It was another last-ball thriller in IPL 2023 on Monday. Rinku Singh Another bright chapter was added to his legend as the “finisher” who hit a last-ball boundary as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their IPL play-off hopes alive with a five-wicket win over Punjab Kings on Monday. It was a complete ‘RRR’ show by KKR as captain Nitish Ranahalf century and andre russell Adding muscle to chase down 180, Rinku finished the game with an unbeaten 21 off 10 balls. KKR has now moved up to the fifth position while PBKS is at the seventh position.
Orange Cap, Purple Cap
rcb captain Faf Du Plessis Leads the number of highest run-scorers with 511 runs in 10 matches. Three bowlers are tied on 19-19 wickets in the list of highest wicket-takers – GT duo Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan with CSK Tushar Deshpande,
Earlier, Varun Chakravarthy once again brilliantly held his bowling department to account for 3/26 as KKR restricted PBKS to 179 for seven after opting to bat on a slow wicket.
In reply, KKR show batting show led by a brilliant effort from Rana as he promoted himself to No.3 and laid the foundation for a 38-ball 51 (6×4, 1×6).
On a wicket where the odd ball was gripping and the batsmen struggled to find their timing, Rana made a crucial fifty-plus stand. Venkatesh Iyer (11) First Andre Russell and Rinku Singh sealed the matter.
After Rana’s formation, 56 runs were needed in 28 balls. Rahul ChaharRussell went ballistic against, second victim of Sam Curran Hitting three sixes in four balls in a 20-run over to change the equation in KKR’s favour, who needed a six in the last over.
But death over specialist Arshdeep Singh, who had a six to defend, hit four boundaries off the first four deliveries. Arshdeep has often faltered due to failing his yorkers of late.
More drama followed when Russell was run out off the final ball as the cool-headed Rinku Singh (21 not out; 10b) once again came to KKR’s rescue and sealed the win with a four off the last ball.
The pair of Russell and Rinku made a match-winning partnership of 54 runs in 26 balls.
Their second consecutive win pushed KKR (-0.079) past Royal Challengers Bangalore (-0.209) into the top five on net run rate as five teams are locked in a mid-table rush for the playoffs with 10 points each.
Chahar bowled a brilliant 10th over and conceded just three runs to take them to 76/2 at the halfway stage as the home side still had a lot of work to do, needing 104 from the back-10.
But Rana turned it around, taking charge on Livingstone when he hit the PBKS part-time spinner for two fours and a six in his 16-run over.
It wasn’t easy as leg-spinner Rahul Chahar played his part quietly taking 4-0-23-2.
He not only broke the fifty-plus stand between Rana and Venkatesh Iyer but also dismissed both of them in a span of nine runs to keep PBKS’ hopes alive.
Earlier KKR Impact Player jason roy (38; 24b) and Rehmanullah Gurbaz (15; 12b) got him off to a brisk start as he made 36 without loss in four overs after Arshdeep Singh was clean bowled in the 16th over.
But the opening pair failed to convert their starts and were dismissed in 16 balls when the match was evenly poised.
Nathan Ellis Gurbaz managed to trap a slow LBW before falling victim to Roy Brar after failing to clear deep midwicket.
on a day Sunil Naren (4-0-29-0) was decent but went wicketless again, Chakraborty preferring the slow nature of the track where the odd ball resulted in excellent figures of 4-0-26-3 after PBKS opted to bat. Was catching up to return with.
It would have been worse for PBKS but for Shah Rukh Khan (21 not out; 8b) and Harpreet Brar (17 not out; 9b) carried it on brilliantly in the last two overs, getting 36 runs in an unbroken 40-run partnership off just 16 balls.
Fresh off his last-over heroics, Chakraborty removed the in-form Punjab duo while defending nine runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. liam livingstone And Jitesh Sharma His back seemed to have broken in the middle overs.
Livingstone looked at his destructive best, hitting Andre Russell for three fours in the fifth over.
Looking dangerous in his nine-ball 15, Livingstone was caught on his back-foot by a precise sharp leg-break from Chakravarthy.
Together Harshit Rana (3-0-33-2) After grabbing two inside the powerplay, KKR got off to a perfect start reducing PBKS to 58/3.
captain Shikhar Dhawan (57; 47b) anchored the show in A Virat KohliSimilar innings on day two against Delhi Capitals but the left-handed batsman could never get going and was dismissed by KKR skipper Nitish Rana.
Dhawan shared a 53-run partnership with Jitesh Sharma (21).
Rana cleverly cleaned up Chakravarthy once inside the powerplay and again in the 8th, 13th and 17th overs as soon as his quota was over. Rishi Dhawan with a wrong one.
Rishi (19; 11b) made it clear his intention to hit Chakravarthy for a six off the first ball but the KKR spinner had the last laugh.
On an Eden wicket that looked to be on the dry side from the outside, pacer Rana got KKR off to a perfect start, hitting three fours in the first over before Prabhasimran struck twice in two overs.
Gurbaj took the catch of Prabhasimran in the second attempt and Rana made a comeback in his next over. Bhanuka Rajapaksa for a three-ball duck.
However, things still tilted in favor of PBKS as in-form Liam Livingstone retaliated by hitting Andre Russell for three consecutive fours in the 19-run over.
PBKS looked on course with 51/2 after five overs when Chakravarthy trapped Livingstone plumb on his back-foot in a crucial turnaround for KKR.
topics covered in this article