8th match, KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2022: KKR won by 6 wickets
The KKR returned to winning ways in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, defeating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 6 wickets. Andre Russell's annihilating unbeaten knock of 70 off only 31 deliveries drove KKR to a dominant victory against PBKS after Umesh Yadav ripped through KKR's batting line-up with a superb 4-wicket haul. The Kolkata Knight Riders lost two early wickets while chasing 138 for win. Odean Smith caught Ajinkya Rahane at short third man as he hit the 4000 IPL runs milestone in the game. Harpreet Brar inside the circle dismissed Venkatesh Iyer to a sharp-catch.
Sam Billings teamed up with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who appeared to be in good form and was dealing with boundaries. After bowling a stunning double-wicket maiden over to dismiss skipper Iyer for 26 and Nitish Rana for a second-ball duck, KKR were 51-2 at the end of the powerplay. After a couple of calm overs, Andre Russell hit two huge sixes off Harpreet Brar to take KKR to 17 runs in the 10th over. Odean Smith bowled the 12th over for the Knight Riders, who scored 30 runs. Billings wrapped up the over with a maximum straight down the ground on a free-hit while Russell hammered three sixes and a four.
Russell achieved the half-century figure in the next over, ending the Arshdeep Singh over with a slice over deep-cover for six, after only five runs came from Rahul Chahar's 13th over. Russell wrapped up the chase with consecutive sixes and remained undefeated on 70 off just 31 deliveries to complete a commanding victory with more than five overs to spare. The Punjab Kings, who were given the opportunity to bat first, made one change in their lineup: Kagiso Rabada replaced Sandeep Sharma. In the first over, Umesh Yadav continued his excellent run with the new ball, dismissing PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal for LBW.
The strain of losing an early wicket didn't appear to faze PBKS, as new man in Bhanuka Rajapaksa was up and running with three fours and three sixes before being caught inside the circle by Shivam Mavi's bowling. The Punjab Kings were 62/3 at the end of powerplay after losing their third wicket, Shikhar Dhawan, who was caught behind for 16. After the first six overs, the Knight Riders added two more wickets to their count. After Livingstone was caught in the deep, Yadav took his second wicket of the innings, while Narine removed Raj Bawa's stumps in the next over.
The strain on the hitters increased when Shahrukh Khan was dismissed for a duck in the 13th over, bowled by Southee, with PBKS on 85/5 after 10 overs. Yadav, who returned to deliver his final over of the innings, struck twice, dismissing Harpeet Brar and Rahul Chahar with a double-wicket maiden. Chahar was caught by the slip fielder while Brar was cleaned up by the pacer. Before the Knight Riders picked up the final two wickets to restrict PBKS to 137, Kagiso Rabada and Odean Smith scored crucial 35 runs for the 9th wicket. Southee's sensational catch caught Rabada in the deep, while Arshdeep Singh was run-out for zero.
Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 141/4 (Andre Russell 70*, Shreyas Iyer 26; Rahul Chahar 2-13) beat Punjab Kings 137 all out (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 31, Kagiso Rabada 25; Umesh Yadav 4-23) by 6 wickets.
