Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs in the Indian Premier League yesterday. After put into bat on a hot day in Indore, Kolkata increased the heat with some brutal hitting all over the park. Led by opener Sunil Narine's 75 off 36, KKR made a mockery of the boundary ropes as they posted a mammoth 245 for 6.

Punjab's hopes would have been punctured in the first innings itself but if they had to chase the daunting 246, Chris Gayle (21) and KL Rahul (66) needed to fire. The openers did give them a blazing start before Gayle and Mayank Agarwal were dismissed on consecutive balls by Russell. Rahul (66) fought a lone battle before getting bowled by Narine. Once Rahul was gone, it was a matter of reducing the margin of defeat for Punjab and Ashwin's 45 and Aaron Finch's 34 did help as Punjab finished with 214 for 8 in their quota of 20 overs.