In a thrilling encounter at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in the Match 53 of TATA IPL 2023.
KKR’s Nitish Rana led the way with a vital knock of 51 off 38 balls, while Andre Russell (42 off 23) and Rinku Singh (21* off 10) played their part in providing the final flourish.
After winning the toss, the Punjab Kings decided to bat. PBKS got off to a mixed start, hitting several boundaries but losing two wickets in the process within the Powerplay.
Prabhsimran Singh started aggressively and was soon followed by Shikhar Dhawan, who scored two fours in the first over from Harshit Rana.
PBKS lost Prabhsimran and Rajapaksa quickly, but Livingstone and Dhawan picked up the pace and took the team to 50 runs in just five overs. Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma, while Dhawan brought up his third IPL 50 with a six off Narine.
PBKS lost momentum when Dhawan departed and struggled to regain it until a late surge from Harpreet Brar and Shahrukh Khan helped them reach 179/7.
Watch KKR vs PBKS match highlights –
Chasing a target of 180, KKR got off to a flyer with Impact Player Jason Roy hitting three fours in the first three overs. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the home team kept the required run rate under check.
With 51 needed off 24 balls, Russell and Rinku Singh scored 15 runs off the Nathan Ellis over to shift the momentum in their favour. After taking 10 runs off the Arshdeep Singh over, Russell’s run-out added another twist to the tale. However, Singh hit the final ball of the match for a four to trigger wild celebrations in the KKR camp.
In the end, it was Rinku Singh’s heroics with the bat that made all the difference, as he sent the Eden Gardens into a frenzy with his match-winning shot off the last ball.
It was yet another sensational finish by Singh, who has become a reliable finisher for KKR this season. With this win, KKR consolidated their position in the top four, while Punjab Kings slipped to the sixth spot in the IPL 2023 points table.
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