KKR vs PBKS: Brilliant starts from Sunil Narine, Phil Salt take Kolkata Knight Riders to 261/6 after 20 overs.

In the IPL 2024 match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), Sunil Narine emerged as a surprise element for KKR, maintaining his exceptional form. His partnership with Phil Salt at the top of the order yielded a formidable 138 runs, providing KKR with a strong start. The team capitalized on this foundation, posting a formidable total of 261/6 in their allotted 20 overs. However, despite the excellent start, KKR’s middle-order batsmen missed opportunities to further capitalize on the momentum, which could have potentially resulted in an even higher score.

In the 11th over of the match, Punjab Kings’ spinner Rahul Chahar managed to break through the strong partnership by dismissing Sunil Narine, who had scored an impressive 71 runs. This breakthrough marked a significant turning point in the game, as Narine’s dismissal halted Kolkata Knight Riders’ momentum to some extent. Following Chahar’s breakthrough, Punjab’s stand-in skipper Sam Curran struck by dismissing Phil Salt, who had contributed 75 runs to the team’s total. Curran’s wicket provided Punjab Kings with another crucial breakthrough, further denting KKR’s batting lineup and boosting PBKS’s chances in the match.

Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russel displayed resilience in stabilizing KKR’s innings after two back to back wicket Their cautious play took the team’s score beyond 200, and then Punjab’s pacer Arshdeep Singh got rid of the most significant threat for their team- he clinched Andre Russel’s wicket

KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer made an impactful entry to the crease, deliberately walking in, and quickly made his presence felt by smashing three sixes and a four, scoring a rapid 28 runs off just 10 balls. However, his innings was cut short by Arshdeep Singh, who managed to dismiss him.

Unfortunately, Rinku Singh, who has been struggling to showcase his potential in IPL 2024, failed to make a significant contribution in this match. In the final over of the innings, Harshal Patel managed to take his wicket. Additionally, Venkatesh Iyer got run out on the last delivery of the innings.

Despite these setbacks towards the end, KKR managed to set a formidable target of 262 runs for Punjab Kings to chase down.

Prabhsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow provided Punjab Kings with a strong start in their chase of the daunting target of 262 runs set by Kolkata Knight Riders. The openers started aggressively, hitting early boundaries and sixes, putting pressure on the KKR bowlers. Prabhsimran Singh, in particular, showcased his batting prowess by smashing five sixes and four fours, scoring a quickfire 54 runs off just 20 balls. However, his promising innings came to an unfortunate end as he was dismissed due to a silly runout on the last ball of the powerplay. Despite his dismissal, Prabhsimran’s explosive start laid a solid foundation for Punjab Kings in their pursuit of the mammoth target.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a crushing defeat by 8 wickets against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday. Thanks to Jonny Bairstow’s stormy century, Punjab Kings chased a huge target of 262 runs, which is the biggest target in the history of T20 format. KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, who is usually very excited in the dugout, was quietly watching the KKR bowlers being punished by Jonny Bairstow and young Shashank Singh
But at one point, Gautam Gambhir looked very angry with the decision of the on-field umpires and was seen having an animated conversation with the fourth umpire, who was seen calmly explaining the rules. The incident occurred during the 14th over of KKR’s innings, when Andre Russell was batting at the crease and was trying to steal a run from an overthrow. The on-field umpire refused to give a single to Andre Russell as he had already ruled it out after the fielder had picked up the ball.

Gautam Gambhir disagreed with the umpire’s decision and was seen having a heated argument with the fourth umpire. The KKR mentor made his point fiercely and then went back to his seat, still looking unhappy.