IPL, KKR vs PBKS: Punjab stormed by Russell, Kolkata won by 6 wickets
Punjab Kings could not survive the storm of Andre Russell. Punjab Kings lost by 6 wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders.
After the defeat against Bangalore, once again the car of Kolkata Knight Riders has returned in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League. Kolkata won by 6 wickets against Punjab. The heroes of this match for Kolkata were Andre Russell and Umesh Yadav. It was due to the poor bowling of Andre Russell that Kolkata lost their match against RCB. He played stormy innings of 70 not out and gave Kolkata its second victory in the third match. He studded his half-century in 27 balls.
Poor start for Punjab
Punjab Kings got off to a bad start. Kolkata fast bowler Umesh Yadav took the wicket of captain Mayank Agarwal on the last ball of the first over and gave Kolkata a great start in the powerplay once again. Although Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shikhar Dhawan tried to handle Punjab’s innings after the first wicket, Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s hyper-aggression allowed them to stay on for only 9 balls.
Bhanuka showed strength
Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa played just 9 balls and scored 31 runs with 3 fours and 3 sixes. He also kept walking in the fourth over. After this wicket, the Punjab batsmen failed to form a long partnership and wickets kept falling one after the other. For Kolkata, Umesh Yadav took 4 wickets for 23 runs in 4 overs with 1 maiden. Kagiso Rabada, who was returning for Punjab, scored 25 runs with the bat with 4 fours and 1 six to take Punjab’s score to a respectable condition (137).
Rabada’s brilliant start for Punjab
Kagiso Rabada made a great start with the ball after the bat. He gave the first blow to Kolkata in his very first over by getting Ajinkya Rahane caught by Odeon Smith. After this, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar took two wickets in his one over and pushed Kolkata on the backfoot. Rahul, who was batting aggressively in his very first over, dismissed Shreyas Iyer (26) for runs, Nitish was dismissed without scoring any run on the first ball and Kolkata’s score became 51 for 4 in 7 overs.
Andre Russell’s storm hit the Punjab team
After Kolkata’s 4 wickets fell, Andre Russell took Kolkata’s innings with his stormy batting and headed towards victory. He scored 24 runs (1 wide) in an over by his compatriot Odion Smith, hitting three sixes and a four, and completely turned the pressure from Punjab to Punjab. Odeon Smith spent a total of 30 runs in this over, due to which the direction of the match was completely in Kolkata’s court. Andre Russell scored a stunning unbeaten 70 off 31 balls.
Kolkata’s co-honor Shahrukh Khan was also happy with the innings of all-rounder Andre Russell. After the match against Kolkata and Punjab, he made a tweet praising Andra Russell, Umesh Yadav, and congratulated the Kolkata team for the victory.
He hit 2 fours and 8 sixes in his quick innings. Andra Russell gave Kolkata victory by hitting two consecutive sixes. Also, he shared a 90-run partnership with Sam Billings (24).
Kolkata has to play its next match against Mumbai in Pune on 6 April. At the same time, Punjab will take on Chennai in their next match on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium. Umesh Yadav has won the Purple Cap by taking 4 wickets in this match.
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