Russell, Rinku Give KKR Another Dramatic Finish

Kolkata Knight Riders secured a last-ball victory over Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, thanks to the combined efforts of Varun Chakravarthy’s economical bowling, Nitish Rana’s half-century, and quickfire contributions from Jason Roy, Andre Russell, and Rinku Singh.

With this hard-fought five-wicket triumph on Monday, KKR clinched their fifth win of the season, elevating them to fifth place on the points table.

The match began on an entertaining note as Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh launched a blistering attack on KKR’s bowlers during the Powerplay.

They displayed no hesitation in coming out of their crease and playing lofted shots.

Vaibhav Arora bore the brunt of Prabhsimran’s assault, conceding three boundaries in the first over, while Dhawan dispatched Harshit Rana to the boundary twice in the first three deliveries.

However, their early onslaught was short-lived as KKR picked up a flurry of wickets.

Although the visitors amassed 58 runs in the Powerplay, they lost the wickets of Prabhsimran, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Liam Livingstone in the process.

Varun Chakravarthy set the tone early on, dismissing Livingstone leg before in the Powerplay itself.

The pitch was sluggish and favored spin bowling, which made it challenging for the Punjab Kings batsmen to score freely against Sunil Narine and Suyash Sharma.

The early wickets had also curbed Dhawan’s aggressive intent as he aimed to steady the innings with Jitesh Sharma.

The pair kept the scoreboard ticking by rotating the strike efficiently and capitalizing on the rare opportunities that came their way.

Dhawan guided a tossed up delivery from Chakravarthy to the boundary, while Jitesh dispatched a half-tracker from Suyash for a six.

Just as Jitesh and Dhawan began to accelerate the scoring rate by hitting a flurry of boundaries off Suyash and Narine around the halfway mark of the innings, Jitesh was caught behind off Chakravarthy’s bowling.

Dhawan reached his fifty by top-edging a sweep shot off Narine for a six but perished a few deliveries later, miscuing a lofted shot off Nitish Rana’s bowling to long on.

The run rate was stemmed, and a couple of further wickets fell – Chakravarthy dismantled Rishi Dhawan’s stumps, while Suyash dismissed Sam Curran caught behind.

By the end of the 18th over, PBKS could only manage 143 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

In a desperate bid to add some vital runs, Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar went on the attack, fearlessly swinging their bats and often putting the inexperienced pair of Harshit and Vaibhav off their lines and lengths.

Some shots were edged for boundaries, while others found the sweet spot of the bat.

The duo managed to accumulate 36 runs in the final two overs, enabling the visitors to post a competitive total.

In stark contrast to PBKS, KKR’s openers played with more restraint and caution.

The two fluent stroke-makers, Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, were watchful yet opportunistic in their approach.

While Rishi Dhawan provided a few chances for Roy to score boundaries in the third over, Gurbaz used his natural flair to play a pick-up shot off Arshdeep for a six, followed by two well-struck boundaries.

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इंडिया नॅशनल क्रिकेट टीम

However, Gurbaz was adjudged leg before wicket after failing to connect with a slow yorker by Nathan Ellis.

Nevertheless, a couple of boundaries off Sam Curran helped KKR amass 52 runs for the loss of one wicket by the end of the powerplay.

A cat-and-mouse game ensued in the middle overs, with Rahul Chahar doing an admirable job in restricting the scoring rate, particularly with Venkatesh Iyer struggling to get going.

However, KKR targeted Livingstone, with Roy smacking a couple of boundaries to end the spinner’s first over, while Rana took him on in his second over, hitting two boundaries and a six.

In between those five deliveries, there were three tight overs, including Roy’s dismissal – caught slogsweeping to deep mid-wicket.

Iyer also found it difficult to score freely and could only manage 11 runs off 13 balls before perishing to a catch at long on.

The subsequent tight overs pegged back the hosts, with KKR reaching 129 for the loss of four wickets after 16 overs.

Andre Russell, who came out to bat in the 14th over, appeared rusty and struggled to get going initially.

He even received a fortunate boundary off a top edge against Nathan Ellis to kickstart his innings.

Although the PBKS pacers’ plan to bowl short or yorker deliveries to Russell was working, the West Indian all-rounder capitalized on the variations and occasional loose balls to hit boundaries.

He dispatched Ellis’s slower delivery and Arshdeep’s full toss for boundaries.

In the 19th over, Russell went on the rampage against Sam Curran, smashing three consecutive sixes – one off a yorker, another off a shorter delivery, and the third off a slower bouncer.

With 20 runs off the over, KKR required just six runs off the final over to seal the victory.