Highlights, IPL 2021, KKR vs PBKS Cricket Score: Rahul fifty helps Punjab beat Kolkata in thriller

KL Rahul, winning captain and PotM: A thriller, we’re getting used to this, I’ll take the two points.

I think we played it brilliantly, played it smartly. We recognised early that it was a decent wicket and we couldn’t experiment too much. We went defensive with the ball, because there wasn’t much spin. The bowlers wanted to make the batters hit to the bigger side, and they executed that plan really well. With the bat, we had clear roles to play, and we’re happy we got over the line.

I was obviously disappointed with getting out towards the end, I want to finish games. The weather’s not been too kind, coming from England into this is tough. 

Leaving Harpreet Brar out is one of the things that kill me as a captain. You don’t want to leave your young Indian boys out. I spoke to him with a heavy heart, because Chris has left the bubbble, so we had to make a few changes. We’re going to Sharjah in the next game though, so he’ll be handy there.

Shahrukh has been batting brilliantly at the nets, in the first phase of the IPL we saw how strong he is and how he can hit the ball. He’s worked well with the coaches, he’s been asking questions and he’s got a game where he can come in a little late and finish games.

The talk in the camp has been to not worry about results. We’ve been the bottom team in the last few years, so we want to prove ourselves. But at the same time, having that pressure to win on us is not helping. We want to go and do our best. We need to learn from our mistakes and handle pressure better.

Punjab Kings win by 5 wickets!

After 20 overs,Punjab Kings 168/5 ( Shahrukh Khan 22 , Fabian Allen 0)

Five runs needed from six balls. Venkatesh Iyer to bowl the last over. Incredible pressure on the young man, who has already done so much for his team, but who will be required to do even more. Single off the first delivery AND THEN RAHUL IS OUT!!! He’s hit that straight to long off, what a time for him to lose his wicket. Can Shahrukh get Punjab over the finish line? YES HE CAN!!! He was almost out too, as he hammered a shot over deep midwicket to a running Tripathi, who can’t take the catch and ends up accidentally propelling it over the boundary line for six! Punjab Kings remain alive in the league, after beating Kolkata by five wickets!

After 19 overs,Punjab Kings 161/4 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 67 , Shahrukh Khan 15)

15 needed off 12. Shivam Mavi to bowl the penultimate over. Horrible start, it’s a boundary, but it’s thanks to a pretty heavy edge off of Rahul’s bat! It zips past short third man’s left, and takes pretty much everyone by surprise. Dot on the second delivery. WHAT A CATCH! Wait, is that out? Bit tough to tell in the first replay, but the umpire seems to think it might not be legit, even though Tripathi is quite busy celebrating. It was a lovely diving catch, but it might have made the briefest of contact with the ground. We go upstairs for a decision. Rahul survives, that was not a clean take! There were only millimetres in that, and it takes quite a bit of deliberation to get to the final decision, really could have gone either way. Rahul remains on strike, he hadn’t quite crossed over. He takes a single. Another single, and then KL Rahul hits a lovely boundary, it’s sliced past backward point!

After 18 overs,Punjab Kings 151/4 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 58 , Shahrukh Khan 14)

Southee to bowl, and Rahul’s attempted ramp shot falls just between keeper and short fine leg! Both looked like they wanted to avoid crashing into each other as they sprinted to take the catch, and that second of hesitation was enough for both to miss a gilt-edged opportunity to wrap up the win. Two singles follow. FOUR! Hammered to deep extra cover by Shahrukh, and the fielder’s diving attempt is in vain. Two singles to end the over, 150 up for Punjab.

After 17 overs,Punjab Kings 142/4 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 55 , Shahrukh Khan 8)

Mavi to bowl his third over. Single to begin. Deepak Hooda now, he flicks in the general direction Iyer at deep backward square leg, who pulls off some lovely fielding to prevent two runs. Hooda tries a similar shot, and he manages to get some more power on it, but still not enough! It’s taken by Rahul Tripathi on the boundary line, lovely catch! Punjab looked poised to win this, but Kolkata are hanging on. Shahrukh on now, he runs a double to get off the mark. WOW, WHAT DRAMA! Shorter delivery, and it’s swatted for a pull nervously by Shahrukh. Iyer tries to pull off a leaping catch right on the boundary rope, and for a second it looks like he might have pulled it off, but in the end it’s just asking a bit too much from him, as he drops it onto the other side of the line.

After 16 overs,Punjab Kings 131/3 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 54 , Deepak Hooda 1)

Narine to bowl his last, Morgan really needs him to get a wicket here. Markram shows aggression on the first ball, coming down the pitch, but he fails to make contact with the ball. Next one is a wide. OH LORD, THAT’S MASSIVE! Smoked over midwicket by Aiden Markram for six, that was sent into the cheap seats! Another wide. Ah, Markram’s out! Tried to keep up the scoring, but failed to get enough power on his hit, and that’s taken by Shubman Gill at deep extra cover. Two singles and a dot to end the over, 10 from it.

After 15 overs,Punjab Kings 121/2 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 53 , Aiden Markram 12)

Six overs remaining, 57 runs needed. Markram hits straight down the ground and runs two. Markram miscues a shot, and the ball loops up into the air and comes back down right onto his head. Single follows. Wide. Slower ball, and it’s pulled for six with disdain by KL Rahul, he is looking good out there tonight and he brings up his fifty! Two singles to round out the over, 12 runs from it.

