Despite coming out with a new-look top order with Aaron Finch coming out to open the innings along with Venkatesh Iyer, Kolkata Knight Riders did not get off to a great start with both Finch and Iyer departing cheaply. Whatmore the Shreyas Iyer-led kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and it was up to the middle-order to bail them out of a difficult situation. As it turned out, that is exactly what happened with Nitish Rana and Andre Russell taking the charge. The left-handed Rana completed a fine half-century while Russell remained unbeaten on 49 to take Kolkata to a solid total of 175/8.