As it happened: IPL 2022 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
By Sidharth MongaRussel muscles KKR to win
Eight sixes in 31 balls to go with two fours, and mockery has been made of a precarious match situation of 51 for 4. KKR are home with 33 balls to spare. We leave you with a teaser from our final report. See you tomorrow.
Zero backward steps taken. Two of the most exciting sides in this IPL threw punch after punch at each other, but the toss disadvantage proved to be too much Punjab Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders. PBKS played the game KKR did two nights ago in an attempt to provide for the inevitable dew and chasing advantage: just keep going hard and refuse to rebuild until that is the last option left. It is a shame that just like for KKR, it didn’t work out for PBKS. They were bowled out for 137 with 10 balls to spare, a total KKR chased down in 14.3 overs despite being 51 for 4. Right from their team selection, KKR kept picking the aggressive option. They replaced a wicketkeeper-batter with a specialist bowler, went for wickets every time PBKS threatened to run away, bowled out their four main bowlers in the first 17 to try to bowl PBKS out, and then, at 51 for 4, a circumspect Andre Russell saw them through with 70 off 31.
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Game-breaking over?
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Jamiacan to Jamaica. Smith to Russell. Mind you, Russell has played out one bowler, and is still 44 off 21. Now they need only 29 off eight overs.
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Two sides of Russell
Two sixes off the fingerspin of Harpeeet Brar in the 10th over, but keeps the ball along the ground against the quick legspin of Rahul Chahar in the 11th. Clearly he wants to hit sixes but that's not all he can do. KKR 79 for 4 after 11.
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Chahar turns the game on its head
You could see Shreyas played an ambitious shot, but Chahar has trapped Nitish Rana right in front. Rana's toe comes in the way of his bat, and he misses the ball. It is a double-wicket maiden, which now leaves the chase to Sam Billings, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
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Shreyas gone too
Shreyas Iyer tries the big slog-sweep in Rahul Chahar's first over, and ends up skying it. KKR are not looking to knock it around for the win. Can they? Are they built to do that? It's 51 for 3 in the seventh over.
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Harpreet holds on to a rocket
Venkatesh Iyer hits Odean Smith hard and on the up, so hard that the ball nearly bursts out of the hands of Harpreet Brar at cover-point, but he latches on to the rebound to make it 38 for 2 in the fifth over. The way these sides are playing, this match won't last the distance.
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Rabada takes one early
In his first over for PBKS, Kagiso Rabada has Ajinkya Rahane caught at short third man off a wide length ball. Rahane just goes hard at it, and also Rabada gets good bounce. Rabada is having a great debut even though PBKS are up against it.
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And it's 137 all out
This is where the new rule makes a huge difference. Odean Smith couldn't get himself on strike just by crossing while the ball was in the air. Next ball he tried to steal a single, and Arshdeep is run out. PBKS have been bowled out with 10 balls to spare. This is exactly how KKR played against RCB, and were bowled out for 129. Let's see if we can get a close match just like that one.
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Rabada gets stuck in
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That's the 17th over. Kagiso Rabada couldn't put bat on ball when Varun Chakravarthy bowled the 16th over, but he has tucked into Southee's pace. Now Iyer has bowled out his big bowlers looking to bowel them out. So the last three have to be bowled by Shivam Mavi and Venkatesh Iyer. Or will Andre Russell bowl?
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8 Number of wickets Umesh Yadav has, at an average of 7.37 and economy rate of 5.05. He is leading the wickets tally
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Umesh has four
Shreyas asks Umesh to bowl out in the 15th over, looking for wickets obviously. Umesh produces that of Harpreet with an offcutter on top of off, and then Rahul Chahar with a short ball at his throat. This is turning out to be perfect for KKR. PBKS 102 for 8 in the 15th. Only Smith stands. Umesh has two balls left to see if he can take a five-for.
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Penultimate nail?
You can see why PBKS have he3ld back Odean Smith but the lack of runs and strike has frustrated Shahrukh Khan. He lashes at the first ball he faces from Tim Southee, and top-edges it for a catch. It's 92 for 6 now in the 13th over.
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Narine too good for Bawa
Finally a wicket to a defensive shot. It's the young Raj Angad Bawa, bowled by a ripping offbreak from Sunil Narine. Pitches middle and off, bowled top of off. Now it's 85 for 5 in 10 overs, and they have delayed the introduction of Odean Smith, the first backward step taken. It's unfortunate it has turned out this way because the way they have played is the way you have got to play in these conditions. Otherwise you are just hoping for the chasing side to slip up.
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Umesh does the business for Shreyas
If PBKS have been on all-out attack so have been KKR. They have picked an extra bowler, and they are not bowling any soft overs. Even after getting three wickets, the next two overs went to mystery spinners, and then came back the wicket-taker Umesh. And he does produce the wicket of Liam Livingstone, just not giving him a length full enough to hit a six down the ground. Caught at the edge of the long-off boundary. PBKS 78 for 4 in nine overs.
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Big hits, big wickets
This is proper box-office stuff. PBKS are not holding back even though the wickets are falling. To their credit, the KKR bowlers are also holding their nerve. Tim Southee has just got Shikhar Dhawan with an offcutter, edged behind to Sam Billings. However, PBKS have made their way to 62 for 3 in the powerplay. There is Liam Livingstone at the wicket. He is not going to hold back either. And PBKS do have to keep going to give themselves a chance later when the dew comes in.
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Carnage, then a wicket
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W
That's Shivam Mavi to Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the fourth over. Finally gets him with the short ball, caught at mid-off, for a whopping 31 off 9 balls
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Bonanza in US
In the USA, you can watch the match LIVE on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi.
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Umesh Yadav strikes early again
Two runs and the wicket of Mayank Agarwal in his first over. Umesh Yadav has been accurate, and has benn swinging the new ball. And this one is an outswinger that pitches and moves in a touch. Agarwal is caught right in front. Now he is averaging 5.2 and going at 3.71 an over in the Powerplay this IPL
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T20 Timeout
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KKR get their wish at the toss
Shreyas Iyer wins the toss and has no hesitation in choosing to chase. Umesh Yadav loved the conditions at the start of the tournament opener at Wankhede. KKR will be hoping for more of the same. And they have strengthened the bowling, bringing in Shivam Mavi for Sheldon Jackson. That means Sam Billings gets the big gloves.
PBKS have got some bowling boost too, with Kagiso Rabada walking straight into the side. This is PBKS debut. The player unfortunate to miss out is Sandeep Sharma.
The question now is, can PBKS find a way to win batting first at Wankhede?
Kolkata Knight Riders 1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt.), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Shivam Mavi, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab Kings 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt.), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Raj Bawa, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Odean Smith, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Kagiso Rabada.
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Hitting, hitting and more hitting
Match 8, we are back to Wankhede, and it's two teams that don't take a backward step. There is big hitting prowess aplenty between KKR and PBKS. Low-flying aircrafts better watch out. Toss soon
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