Taking wing: Man-of-the-Match Arshdeep Singh bowled a high-quality spell to maintain the Knight Riders in examine.
| Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy
The rain got here as an uninvited visitor, killed a gripping contest and handed host Punjab Kings a seven-run win (DRS methodology) over Kolkata Knight Riders within the Indian Premier League on the I.S. Bindra Stadium right here on Saturday.
Chasing 192, Knight Riders had clawed again to launch a closing assault on the goal when heavy rain stopped play on the finish of the sixteenth over. Knight Riders, who have been 146 for seven on the time of stoppage, was behind the DLS par rating by seven runs.
Early blows
After Arshdeep Singh dealt early blows, Andre Russell (35) and Impact Player Venkatesh Iyer (34) revived a hopeless chase with a quickfire stand of fifty runs for the sixth wicket But the lack of each the batters in fast succession put paid to Knight Riders’ hopes.
In hindsight, the 23-minute delay because of the malfunctioning of sunshine towers at first damage Knight Riders’ chase.
Earlier, put in, Punjab Kings acquired off to a rollicking begin with opener Prabhsimran Singh setting the early tempo with a nonchalant flick over square-leg for six off Umesh Yadav. Tim Southee’s erring line was additionally punished as Prabhsimran clattered a few boundaries and hoisted a six earlier than edging a catch to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the identical over.
Smart cookie: Bhanuka Rajapaksa blended aggression with finesse in his 32-ball 50.
| Photo Credit:
R.V. Moorthy
Bhanuka Rajapaksa continued the carnage, stepping out thrice to loft Sunil Narine for 2 boundaries and a six within the leg-spinner’s first over within the PowerPlay. While Shikar Dhawan dropped anchor, Bhanuka attacked the bowling and Shardul Thakur bore the brunt of his forcing strokes.
The Sri Lankan accomplished his 50 off 30 balls earlier than holing out to long-on off Umesh Yadav.
Late flourish
Varun Chakravarthy’s strangulating spell within the second half of the innings, throughout which he cleaned up Dhawan (40), slowed down the scoring. But a late flourish from Sam Curran (21 not out) and Shahrukh Khan (11 not out) noticed Kings end with what proved a match-winning whole.
