MATCH REPORT
Follow UsPunjab Kings ensured that they kept their Top 4 hopes alive as the KL Rahul-led side beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets to register their fifth win of the season and go fifth, overtaking Mumbai. On a relatively flat Dubai wicket, KKR put up an under-par total of 165, and the target was chased down rather nervously by the Kings, who had valuable hands from Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Shahrukh Khan take them over the finish line.
Shubman Gill’s lean-run continues but Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer continue to impress
Shubman Gill entered the contest with scores of 13, 9 and 30 under his belt, not living up to the promise he showed in the first game post restart, against RCB, and his middling campaign continued in Dubai. 7 runs was all the 22-year-old could manage, before he was cleaned up by a peach of an inswinger by the ever-so-impressive Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep, in the third over of the match, produced a perfect set-up to dismiss Gill as he bowled a series of balls that left the right-hander before bringing one back in.
That would, however, end up being the only wicket Punjab would take in the first 10 overs. The demise of Gill did not curtail the aggression of Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi, who batted with the same fearlessness they’d shown in the previous four encounters. Iyer passed his test versus spin with flying colours, while Tripathi kept himself busy throughout the first half of the game. For Punjab, Shami and Arshdeep were impressive, but it was an underwhelming showing with the ball from the returning Fabian Allen, who conceded 27 off his 3 overs in this phase, taking no wickets. Replacing Gayle in the playing XI, Allen took the new ball, but the left-armer was able to pose no threat whatsoever.
Bishnoi, Arshdeep, Shami pull things back for Punjab
At 88/1 after 11 overs, with two set batters at the crease, KKR looked on course to posting a 180+ score. They’d also added an extra batsman to the XI in the form of Tim Seifert, so a daunting total looked inevitable. However, the Punjab Kings pulled things back astonishingly in the second half, courtesy their seamers and Ravi Bishnoi.
The young leg-spinner, in the span of two overs, dismissed both Tripathi and Iyer, after which it was the Shami-Arshdeep show.
Between them, in the last five overs, Shami and Arshdeep returned figures of 3/28 at the death, choking the KKR batters with some exceptional death bowling. The duo nailed their yorkers, and in particular it was a performance of authority from Shami, who did remarkably well to recover from the horror showing against Mumbai in PBKS’ last encounter.
Rana (31 off 18) was the only batter who was able to find any rhythm, and eventually KKR finished on 165/7.
Mayank and Rahul lay the platform for Punjab - yet again
Death, taxes and Rahul-Agarwal laying a solid foundation for Punjab. Some things never change. Doesn’t matter what country, venue or opposition.
In the absence of Universe Boss Chris Gayle, it was imperative for Rahul and Agarwal to lay a solid platform and that’s exactly what the two Karnataka boys did. They ensured that PBKS lost no wickets inside the powerplay and played trademark ‘attritional’ cricket. There was certainly no explosion, but the duo kept the runs ticking.
And of course, in their own fashion. While Agarwal was the aggressor, Rahul occupied the crease and motored along at just about run-a-ball. They put together yet another fifty-run stand and almost took Punjab to the halfway stage unscathed, with Agarwal eventually perishing in the ninth over off the bowling of Varun Chakravarthy.
From a KKR perspective, it was an underwhelming showing up-front from their seamers, in particular Tim Southee. The experienced campaigner conceded 19 off the 2 overs he bowled and proved to be easy picking for the batters. It was the spinners who yet again cleaned up the mess created by the quicker bowlers.
Nervy Rahul and explosive SRK take Punjab over the line
Punjab were well and truly in the driver’s seat on a flat-wicket at the halfway stage, but with the Kings, nothing is ever easy or straightforward. And once again they almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, only to be aided by some substandard fielding from the Knight Riders, who helped the Kings get over the line.
Skipper Rahul, despite batting slow, ensured to stay put and the crease, and PBKS’ plan was to let the other batters explode around him. Pooran and Markram did a half-baked job, combinedly scoring 30 off 23 balls, while Deepak Hooda perished for just 3 off 4 balls. But it was the returning Shahrukh Khan who would prove to be the difference in the chase.
Walking in with Punjab needing 32 off 21, the Tamil Nadu star played a near-perfect cameo to down the Knight Riders. He struck a six on just his second ball, and kept finding the boundaries just when the side needed. Together he put together a match-winning 28-run stand with skipper Rahul, finishing on just 22* off 9 balls.
Rahul eventually perished on the final over, for 67 (55), but just when panic was about to set in, Shahrukh Khan smashed a six on the third ball off the final over to finish things off. The six was enabled by a drop catch from Rahul Tripathi, and that pretty much summed up the match.