KKR vs PBKS Highlights: KKR win by 5 wickets: Kolkata Knight Riders survived a dramatic finish at Eden Gardens. Arshdeep Singh had almost pulled off a miracle for Punjab Kings but Rinku Singh hit a four off the last ball to hand KKR a 5-wicket win and helped the side move to 5th spot with 10 points from 11 games. But Nitish Rana (51 off 38) and Andre Russell (42 off 23) were also the stars as KKR chased down 180. Follow Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023) LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN.
With the win, KKR have jumped to 5th spot in the points table with five wins, six losses and a total of 10 points. PBKS have slipped to the seventh position in the table with 10 points due to a low net-run rate.
KKR Innings Summary: Chasing 180, KKR openers Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided a solid start. Nathan Ellis put an end to the 38-run opening stand, trapping Gurbaz lbw for 15. At the end of the powerplay, KKR was at 52/1, with skipper Nitish Rana (6*) joining Jason Roy (29*) at the crease.
Harpreet Brar got the big wicket of Jason for 38 off 24 balls. Rana and Venkatesh Iyer helped KKR complete the first half of the innings without any further loss. The duo formed a fifty-run stand largely due to the efforts of skipper Nitish. But Rahul Chahar broke the stand, dismissing Iyer for 11 off 13 balls.
Rana got his fifty in just 37 balls, but Chahar took his wicket on the very next ball. Rinku Singh and Andre Russell started to hit some big strokes, bringing down the deficit one big hit at a time. The deficit was reduced to 26 runs in the final two overs.
A trio of sixes from Russell reduced the equation to seven runs in seven balls. KKR needed six in the final over. Some tight bowling by Arshdeep resulted in two runs needed in two balls.
On the penultimate ball, Russell was run out by Arshdeep for 42 off 23 balls. But Rinku Singh hit the winning four on the final ball, finishing KKR’s innings at 182/5.
PBKS Innings Summary: Electing to bat first, PBKS started well. But However, PBKS could not carry the momentum for long as Prabhsimran Singh’s topsy-turvy season continued with his dismissal for 12 off eight balls. Harshit Rana got his wicket and Rahmanullah Gurbaz took the catch.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was making his return to the side, failed to capitalise on his chance and fell for a three-ball duck to Harshit. Liam Livingstone joined his skipper and made his intentions clear by smashing Andre Russell for three straight boundaries in the fifth over.
But PBKS once again lost a wicket with Varun Chakravarthy dismissing Livingstone for 15 off nine balls. Shikhar and Jitesh started to build a partnership.
In the second half, Dhawan upped the attack. Shikhar-Jitesh brought up their 50-run partnership. Just when the duo was looking to take off, Varun dismissed in-form Jitesh for 21 off 18 balls.
Shikhar raced to his half-century in 41 balls with a six. However, the PBKS skipper could not convert his fifty into a big score, falling to KKR skipper Nitish Rana for 57 off 47 balls. PBKS was at 139/7 in 17.2 overs.
PBKS managed to score big in the final two overs with Shahrukh Khan hitting Harshit Rana for two fours and a six and Harpreet Brar smashing a six. PBKS finished at 179/7, with Shahrukh (21*) and Harpreet (17*) unbeaten.
Chakravarthy was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, taking 3/26 in four overs. Harshit took two wickets while Suyash and Nitish got one each.
Punjab Kings Playing XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy
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