Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Sunil Narine unfurled a miserly spell of death bowling as they edged out IPL strugglers Kings XI Punjab by just two runs in the Indian Premier League.
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.