Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Punjab Kings by 5 wickets courtesy of Rinku Singh’s last ball boundary (Sportzpics)
Andre Russell scored 42 off 23 balls, Rinku Singh scored the winning runs while Nitish Rana smashed a fifty as KKR defeated Punjab Kings by 5 wickets in last-ball thriller
Rinku Singh smashed a last-ball boundary with 2 runs needed from the last ball as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Punjab Kings by 5 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday, May 8.
Arshdeep Singh deserves credit for almost nearly defending 6 runs from the final over, getting a wicket of Andre Russell on the penultimate ball but Rinku reminded fans of his heroics against Gujarat Titans and the five sixes by hitting the winning runs yet again.
Rinku returned unbeaten at 21 off 10 balls, Russell missed his fifty, scoring 42 off 23 balls, helping get KKR over the line once again.
Earlier Nitish Rana had smashed 51 off 38 balls, while Jason Roy had added 38 in 24 balls to help the two-time IPL champs score 182/5 in reply to Punjab’s 179/7.
Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan had won the toss and opted to bat first, Prabhsimran Singh departed after in the second over itself courtesy of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s stunning catch.
Although the skipper himself smashed a fifty, Dhawan reached a milestone of fifty IPL half-centuries, equalling Virat Kohli’s feat in the list of most fifties in the league.
Jitesh Sharma added 21 runs to the cause, although Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar added runs aplenty in the final overs to help put up 179 on the board.
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Jason Roy gave KKR another steady start, Gurbaz failed to impress with the bat on the day but the Kolkata Knight Riders captain led his side from the front with a leader’s knock.
Russell smashed three sixes in the penultimate over against Sam Curran, setting up a tense finish.
Trying to notch a boundary in the final over against Arshdeep who bowled plenty of good lines and lengths, the Caribbean cricketer was run out on the non-striker’s end on the penultimate ball of the innings.
Rinku Singh had run for his life, the run couldn’t be completed but the 25-year-old got on strike and scored the winning runs, getting a boundary on the last ball.
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