Shikhar Dhawan, captain of the Punjab Kings, won the toss and chose to bat first at Eden Gardens. Despite losing Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Liam Livingstone during that time, they managed to score 58 runs while on the power play. Then, in the middle over, Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma put up a 53-run partnership for the third wicket, securing the a good score for Punjab in the KKR vs PBKS faceoff.
Dhawan defeated Nitish Rana of the KKR after scoring 57 out of 47. Up until the final two overs, when Shahrukh and Harpreet Brar significantly boosted PBKS’s performance, they had trouble building momentum. PBKS scored 179/7 after scoring 36 runs in those two overs, 21 of which came off the final one.
Brar had a score of 17 off 9, while Shahrukh had an unbeaten 21 off 8 score. In response, KKR struggled to get enough momentum throughout the powerplay, and as a result, they now need more than 50 runs to win in the final five overs. With three sixes in the 19th over, Andre Russell reversed the situation. Arshdeep Singh ensured that it came down to the final ball even though KKR suddenly only needed six to win off the last over. After that, Rinku Singh struck a four to help KKR cross the finish line.
Also read, Abdul Samad’s last-ball six propels SRH to nail-biting win over RR.
KKR vs PBKS helps Kolkata move up in the table:
The victory, Kolkata’s fifth of the IPL 2023 season, allowed them to move up to the fifth slot on the standings. On the other side, Punjab lost their sixth game of the season and are now ranked seventh after 11 games.
Rinku Singh, known as “the finisher,” once again remained composed under pressure, smashing Arshdeep Singh for a boundary to end the tight chase with two required off the final ball.
KKR put up a perfect “RRR” performance as Rinku ended the game with a 10-ball-21 not out thanks to skipper Rana’s fifty and Andre Russell adding muscle to the chase of 180.
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