Shahrukh Khan gives much needed fire power to Punjab Kings in the death overs.
Punjab Kings 168 for 5 (Rahul 67, Agarwal 40, Chakravarthy 2-24) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 7 (Iyer 67, Tripathi 34, Arshdeep 3-32, Bishnoi 2/22) by five wickets
The 45th match of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League 2021 was played between the fourth Kolkata Knight Riders and sixth-seeded Punjab Kings.
Both teams made a few changes in their squad. For Punjab, Mayank Agarwal, Fabien Allen and Sharukh Khan were included in place of Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle and Harpreet Brar respectively.
Venkatesh, Tripathi Added 72 for Second Wicket
Venkatesh Iyer with Rahul Tripathi built an excellent partnership of 72 runs from 55 balls. Venkatesh Iyer scored 67 runs from 49 balls which included nine fours and a six while on the other hand, Rahul Tripathi scored 34 runs from 26 balls.
Venkatesh Iyer was included in the KKR team from the first match of the second leg. He has performed excellently well in all three positions, batting, bowling and fielding. He has proved his worth and showed that he deserves to be in the playing XI with his consistent performances.
Nitish Rana also scored quickfire 31 runs from 18 balls. He is one of the players who has shown consistency in scoring runs for Knight Riders in the last few years.
The KKR skipper Eoin Morgan’s poor form with the bat continues. Morgan hasn't done much with the bat for KKR this season. His bat was silent in India and now, in UAE. A player of his calibre can't be kept quiet but KKR need his captain to get in the form before they are out of playoff contention.
Youngsters Rescued Punjab Kings
The pick of the bowlers was Arshdeep Singh with three wickets and Ravi Bishnoi with two wickets conceding 32 runs and 22 runs respectively. Arshdeep Singh has performed exceedingly well in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League 2021. He has also bowled some match-winning spells in this year’s IPL.
Ravi Bishnoi is performing outstandingly well at such a young age. He is one of the interesting prospects to watch out for. He should have been included in the T20 World Cup 2021 squad as he is clearly matching the performances of his leg-spin counterparts, Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Openers Set it up for Punjab
Punjab Kings chased down the target on the third ball of the last over with five wickets remaining in their hand. The PBKS openers, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal started off in style and built up one more brilliant partnership of 70 runs in almost nine overs. Rahul scored 67 runs from 55 balls with four fours and two sixes while on the other hand, Mayank scored 40 runs from 27 balls with three fours and sixes respectively.
KL Rahul scored 67 runs from 55 balls with four fours and two sixes. He has scored 459 runs in the Indian Premier League 2021. He is currently the orange cap holder in IPL 2021.
Sharukh Khan from Tamil Nadu, who played his first game in the second phase scored a quickfire 22 runs from nine balls which included one four and two sixes. He has exceptionally performed in domestic cricket for his state team as well which helped him to enter this year’s Indian Premier League.
Today Kolkata missed the likes of their main bowlers Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson in such a crucial match against Punjab. Only the leg spinner, Varun Chakravarthy was able to leave an impact. He gave just 24 runs and took two important wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Nicolas Pooran in his spell of four overs. Rest all bowlers went expensive as they conceded more than runs in their spell of four overs.
Punjab moves to fifth spot, KKR at fourth
With this victory, Punjab Kings remains in the sixth position with eight points in 11 games with a net run rate of -0.288 while on the other hand Kolkata Knight Riders also remain on the fourth despite the defeat with 10 points in 11 games with a net run rate of +0.363.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, a doubleheader will take place. In the afternoon, Delhi Capitals will clash with the defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah. The match kicks off at 15:30 hours IST.
On the other hand, in the evening, the most successful franchise of Indian Premier League Chennai Super Kings will face the seventh-seeded Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The match kicks off at 19:30 hours IST.
Top Twitter Reactions as Punjab Kings beat KKR
Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in 45th match of IPL 2021. Punjab Kings move to fifth spot in points table and KKR stay at fourth position due to better net run rate. Cricket fans and former cricketers congratulated Punjab Kings on the win and also shoed dissent on KKR's playing XI today.
Here are some of finest Twitter reactions between PBKSvsKKR match:
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