Just as the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers had done at Eden Gardens in their first-leg fixture against Lucknow Super Giants, they messed it up again in the closing overs, this time in Lucknow, on Sunday.

But on this occasion, they somehow stretched the match to the Super Over and prevailed.

The Knights needed just 2 to win in the Super Over, which resulted after the Super Giants finished at 155/8 in response to KKR's 155/7.

The ploy to give Sunil Narine the ball in the Super Over worked wonders as he picked up both Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram, conceding just a single to rival captain Rishabh Pant. Also baffling was Lucknow sending a completely out-of-form Pooran to bat in the Super Over.

Vice-captain Rinku Singh, who earlier hit an unbeaten 83 off 51 balls, fittingly scored the winning runs for the Knights in the Super Over.

Rinku smashed leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi for four sixes in a row in the final over of the innings to drag the team total past 150, which didn't look possible at one stage. He also took as many as five catches (one in the Super Over) in what was a perfect game for him.

Pace variation

The Knights' top order faltered again. The shots from skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Tim Seifert were faulty in the first place.

That said, Lucknow's left-arm quick Mohsin Khan, who recorded his best bowling figures in T20 cricket with 5/23, was also spot-on by varying his pace and with his lengths on a pitch having assistance for bowlers.

After accounting for Seifert and Rahane, Mohsin bowled a tad short of good length to send Rovman Powell back, before removing Green and Anukul Roy off consecutive balls.

The Knights had also suffered a controversial decision when Angkrish Raghuvanshi was given out for obstructing the field in the last ball of the fifth over. Raghuvanshi, attempting a single, ran till mid-pitch before turning to scamper back home and copping a throw from Mohammed Shami.

The Super Giants appealed against Raghuvanshi for obstructing the field. The third umpire felt his turning radius was a little more than normal and gave Raghuvanshi out.

Spinners star

Spinners Narine and Impact Player Varun Chakravarthy delivered again for the Knights with their crucial strikes at critical periods. While Narine got the better of Pant, who tried to reverse-sweep him, Varun picked up Pooran and a set Ayush Badoni to push Lucknow back, before Kartik Tyagi's poor show forced a Super Over.