The struggling Punjab Kings took on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 42nd Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) match at the legendary Eden Gardens venue in Kolkata. The visitors, who prevailed in today’s crucial match, chose to field first in the hopes that the dew would help them in the second innings.
With Dushmantha Chameera taking his place, the only significant alteration for the Kolkata Knight Riders was the absence of marquee signing Mitchell Starc due to a minor ailment. As opposed to Liam Livingstone and Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Punjab Kings added Rahul Chahar and Jonny Bairstow back to the squad.
Powerplay: 76/0 KKR (Initial Strategic Time Out)
Once again, the openers for the Kolkata Knight Riders adopted an aggressive strategy. In the third over, Harpreet Brar missed a chance for Punjab Kings to dismiss Sunil Narine. Eventually, in the sixth over, captain Sam Curran missed a sitter as well as the opportunity to dismiss Phil Salt. After scoring 76 runs in the first six overs, the hosts concluded the power play on a high note.
Intermediate Overs: 169/2; KKR; Second Strategic Time Out
Punjab Kings had the opportunity to eliminate Salt once more, but in the seventh over, Kagiso Rabada made the customary catch. Within 8 overs, the hosts reached 100 and appeared to have the building blocks for a massive total. After reaching fifty in quick succession, the openers sought to turn their knock into a major one.
Also read: IPL 2024 Match 42 between KKR and PBKS: Why aren’t Mitchell Starc and Liam Livingstone participating?
The visitors finally got a wicket when Rahul Chahar removed the belligerent Sunil Narine, with Jonny Bairstow making the simple catch. In the thirteenth over, Salt persisted in his aggressive approach, but Sam Curran sent him back. Andre Russell, a West Indies all-rounder, joined Venkatesh Iyer at the crease to advance the innings.
The Kolkata Knight Riders reach 200 in 15.2 overs.
The two were able to bat with the identical strategy that the openers had used. There was not a single bowler left unscathed today, and as the last overs approached, the hosts appeared well-positioned to surpass 275. Powerhouse Russell made a catch in the 16th over, but Jitesh Sharma let go of it. But on the very next throw, Russell erred on a brief delivery, and Harshal Patel caught him.
At the completion of the 20 overs, the KKR is 261/6.
In the final overs, Shreyas Iyer unexpectedly chose to bat first. Depending on how the match was going, they might have sent the power hitters over him. However, the decision proved successful, as both Iyers were quickly identifying their boundaries. After dismissing Shreyas Iyer, who had amassed 28 off 10 balls, Arshdeep claimed another wicket. After 20 overs, the team scored a whopping 261/6 thanks to the dismissal of Rinku Singh by Harshal Patel in the last over.
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