In Match 8 of the Indian Premier Tournament 2022, against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, Punjab Kings were blown away by an Andre Russell spectacular, as chasing teams continued to reign supreme in the new season of the T20 league. Russell single-handedly turned the course of the game, smashing 70 runs off 31 balls with 8 massive sixes as Kolkata overcame a mid-innings stutter to comfortably chase down a 138-run mark with 33 balls to spare.
When Russell joined wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings in the middle, KKR were in a spot of bother at 51/4, losing captain Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana in the same over bowled by Rahul Chahar.
Shreyas Iyer, the captain, scored 26 runs off 15 deliveries, while opener Ajinkya Rahane got 12 runs off 11 deliveries. KKR’s joy was not spoiled by Venkatesh Iyer’s three runs and Nitish Rana’s duck as Russell shows his muscle power. Rahul Chahar was Punjab’s best bowler, taking two wickets, while Odean Smith and Kagiso Rabada both got one. Smith, on the other hand, had to deal with Russell’s onslaught, as he handed up 39 runs in two overs. On Friday, Kolkata bowled out Punjab for 137 in 18.2 overs, thanks to a four-wicket haul from pacer Umesh Yadav. The KKR captain won the toss and chose to bowl first. By dismissing Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal in the very first over, Umesh Yadav backed his captain’s decision.
In the fourth over, Bhanuka Rajapaksa joined Shikhar Dhawan in the middle, and the Sri Lankan struck Shivam Mavi for a boundary and three consecutive sixes before being out for 31 off 9 balls. Kagiso Rabada showed some fight in the 17th over, hitting Southee for successive boundaries and a six, just as it appeared that KKR would run over Punjab’s batting line-up. In the following over, Rabada treated Shivam Mavi in a same manner. Rabada’s shackles were eventually broken when Andre Russell removed him for 25 off 16 deliveries, and Arshdeep Singh was run out in the following ball as Punjab Kings were bowled out for 137 in 18.2 overs.
Umesh Yadav put on a superb show with the ball taking 4 wickets & bagged the Player of the Match award as KKR beat PBKS
Playing XIs:
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa(wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer(c), Sam Billings(wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy.