After 14 overs,Punjab Kings 109/2 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 46 , Aiden Markram 8)

Narine to bowl, can he take some off the pressure off of Kolkata with a wicket? Two singles to begin. The Punjab duo could be playing it safe in this over, knowing that KKR are a bit short on experienced bowlers thanks to the absence of Lockie Ferguson. Single, and then Makram is almost out, as he miscues a shot and a top edge almost makes the ball carry to a diving short third man. Close shave that for him. Three singles to end the over, six runs come from it. Time for a strategic timeout.

After 13 overs,Punjab Kings 103/2 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 43 , Aiden Markram 5)

A second over for Venkatesh Iyer, begins with a single. Two more singles follow. This is a very crucial over for KKR, they’ll be hoping for it to be relatively economical. Another single, and then KL Rahul swings a shot over deep midwicket for six. This was right in the slot, and it’s hit crisply! Single to end the over, 11 runs come from it, and it sees Punjab cross the 100-run mark.

After 12 overs,Punjab Kings 92/2 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 34 , Aiden Markram 3)

Nitish Rana’s turn to bowl. Begins with a double and a single. The run rate has crept up just a little bit over the last few overs, but probably not enough to bother Punjab too much. A well run double, and then the over ends with back-to-back singles. Will KL Rahul be looking to step on the gas over the next few overs?

After 11 overs,Punjab Kings 85/2 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 30 , Aiden Markram 0)

Chakravarthy to bowl his last over. He’s got the only wicket of the innings so far, can he sign off with another? Two singles to begin, before Pooran shows some real intent by hitting a maximum over the wide long on boundary! Can he really get going here? Well.. no. He’s out, he tried to go big again on the very next ball, but it has nowhere near enough power on it, and Mavi takes an easy catch at deep backward point. Chakravarthy has his second wicket of the night! Aiden Markram on now. Single, and then Markram tries to get off the mark with a single, but Rahul declines the run. Markram could have been run out in the mix up if the fielder had been a bit quicker.

After 10 overs,Punjab Kings 76/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 28 , Nicholas Pooran 5)

Sunil Narine’s back, and there’s another catch dropped, and this time the culprit is Rahul Tripathi! Pooran whacked it right to him at cover, but it came at him with some speed, and he couldn’t hold on. Pooran and Rahul run two. Single, dot and a single follow. Can Pooran and Rahul put something special together here? This match is like a four-pointer for Punjab, because a loss here would make playoff qualification close to impossible for them. Single and a dot to end the over.

After 9 overs,Punjab Kings 71/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 27 , Nicholas Pooran 1)

Chakravarthy’s third over, and it begins with a boundary, as KL Rahul moves his feet quickly and unleashes a ferocious drive for four. Three singles in a row, and then Chakravarthy strikes! Mayank Agarwal will be kicking himself, he drills it straight to cover and Eoin Morgan manages to hold on to it. Morgan will be glad to have made up for his earlier drop of Agarwal, but has his redemption come 69 runs too late? Nicholas Pooran on, and he gets off the mark with a single on the last ball.

After 8 overs,Punjab Kings 63/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 21 , Mayank Agarwal 39)

Venkatesh Iyer gets a go with the ball, can he add to his already sizeable contribution with the bat? Dot and a quickly run double to begin. Three singles follow. The scoreboard is ticking along at the moment, and the pair of Agarwal and Rahul seems assured out there. Iyer bowls a no-ball on the final delivery, and it’s a free-hit! Mayank Agarwal takes full advantage of it, as he lofts over extra cover and the ball sails over the boundary rope for six.

After 7 overs,Punjab Kings 51/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 17 , Mayank Agarwal 32)

Varun Chakravarthy continues. KL Rahul runs a single. Mayank does the same. KKR will be hoping for a wicket soon, they wouldn’t want these two to get well and truly settled. Two more singles, and the fifty run mark comes up for Punjab. Dot and a single to end the over, five runs from it.

After 6 overs,Punjab Kings 46/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 14 , Mayank Agarwal 31)

Sunil Narine in to bowl his first over of the evening. Single off the first. Mayank goes big on the second delivery, and it’s hit high into the night sky and over the bowler’s head. For a while, it looks like there might not be enough power on it, but it comes down just beyond the reach of the fielder at the rope, a metre or two on the other side of the boundary rope. Two singles and a double follow, before there’s a check for run out. That looks like it was safe. Yep, the batter was quite comfortably in. Two runs to end the over.

After 5 overs, Punjab Kings 33/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 10 , Mayank Agarwal 22)

Some spin now, as Eoin Morgan brings Varun Chakravarthy into the bowling attack. Single and a dot to begin. The field has been set up very, very well, and Chakravarthy returns the favour by bowling the perfect length. Two more dots and then a single. The Punjab pair might just be looking to play it safe and make it through this over and the next without incident. Single to end the over.

After 4 overs,Punjab Kings 30/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 8 , Mayank Agarwal 21)

Mavi continues, and he begins with two dots, before Rahul manages a single. Another couple of dots follow. This is pretty good bowling from the pacer. It was almost perfect, but not quite. Mayank Agarwal makes some room for himself and slams over cover for four. Five runs from the over

After 3 overs,Punjab Kings 25/0 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 7 , Mayank Agarwal 17)

Southee continues, and Agarwal runs a single on the first delivery. Dot to follow, and then KL Rahul sends a low, hard drive zipping between the bowler and the wickets for four. There was no stopping that. Single, and then it’s Mayank Agarwal’s turn to add some runs, he hammers a six over mid-off. That one looked absolutely effortless. Dot to end, 12 runs off the over. Not a bad start this from the Punjab Kings.