IPL 2021: Captain Rahul inspires Punjab to 5-wicket win over KKR
Chris Gayle misses out for Punjab while KKR has brought in Tim Seifert replacing Lockie Ferguson
Chris Gayle misses out for Punjab while KKR has brought in Tim Seifert replacing Lockie Ferguson
Chris Gayle misses out for Punjab while KKR has brought in Tim Seifert replacing Lockie Ferguson
Dubai: KL Rahul scored 67 to inspire Punjab Kings to a five-wicket win over KKR in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
Chasing KKR's total of 165/7, Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave Punjab a steady start. After Agarwal's dismissal for 40 off 27 with the score reading 70/1, Rahul took charge, only to err in the final over when four runs were required off as many balls.
His attempt to clear the boundary resulted in a catch, but Shahrukh Khan got his side over the line with a six with three balls to spare.
Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer hit a fluent 67 while Nitish Rana produced a fiery 31 off 18 balls before Punjab Kings managed to stop Kolkata Knight Riders at 165 for seven.
Invited to bat, the in-form KKR batsmen controlled the proceedings for a major part of their innings and had it not been some excellent death over spells by Mohammed Shami (1/23) and Arshdeep Singh (3/32), KKR would have got a bigger score on the board.
Iyer and Tripathi (34 off 26 balls) raised a 72-run stand, stroking the ball around with ease. Rana's cameo was also crucial for KKR.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep has been a top performer for the Punjab side this season and he delivered again by cleaning up Shubhman Gill (7) with a peach of delivery that breached the defence of the batsman in the third over.
Iyer, who has been a revelation this season, continued his good run with some fluent drives on both sides of the wicket despite that the ball was stopping a bit before coming on to the bat.
The batsmen's positive approach and lack of control over the line by the Punjab pacers meant that run-rate kept soaring for KKR.
The partnership was finally broken by spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who had Tripathi caught in the deep. The leg-spinner was also economical ending with figures of two for 22 in four overs.
Iyer completed his fifty with a single off Allen and then lofted the West Indian bowler for a six to raise team's hundred in the 13th over.
Two quick wickets fell when Bishnoi got rid of Iyer, who went for a big shot, and Shami trapped rival skipper Eoin Morgan (2), who shuffled a bit towards the off side but missed the line of the dipping ball, catching him in front of the wicket.