IPL unfurled its next leg and with it came a new venue in the form of the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The venue hosted its maiden IPL match as bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders took (KKR) on Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Toss And Team News
KKR won the toss and sent PBKS into bat first. Both the teams came into this match without any changes in their playing eleven.
KKR restrict PBKS to a paltry total
KL Rahul (19) and Mayank Agarwal (31) were met with uptight bowling upfront by Shivam Mavi (1-13) and Pat Cummins (2-31). The opening pair struggled for runs which led to the skipper accelerating in the final over of the powerplay. Following a six, Rahul aimed for one more off Cummins which led to his departure.
Shivam Mavi bowled four on the trot and was rewarded with the wicket of Chris Gayle (0) in the final over of his spell. The Universe Boss recorded only his second golden duck of his IPL career.
PBKS lost 5 wickets in the middle overs and struggled to get a flow in the innings. Spinners Sunil Narine (2-22) and Varun Chakravarthy (1-24) bowled 8 tight overs of spin between them.
Prasidh Krishna (1-31) after claiming the wicket of Deepak Hooda (1) earlier in the innings came back to clean up the tail. Chris Jordan (30) played a vital cameo to push PBKS to 123-9.
KKR snap out of losing streak
Nitish Rana (0) fell for a first-ball duck off to a Moises Henriques (1-5) full toss and Shubman Gill’s (9) torrid form continued after being trapped in front by Mohammad Shami (1-25).
An exceptional catch by Ravi Bishnoi (0-19) sealed Sunil Narine’s four-ball stay. Rahul Tripathi (41) had a close shave as a dive saved him from a Chris Gayle direct hit.
Being in trouble at 17-3 in the third over, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan (47) restored the chase with a 66-run partnership.
Despite the tight spells by Shami and Bishnoi coupled with wickets towards the end, KKR were able to cruise to the target with 20 balls to spare.
Brief Scorecard:
PBKS 123-9 (20 overs) (M.Agarwal 31; P.Krishna 3-31)
KKR 126-5 (16.4 overs) (E.Morgan 47*; M.Shami 1-25)
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