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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets in the 2023 IPL match yesterday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Batting first after winning the toss, Punjab put on 179/7 on the board as skipper Shikhar Dhawan scored 57 off 47 balls. Into the chase, KKR captain Nitish Rana (51 of 38) came in for a half-century. Then Andre Russell (42 from 23) and Rinku Singh (21 * from 10) added 54 for the fifth wicket.
Once again, Rinku hits. With two last balls needed, the left-hander smashed the ball full force from Arshdeep Singh to the boundary, burrowing through the leg-side gap.
Chasing 180, KKR got off to a good start, hitting a 38 for fifth. The opening stand ended when Rehmanullah Gurbaz (15) was caught by a slower ball than Nathan Ellis that beat a flick. Jason Roy (38 of 24) looked in good shape again before sweeping a delivery from Harpreet Brar towards deep halfway.
KKR captain Rana took on Liam Livingston in the 11th, slapping him for four and six in a row. However, PBKS remained in the catch as Venkatesh Iyer (11 of 13) missed a googly off Rahul Chahar at long. Rana went on to complete a deserved 50 but fell immediately afterwards, fouling a substitution from Chahar.
The equation was down to 26 off 12 balls, but Russell used his muscles to hit Sam Curran for three sixes. He ran out of the penultimate delivery, with KKR still needing two. Then Renko’s calm boss lifted the team over the line.
Chakaravarthy three-fer restricts PBKS to 179/7
Bowling first after losing the toss, Kolkata did well by holding Punjab to 179/7. Leggie Varun Chakaravarthy emerged again with figures of 3/26.
PBKS got off to an attractive start as Prabhsimran Singh slapped Vaibhav Arora for three overs in the first over. Then Dhawan hit two edges in the second over Harshit Rana’s throw. However, the latter countered by catching Prabhsimran (12) behind him. Punjab’s opener attempted a leg-side volley but got a top edge, which was caught by goalkeeper Gurbaz on the second try.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa fell without scoring in the next Harshit, with Gurbaz completing a straight catch this time behind the wicket. Liam Livingston hit Russell for three straight runs in the fifth, which went for 19. The hitter’s aggressive stay was short-lived, though. He was trapped lbw by a broken leg of Chakaravarthy for 15 off 9 balls.
Jitesh Sharma took off with 21 from 18, but also holed one off Chakaravarthy. Dhawan, who was anchoring the Punjab innings, reached his 50th by sweeping Sunil Narine for an over.
The captain of the PBKS died soon after, and his number for Rana was mistaken for a long time. Rishi Dhawan (19 out of 11), SRK (21 * out of 8) and Harpreet Brar (17 * out of 9) then combined to elevate the team to a competitive tier.
KKR vs PBKS: Who won the MVP award in yesterday’s match IPL 2023?
Chakaravarthy, once again, shone with KKR with the ball. Punjab’s hat-trick stopped him from reaching a match-winning score. Russell was great with his big strokes, hitting three quarters and six sixes. Rana played the captain’s stroke, contributing a half century, while Renko again put on the finishing touches.
For PBKS, Dhawan scored a challenge fifty. With the ball, Liege Shahar smashed with figures of 2/23.
Russell was named man of the match for the decisive hit.
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