Once again, Rinku Singh held his nerves in a last-ball thriller to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a five-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens on May 8. In slog overs, Rinku had support from Andre Russell returned to his usual self and mesmerised Kolkata crowd with scintillating hits in his 23-ball 42 to take the run chase deep. Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant last over but in the end Rinku was able to outsmart him to earn two crucial points for his side.Β
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KKR's run chase got off to a steady start as Jason Roy found a few boundaries in the first three overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit Arshdeep Singh for a six and a four. The left-arm pacer conceded 16 runs in his second over. Impact player Nathan Ellis bowled a back of the hand delivery to trap Gurbaz in front of the stumps. The Afghan wicketkeeper-batter scored 15 runs from 12 balls. Sam Curran was expensive in his first over as he conceded 13 runs. KKR had 52/1 on the board after six overs.
Roy punished Liam Livingstone with two fours in his first over. Harpreet Brar got the better of English opener as the mistimed sweep landed in deep mid-wicket fielder's hands. Brar scored 38 runs from 24 balls including eight fours. After two quiet overs, KKR were 76/2 at halfway stage. Livingstone was brought back into the attack and Nitish hit him for two fours and a six in the 16-run over. Nitish kept the required run rate in check with two fours off Curran. Venkatesh Iyer struggled to score in the middle. He got dismissed by Rahul Chahar. Iyer scored 11 runs from 13 balls.
Russell got into his groove with a four off Ellis. In the 15th over, Nitish got to his half-century from 37 deliveries. But Chahar got the big wicket next ball. The left-handed batter scored 51 runs from 38 balls including six fours and one six. Chahar conceded just 23 runs from his quota of four overs and picked up two wickets. Ellis' last over turned out to be an expensive one. Rinku hit Ellis for a six as he flicked one off his pads. Ellis conceded 15 runs in his final over. Arshdeep conceded two fours in the 18th over. In the final two overs, KKR needed 26 runs. Russell went ballistic and hit Curran for three sixes. Arshdeep bowled the final over as he had the responsibility to defend just six runs.
Arshdeep started off with a bouncer which missed Russell's bat. Arshdeep pitched the next one full and wide off which Russell could manage just a single. Arshdeep bowled a full toss on Rinku's pads but he could take just one single. Arshdeep bowled another one wide and full but this time Russell hit it over covers for a couple of runs. Next ball, Arshdeep beat Russell who scampered for a single and got run out. Rinku needed two runs off last ball and he finished the match with a boundary towards fine leg.Β
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Earlier, Dhawan won the toss and opted to bat first. Prabhsimran Singh attacked from the first over with three fours off Vaibhav Arora. In the second over, Shikhar Dhawan hit Harshit Rana for two fours. Prabhsimran's stay at the crease was short-lived as he got dismissed by Harshit. In his next over, Harshit got Bhanuka Rajapaksa for a three-ball duck on his return to the side. Russell erred in his first over and conceded 19 runs. Liam Livingstone got off to a good start with three consecutive fours. Varun Chakaravarthy trapped Livingstone in front of the stumps. The English hard-hitter scored 15 runs from nine balls. After powerplay overs, PBKS were 58/3.
Jitesh Sharma joined Shikhar in the middle but could not take off straightaway. PBKS were 82/3 after 10 overs. Jitesh hit his first six off leg-spinner Suyash Sharma for two sixes. Chakaravarthy broke the partnership in the 13th over. Jitesh scored 21 runs from 18 balls including two sixes. In the 14th over, Shikhar got to his half-century from 41 deliveries. It was his 50th IPL fifty. Nitish introduced himself into the attack and got the wicket of Shikhar who scored 57 runs from 47 balls including nine fours and one six.Β
Rishi got a promotion up the order. He contributed with an 11-ball 19 cameo. Chakaravarthy got Rishi's wicket in the 17th over. Curran struggled to score and lost his wicket to Suyash in the 18th over. The English all-rounder scored just four runs from nine balls. In the penultimate over, Brar and Shahrukh Khan went after Arora who conceded 15 runs in the over. In the final over, Shahrukh took Harshit to the cleaners. He smashed him for a six and two fours. Then Brar hit him for a six off the penultimate delivery. Brar's 9-ball 17 and Shahrukh's 8-ball 21 helped PBKS post 179/7.
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