Kolkata Knight Riders beat Punjab Kings

KKR VS PBK
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Kolkata Knight Riders have climbed up to the top of the table by defeating Punjab Kings at Wankhede Stadium. After losing the 2nd match in the IPL, they are back on the winning track. Last night, the KKR sealed a victory against the Punjab Kings by six wickets. KKR’s pacer Umesh Yadav won the Player of the Match award for taking four wickets in this game. So far in this tournament, he has taken eight wickets in three matches, making him the highest wicket-taker.

Match Report

Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, won the toss and decided to bowl first. So, Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan started the innings for Punjab Kings. But their starting was poor as the team lost their first wicket in the first over. Skipper Agarwal departed without scoring any runs for the team. Then, Shikhar Dhawan made an important partnership of 41 runs with the new batsman, Bhanuka Rajapaksa. Both Dhawan and Rajapaksa tackled the initial disaster. Bhanuka Rajapaksa was very aggressive on the pitch. He hit every single ball he faced. From only nine balls, he scored 31 runs for the Punjab Kings. Before losing the wicket, Rajapaksa hit three boundaries and three over boundaries. Unfortunately, his destroying innings came to an end in the 4th over as Shivam Mavi picked up the wicket of Rajapaksa.

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However, when Rajapaksa went back to the pavilion, the disaster began for the Punjab kings. They lost wickets continuously in this match. Pacer Umesh Yadav took four wickets alone. Meanwhile, Tim Southee got two wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders. As a result, Punjab Kings became all-out in 137 runs.

Defending the score, Punjab Kings made the match exciting by picking an early wicket. Kagiso Rabada got that wicket in the 2nd over. Moreover, the Punjab Kings got another wicket in the 5th over. This time, Venkatesh Iyer had gone to the pavilion. After that, skipper Shreyash Iyer made a partnership with Sam Billings.  Iyer added 26 runs on the scoreboard, while Billings scored 24. However, Andre Russell’s cameo innings made the chasing easier for Kolkata Knight Riders. Russell scored 70 runs only from 31 balls. Moreover, he hit eight sixes against the Punjab Kings. As a result, the KKR sealed the victory in 15 overs.