The game went into the final over, but Punjab Kings (PBKS) held their nerve and edged out Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in Match 45 of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Dubai on Friday.
In the chase, Mayank Agarwal got an early reprieve as KKR captain Eoin Morgan dropped a catch off Tim Southee. Mayank then made KKR pay for that reprieve and creamed three fours and two sixes during powerplay as he and KL Rahul guided PBKS to 46-0 in the powerplay.
The pair completed a fifty-run stand in the seventh over. But KKR managed to break the opening act as Varun Chakaravathy dismissed Mayank for 40 in the ninth over.
While Nicholas Pooran, who replaced Mayank in the middle, got a life in the 10th over, the left-hander got out in the next over bowled Chakaravarthy.
KL Rahul, who brought up yet another IPL fifty, and Aiden Markram then took PBKS past 120 after the end of 15 overs. But KKR struck back, snapping up two PBKS wickets in the next two overs. While Narine had the better of Markram, Shivam Mavi dismissed Deepak Hooda.
Venkatesh Iyer then almost pulled off an incredible catch near the ropes but could not manage to toss the ball up sufficiently to complete the catch as Shahrukh Khan hit a second-ball six. Shahrukh then creamed a four in the next over.
Rahul hit two fours in the penultimate over but got out for 67 in the final over. Shahrukh then sealed a win for PBKS after Rahul Tripathi could not complete a difficult catch.
Earlier, KKR made two changes to their team, bringing in Tim Seifert and Shivam Mavi in place of Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi while PBKS, who elected to bowl, brought in Mayank Agarwal, Fabian Allen and Shahrukh Khan, replacing Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle and Harpreet Brar.
KKR made a brisk start as Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer scored 17 runs in the first two overs. However, Gill got out in the third over after Arshdeep Singh let one through his defence to disturb the timber.
Iyer and Rahul Tripathi then kept the scorecard ticking and took KKR past fifty in the seventh over. The two cashed in on every scoring opportunity and completed a brisk fifty-run stand in the 9th over.
While Tripathi creamed two fours of Nathan Ellis in the 11th over, the right-hander got out in the next over as Ravi Bishnoi had the KKR batsman caught in the deep.
Iyer then notched up his second fifty of the season as KKR moved past hundred in the 13th over. Two overs later though, Iyer’s fine knock came to an end as he got out for 67 off Bishnoi.
Mohammad Shami then got Morgan out LBW in the 16th over. Nitish Rana, meanwhile, played an 18-ball 31-run cameo, hitting two fours and two sixes.
But PBKS managed to keep things tight in the last two overs, conceding just 14 runs and limited KKR to 165-7. (IPL)
