A change in venue has done the trick for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have ended their 4-match losing streak in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a 5-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS). Playing their first match of the season in Ahmedabad, Kolkata managed to put up a team performance as Eoin Morgan led from the front, hitting an unbeaten 47, which helped to chase down the target of 124 runs in just 16.4 overs.
Chasing a below-par total, KKR witnesses a horrifying start as they lost their openers, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill in the first couple of overs. The experiment to send Sunil Narine at no.4 also failed as he departed owing to a brilliant running catch taken by Ravi Bishnoi. Kolkata Knight Riders were reeling at 17 for 3 in the powerplay but Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi steadied the ship with some attacking batting and put the pressure right back on Punjab Kings.
WATCH – Ravi Bishnoi Takes A Blinder At Boundary To Send Back Sunil Narine
Morgan and Tripathi made a partnership of 69 runs for the 4th wicket as batting became easy because of the late evening drew. Tripathi played a phenomenal knock of a 32-ball 41, which included 7 boundaries as he put Kolkata in a winning position before departing in the 11th over. Andre Russell walked into bat as early as the 15th over but was dismissed by Ashdeep Singh’s brilliant throw. However, Morgan made sure Kolkata reached the finish line without any further hiccups as he remained unbeaten.
Earlier in the day, Eoin Morgan was brilliant with his captaincy and decided to consume 4 overs of the young fast bowler, Shivam Mavi early in the innings and that choked the run flow in the powerplay. Punjab Kings lost KL Rahul and Chris Gayle in quick succession and they never managed to get their rhythm back as Pat Cummins and Mavi struck crucial early blows.
Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran made an attempt of rescuing the PBKS after Deepak Hooda fell to Prasidh Krishna but Kolkata Knight Riders spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy were too hot to handle for the PBKS batsmen. Agarwal fell for a 32-ball 31 while Pooran departed for 14 as Chakravarthy and Narine struck in the middle-overs.
WATCH – Rahul Tripathi’s Fine Catch Dismissed Mayank Agarwal
All-rounder Moises Henriques lost his wicket after a beautiful delivery by Narine after which Shahrukh Khan tried to provide some late fireworks. However, the latter fell on the score of 13 with Prasidh Krishna taking another crucial wicket. Thanks to a late cameo (18-ball 30) from Chris Jordan, Punjab Kings managed to post in excess of 100. Krishna picked up Jordan in the final over despite conceding two sixes to make sure Punjab did not make the most of the final burst.
A comfortable 5 wickets win for @KKRiders as they finish the job with 20 balls to spare. With this performance against #PBKS, #KKR's four-match losing streak comes to an end. https://t.co/sBoaBIpF2J #PBKSvKKR #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/7ZgBzU7MCO
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
2⃣ MORE POINTS ON THE BOARD 🙌
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2021
"We'll try working harder and harder to get the two points!" – @klrahul11 #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #IPL2021 #PBKSvKKR
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1386716765141422083?s=20
Yes boy, run around the whole damn field!! You deserve to Ravi Bisnoi 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) April 26, 2021
Brilliant knock from Captain Morgan, came when KKR was 17 for 3 from 3 overs while chasing 124 runs and the he scored 47* runs from 40 balls including 4 fours & 2 sixes – he and Tripathi added 66 runs for the 4th wicket. #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/qDNc0iSgMa
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 26, 2021
Nice to see #EoinMorgan bat till the end and winning the game for @KKR. Also, quick fire contribution from #RahulTripathi. #KKRvPBKS #IPL2021
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) April 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/pathy0251997/status/1386737048283877378?s=20
