MOHALI, May 4: Kolkata Knight Riders crashed to their fourth straight loss as they went down to Kings XI Punjab by nine runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Kings XI, on the other hand registered their fourth consecutive win after losing their first two games in the tournament.

Chasing 179, Knight Riders were hardly ever in contention after they were reduced to 50-5 in the 10th over but David Hussey battled hard for Knight Riders as the Aussie pounded a determined 46-ball 71, clobbering four boundaries and as may sixes. Along with Wridhiman Saha, Hussey added 104, the highest sixth wicket partnership in the competition.

Saha too batted with gusto, smacking two boundaries and four sixes in his unbeaten 59 which came off 32 balls. After Hussey was dismissed in the penultimate over, the target proved a little too much for Knight Riders.

Requiring 19 off the last over, the visitors fell short by nine runs as a disciplined length by Irfan Pathan, who redeemed dropping Saha, ensured there was no miracle for Knight Riders.

Knight Riders were put on to the backfoot right at the onset with skipper Saurav Ganguly caught at third-man for five. And they went downhill from there as Mohammad Hafeez (13), Brad Hodge (1), Debabrata Das (5) and Laxmi Shukla (7) were dismissed cheaply.

Earlier, a steady 40 by Shaun Marsh and cameos by Kumar Sangakkara (28), Irfan Pathan (24 not out) and Piyush Chawla (21 not) helped Kings XI post 178-6.

Kings XI started off briskly but quick wickets held them back in the middle overs till some power blows by Chawla helped them to a formidable total.

Pathan, along with Sangakkara, who was retired hurt for 10 earlier, added 49 for the sixth wicket. Chawla then smashed Ishant Sharma for three boundaries and one six in the last over of the innings that went for 21 runs.

Kings XI, after electing to bat, got off to a flying start with the Aussie pair of James Hopes (18) and Marsh taking the attack to the Indian duo of Ishant and Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar in particular was once again erratic, going for 23 off two overs in his first spell.

But Knight Riders managed to pull things back with the introduction of rookie Ashoke Dinda, who scalped Hopes. After Sangakkara retired hurt, Mohali lost Yuvraj Singh for 17 and soon a mini collapse set back the home side.

Yuvraj laid into Hafeez as soon as he came to bat, smashing him for one six and two fours off consecutive balls but then lost his balance on the next to be stumped. Kings XI were still comfortably placed at 81-2 in nine overs at that stage.

The previous game’s hero, Marsh, was on song at the other end, smashing five fours and a six. But a rush of blood against part-time spinner Hussey proved costly. Marsh tried a heave but was stumped for 40 and the momentum, slowly but surely, shifted in favour of Knight Riders.

The astute Ganguly sniffed an opportunity and immediately brought Umar Gul into the attack. And it did not take long before the move paid off. Gul, who had taken three wickets in the previous game, struck with his first ball as Mahela Jayawardene (10) mistimed a pull to mid-wicket.

Karan Goel (6), coming down the order in the game, responded to a horrendous call by Pathan and had to pay for it. With Kings XI losing four wickets for just 29 runs in five overs, Knight Riders were back in business.

And it was time for the classy Sangakkara to take charge again. The wicketkeeper-batsman and Pathan led the recovery. After Sangakkara was cleaned up by Gul in the penultimate over, Chawla did what could be the turning point in the match, smashing Ishant all around the park.

Summarised scores: