Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ended up with a comfortable win over Punjab Kings in the IPL thanks to the contributions from their star Jamaican Andre Russell and Indian international Umesh Yadav. Set a target of 138 by Punjab, KKR reached the target in just 14.3 overs for the loss of 4 wickets.
Put into bat by KKR, Punjab got off to a terrible start losing captain Mayank Agarwal to Umesh Yadav in the first over. However, a stirring cameo from Sri Lankan pro Bhanuka Rajapaksa gave them hope of getting away to a big total. However, once Shivam Mavi managed to get Rajapaksa after conceding 22 in his first over, Punjab innings just fell apart.
Reduced to 102 for 8, vital 25 runs from Kagiso Rabada managed to push Punjab to some respectability. However, they ended up well short of par score getting bowled out with 10 balls to spare, and big hitter Odean Smith was left stranded.
Umesh Yadav was the star of the show for Kolkata as he ended up with 4 for 23 from his 4 overs, including the key wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Liam Livingstone.
In response, KKR looked in trouble at one stage having been reduced to 51 for 4 at the end of the 7th over. However, that 4th wicket of Nitish Rana brought Andre Russell to the crease, and in the company of Sam Billings, he made short work of the target.
Russell, who started cautiously ended up with 70 off 31 balls with 2 fours and 8 monstrous sixes. At the other end, Billings kept things ticking throughout and contributed with some crucial boundaries of his own.
Punjab now go on to play defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, while KKR gets a few days’ rest before playing Mumbai on Wednesday.
