Sharjah [UAE], October 26 (ANI): After facing a disappointing eight-wicket loss against Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan said that the side failed to build partnerships in the middle and fell 40-50 runs short of the desired target.

Mandeep Singh and Chris Gayle played knocks of 66 and 51 respectively guided the side over the line in the 19th over.

With this win, KXIP has moved to the fourth spot in the points table with 12 points while KKR has slipped to the fifth spot with as many points.

"Particularly here in Sharjah you have to counter-attack if you lose wickets early. Disappointing our partnership couldn't get more. When we were three down, it was about getting a partnership. We thought 185-190 would have kept us in the game, wouldn't have been a match-winning total by any stretch. But we kept losing wickets," Morgan told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match.

Morgan is looking forward to the remaining games and hoping to finish in the top-four.

"That's the nature of the tournament. There aren't many bad sides. Going into the last two, our fate is in our hands. If we win those two, we should be in a reasonably good position," he said.

Chasing 150, KXIP got off to a steady start as openers KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh put on 36 runs inside the first six overs. However, KKR came back strongly in the eighth over as Varun Chakravarthy dismissed KL Rahul (28), reducing KXIP to 47/1.

Chris Gayle then joined Mandeep in the middle and the duo did not let the momentum slip for KXIP. Both batsmen put together a partnership of 100 runs, taking KXIP closer to victory.

With 3 runs away from the target, Gayle (51) was dismissed by Lockie Ferguson in the penultimate over.

Earlier, Shubman Gill played a knock of 57 runs as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) posted a total of 149/9 in the allotted twenty overs. Morgan scored 40 off 25 balls.

KKR will now take on Chennai Super Kings at Dubai International Stadium on October 29, (ANI)