxwell hit Brar straight to Atharva Taide for a golden duck, before Du Plessis was finally removed when he followed up a six with another big hit against Nathan Ellis, only to leave it short for Sam Curran to catch.
It was an eventful start to the reply, with Atharva clipping Siraj for four from the first ball, before Siraj trapped him lbw with the second after a successful review.
Matthew Short (7) came in and smashed a big six before being bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga, and Siraj again claimed an lbw after a review, removing Liam Livingstone (2).
Siraj was leading the charge, also superbly running out Harpreet Singh Bhatia (13), while Hasaranga managed to do the same to Curran (10) as the Kings sat on 77-5 at the halfway point.
Prabhsimran Singh was at least putting up a fight for his team before he was bowled by Wayne Parnell having hit 46 from 30 balls, while Jitesh was also not willing to give up as he came in and hit 41 from 27.
Siraj bowled Brar (13) and Ellis (1) to halt that momentum though, and Harshal Patel wrapped things up by claiming Jitesh in the final over as the Kings were all out for 150.
No Faf from Du Plessis
It was a big effort from Du Plessis, with the South African smashing five fours and five sixes, with Kohli (one) the only other RCB batter to hit a maximum.
Du Plessis struck a season-high 84 runs from 56 balls, which was his fourth score of 50 or more in this year's competition, the joint-most by any batter along with team-mate Kohli). This was also his ninth 50+ score against the Kings, second to only David Warner (12) in the competition's history.
Stunning Siraj
If Kohli and Du Plessis had laid the table, Siraj cleared it up with 4-21 from his four overs – his best ever IPL figures – including 13 dot balls and wickets in key moments, with Brar arguably the most significant as he and Jitesh threatened to make a late flurry.
He logged a bowling strike rate of 6.0, the joint-best such rate by any bowler in an innings in this season's IPL, as well as producing the brilliant run-out of Bhatia.
Both teams had enjoyed opening wins, and this match too could have gone either way despite the Kings appearing to be in complete control thanks to Ellis.
After Punjab captain Shikhar Dhawan did the heavy lifting with 86 not out to see his side finish on 197-4, Ellis (4-30) took a series of vital wickets to slow the Royals' response.
Luck was initially on the Australia bowler's side as an inside edge looped up off Jos Buttler's pad for a smart catch for 19.
Sanju Samson carried the scoring burden, making 42, before he too departed off the bowling of Ellis, who also accounted for Riyan Parag (20) from his next delivery, then bowled Devdutt Paddikal (21) later in the same over.
A deep Royals line-up still contained Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18) and impact player Dhruv Jurel (32 not out off 15), and the pair combined for a quick 61.
But even with Ellis' allocation up, Hetmyer had himself run out in the final over as Sam Curran (0-44) just about kept the batting side at bay.
Chahal's slow progress
This was not a night IPL veteran Yuzvendra Chahal will reflect on particularly fondly, even if it saw him edge closer to the tournament's wickets record.
His figures of 1-50 were damaging – Punjab scoring easily despite some fine fielding, including from Buttler – but the wicket of Jitesh Sharma was his 171st in the IPL, moving ahead of Lasith Malinga and now trailing only Dwayne Bravo (183).
Electric Ellis excels
Both teams named unchanged XIs, meaning Ellis was preferred to 99-wicket Kagiso Rabada. The Australian had only five IPL wickets to his name prior to this match.
Ellis significantly added to that tally, however, his spell turning the tide and providing a reminder of the talent that saw him take a hat-trick on his T20I debut in 2021 – even if Curran's contribution was still required to get the job done.
An extraordinary Indian Premier League match saw both sides post 176-6, with KL Rahul making a terrific 77 for Kings XI, before the teams then managed just five runs each in the first series of extra overs.
Chris Jordan gave away 11 to Mumbai as the second round of Super Overs began, helped by a magnificent piece of boundary fielding from Agarwal who denied Pollard a six from the final ball.
Agarwal caught the ball while in mid-air over the ropes and threw it back into play, athleticism that saved four runs, and after Gayle blasted Trent Boult for six at the start of KXIP's second extra over, it was Agarwal who finished the match with back-to-back boundaries.
Jasprit Bumrah (3-24) had earlier ended Rahul's innings with a scorching delivery at a pivotal point in KXIP's run chase, and Jordan was run out from the final ball of their 20 overs, chasing a second run for victory.
Bumrah limited Kings XI to just 5-2 in six balls of the first Super Over, before Mohammed Shami incredibly kept Mumbai to 5-1 thanks to a set of super yorkers.
After just two wins from their previous eight games this season, the Mohali-based Kings XI had looked poised for more disappointment as momentum repeatedly appeared to swing to their second-placed opponents, only for Gayle and Agarwal to produce the late heroics.
Quinton de Kock made a team-high 53 in Mumbai's innings, which benefited from an explosive seventh-wicket partnership of 57 between Kieron Pollard and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who only came together midway through the 17th over.
Jordan's turning circle
Had Jordan turned and run straight back on a batsman's usual path, he would surely have made his ground for the second run in that 20th over. Instead he swung around in a wide curve at the non-striker's end and ended up charging back bizarrely wide, seemingly taking several unnecessary strides that cost him his wicket. Somehow, he finished on the winning side nonetheless.
Living on the edge
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma could have found himself facing questions if his early call in KXIP's innings proved pivotal. Boult drew a thin edge from opener Agarwal in the first over that was not spotted by the umpire, and there was no obvious shout from De Kock who gathered the ball safely behind the stumps. Boult was convinced and replays confirmed what he had seen, but Sharma declined the bowler's call for a review. Agarwal perished for 11, presumably sparing Sharma a post-game inquisition.
In reply to 149-9, Kings XI made a somewhat inauspicious start, but Gayle's entrance provided the required spark and subsequently seemed to inspire Mandeep, who was visibly emotional as he passed 50 just a few days after the death of his father.
KKR's bowlers failed to match the performance of their counterparts, Kings XI sealing an impressive victory that puts them fourth.
A dreadful start by Kolkata left them staring at a tricky innings as they found themselves 10-3 having lost Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik in the first two overs.
Shubman Gill (57) and Eoin Morgan (40) soon steadied the ship with a stand of 81, but the tide turned again as Kings XI's spinners took charge.
Lockie Ferguson (24 not out) was the only other batsman to reach double figures, Varun Chakaravarthy – the last to fall – summing up their struggles as he hit an attempted reverse sweep into his own stumps.
Kings XI might have been accused of being a little conservative in their chase given they were at 47-1 at the end of the eighth over, when captain KL Rahul fell, but that was the turning point.
Gayle entered the crease and quickly turned on the style, his successive sixes soon followed by another as he began to toy with the Knight Riders.
Mandeep reached his half-century in the 16th over to draw rousing applause from his team-mates and finished unbeaten on 66, helped by eight fours and a pair of sixes.
Gayle was halted on 51 when caught by Prasidh Krishna, but at that point Kings XI needed just three runs and Nicholas Pooran saw them home.
GAYLE TURNS IT UP A NOTCH
While Mandeep will deservedly get much of the attention for the quality of his performance, even more so given his personal situation, Gayle's entry was undoubtedly a key factor.
Until then, Kings XI had looked a little lacklustre even if they were performing solidly. The 'Universe Boss' provided the oomph they had been missing.
SPINNERS LEAD THE WAY
The target of 150 always looked an entirely reachable one, and for that, much of the credit must go to the Kings XI spinners. That includes Glen Maxwell, who opened the bowling and claimed 1-21.
Rahul's in-form side have now won five on the spin, quickly moving them up the standings at a crucial time in the season.
