Punjab Kings beats Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Monday, April, 26.
Toss: KKR VS PKBS
Sam Curran (PKBS) won the toss and decided to bowl first against Shreyas Iyer (KKR).
Salt, Narine great start for KKR
KKR batted first after losing the toss. They started strongly with their openers putting them in a great position. Phil Salt scored 75 runs off 37 balls with 6 fours and 6 sixes, playing exceptionally well, but he was eventually dismissed by Sam Curran, an important wicket for PKBS’ skipper. Sunil Narine was also playing really well, scoring 71 runs off just 32 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes but was later dismissed by Rahul Chahar.
The rest of the team, Venkatesh Iyer scored 39 runs off 23 balls, Andre Russell scored 24 runs off 12 balls, Shreyas Iyer scored 28 runs off 10 balls, Rinku Singh scored 5 runs off 4 balls, and Rama Deep scored 6* off 3 balls. Kolkata scored 261 runs, the highest target ever for Eden Garden Stadium.
Punjab King’s amazing chase against KKR
In the chase, PKBs were dominant right from the beginning. Prabhsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow started confidently, but unfortunately, Prabhsimran was run out by Sunil Narine at a score of 54 off 20 balls, with 4 fours and 5 sixes, which gave hope to his team to chase down the target.
However, Jonny Bairstow played an unbelievable knock, remaining unbeaten at 108* off 48 balls 8 fours and 9 sixes, and was like a rock for his team. Rilee Rossouw also played well, scoring 26 off 16 with 2 sixes and 1 four. Shashank Singh’s unbeaten 68* off 28 balls, which included 2 fours and 8 sixes, was an amazing knock and helped PKBs chase down the target of 262 in just 18.4 overs, marking the highest successful chase in all T20 cricket history.
PBKS’ Shashank: “When I was in the dug-out, I was just watching the behavior of the pitch, felt it was coming on nicely with good bounce. Just backed myself to hit the other bowlers, and was happy to take the singles and doubles off Narine, we wanted to play him out. He has given me complete freedom (on coach Trevor Bayliss), and has told me to play the way I can. A big positive when Jonny (Bairstow) supports you (from the other end), he has played 100 Test matches and to see him clap for you, you’ll feel happy and vindicated. We still have 5 matches to go, we’ll take it one match at a time and I believe that we can still qualify for the playoffs.”
This match also recorded the highest number of six hits in any T20 match ever.
POTM: KKR VS PBKS
Jonny Bairstow was named Player of the Match for his majestic unbeaten century of 108* off just 48 balls.
Jonny Bairstow said: “We got off to a good start. That was the key. They got off to a good start as well thanks to Sunil. You have to take risks. Sometimes luck will go your way. Some days it won’t be your day. Tried to whack it as far as possible. If it is in your area, you have to go. We had a couple of quiet overs when it was Sunil was bowling as we knew how important he was to them. Shashank Singh is a special player. The knowledge he has had has been amazing. How cleanly he hit it! Was indeed very special.”
PBKS skipper Curran: “Very pleasing. Most importantly the win. Cricket is turning into baseball. We have had a few tough weeks. But we hung in there. The way guys train. The confidence and the coaches. The small grounds and the dew. The reviews might give you an extra ball. We hung in there and managed to chase it down with balls to spare. Pleased for Johnny. What an amazing knock. Shashank Singh has been the find of the tournament for us. Asutosh as well. Proud of everyone.”
KKR captain Shreyas: “I would have (taken 260 at the start of the day). The way the batters batted was tremendous to see, Sunny coming in.. the way Salt batted, they delivered and it was a treat for the eyes. Both the teams played tremendously, one of those games where you go back to the drawing board and see where it went wrong especially not being able to defend 260. We have to sum up the conditions and come up with better ideas. It is brilliant to see him (Narine) go out there and strike the ball, hopefully, he keeps continuing with such performances.”
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