Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings IPL 42nd Match Highlights: Just ten days ago, Jos Buttler took away KKR’s mouthpiece. After that match, the English star went on a rampage again in Eden. Now KKR just flew away with Jonny Bairstow’s bat. In the Rajasthan match, Buttler single-handedly snatched away the win from the Knights. Bairstow was not alone on Friday, however, as Harshit Rana, Andre Russell bowed to Punjab’s combined batting power. KKR were bowled out for 261 by Narine-Salt’s bat storm.
But Bairstow-Shashank Singh made a mess of the night bowlers. Sam Curran’s Punjab set the precedent of winning the highest run chase in T20 history. Bairstow scored a century off just 45 balls. In the end, he remained unbeaten on 108 runs off 48 balls. The flash of Shashank Singh’s bat at number four passed Bairstow too. He made 68 off 28 balls with 8 sixes. The duo chased down the 262-run mark and Punjab passed with 8 wickets and 8 balls to spare.
KKR vs PBKS IPL 42nd Match Report 2024: This year’s IPL has become a nightmare for the bowlers. Taking two and a half hundred is not a matter. KKR, Hyderabad, Rajasthan and even Mumbai are pouring in runs.
The bowlers of both teams took a beating on the Pata pitch on Friday. The charm of IPL is fading into a one-sided battle.
Chasing the Knights’ 261, openers Pravsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow started driving in third gear for Punjab. Pravsimran was run out on the last ball of the power play, but 93 was added to the scoreboard. Bairstow then completed the dream run chase in an 85-run partnership with Riley Rossouw. After Riley Rossou was out for 26 off 16, Shashank also left Jonny Bairstoke behind with ruthless power hitting.
Earlier Narine-Salt stormed KKR to 261/6 on the scoreboard. In the opening itself, the Caribbean-English pair gave Cyclone a partnership of 134 runs. Salt scored 75 off 37 balls. The English opener went boundary-over-boundary after half-dozen. Narine also made 71.
After a stormy start by the openers, KKR’s run-rate remained intact with Russell’s 24-run cameo from 12 balls. The Caribbean superstar was promoted up the batting order. But he also runs fountains with a flood of boundaries.
Captain Sam Curran knocked down Salt’s wicket after hitting back-to-back sixes. Arshdeep Singh also bowled well in the middle overs. He returned Russell. Just when it seemed that the Punjab bowlers would bring the team back into the match. That’s when the Knights added a new initiative to add to the run rate. KKR added 71 runs in the last 5 overs. In the end, captain Shreyas Iyer’s 10-ball 28 runs pushed KKR to the brink of a 250-plus score. Venkatesh Iyer also contributed with the bat.
