KOLKATA: What is a safe total for Kolkata Knight Riders? The team management must be asking themselves after they went down to Punjab Kings by eight wickets even after putting up 261 for six, their best at Eden Gardens and second highest IPL score, on being asked to bat first here on Friday.
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The match recorded the highest number of sixes (42) in any T20 game as after KKR hit 18 of those, PBKS bettered that by getting six more to record the highest run-chase in any T20 match scoring 262 for two in 18.4 overs.
The hosts benched an injured and out-of-form Mitchell Starc, but his replacement Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera did not fare any better giving away 48 runs in three overs.
In reply to KKR’s 76 runs for no loss in the Powerplay, Punjab openers Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh, coming in as an impact player for pacer Arshdeep Singh, set the platform with 93 for one.
Bairstow, making a comeback after two matches in place of Liam Livingstone, led from the front taking the KKR attack head-on. The Englishman reached his 50 in 23 balls and 100 off 45 balls with eight fours and eight sixes.
PBKS tilted the balance of the match in their favour by getting 132 runs for one, their highest IPL score at the 10-over mark.
The Bairstow-Rilee Rossouw second wicket stand of 85 runs came in just 39 balls to keep PBKS on course.
Shashank Singh kept his good form going to finish off things staying undefeated on 68 along with Bairstow, who got 108 off 48 balls with the help of eight fours and nine sixes. The two were involved in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 84 runs off 37 runs.
Sunil Narine once again remained KKR’s star performer ending with one wicket giving away 24 runs in his four overs after giving the side a solid start.
Earlier, the Punjab bowlers were the receiving end of double-barrel firing as KKR openers Phil Salt and Narine gave the side another breezy start collecting 138 runs for the opening-wicket off 63 balls before Narine departed for 71 hitting nine fours and four sixes. PBKS’ cause was hurt by some poor fielding too as they dropped Salt (twice) and Narine (once).
Salt too missed the three-figure mark perishing an over later being bowled by Curran for 75 after hitting six fours and six sixes playing 37 balls.
However, KKR lost steam after the quick departure of the openers. The way the two played, even Andre Russell, promoted up the order, looked slow in his 12-ball 24-run innings.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer (28 off 10 balls) tried to up the tempo stitching together a 43-run fourth-wicket stand with Venkatesh Iyer off just 18 balls. But losing regular wickets saw them end up with some 15-20 runs short that did make a difference.
Source Agencies
