It was a great night for the Punjab Kings as they scraped their way through to a five-wicket victory against KKR and have catalyzed their chances of making it to the IPL play-offs in this IPL season.

With this win, PBKS has moved up in the IPL table to the fifth position. However, they are still stuck in a logjam in the mid-table where Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians are sitting with 10 points each.

However, with the two key men, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, missing from the match, both sides were experimenting with the balance of their sides. The batting was slightly simmered for the Punjab Kings, and so was the bowling from the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine was the key for the Knight Riders as they gave just 58 runs in 8 overs and picked three crucial wickets for the Punjab Kings. Tim Southee conceded 40 runs from 4 overs.

There were a number of vital catch drops in the field that proved to be costly for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Even though they bowled well but when you are defending a par total, good fielding is a key to winning.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave the team a perfect start, putting together a half-century partnership by the seventh over that gave the team a good lead. Mayank creamed three fours and two sixes during powerplay as he and KL Rahul guided PBKS to 46/0.

KKR managed to get their first breakthrough when Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Mayank for 40 in the ninth over.

Aiden Markram and KL Rahul took PBKS past 120 after the end of 15 overs but snapped two PBKS wickets in the next two overs where Narine dismissed Markram, Shivam Mavi dismissed Deepak Hooda.

KL Rahul led the innings well but fell just before the finish line with 67 runs in his cap. Shahrukh Khan was also a vital addition at the end and remained unbeaten on 22 from just nine balls. This took off the pressure from KL Rahul’s shoulders and led the team towards a good win.

PBKS managed to keep things tight with the ball in the last two overs and restricted KKR to 165/7.

The key players of KKR Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, and Nitish Rana scored 67(49), 34(26), and 31(18), respectively, and the key players of Mumbai Indians KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Shahrukh Khan scored 67(55), 40(27) and 22(9) respectively.

KL Rahul was announced as the man of the match, and he was also awarded the Orange Cap, followed by Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals.

Players Talk

KL Rahul

“Used to the tight matches but will take the 2 points. We did it brilliantly, smartly. It was a decent wicket, so we decided early that we can’t experiment. We were slightly defensive with the ball. There was not much spin, not much swing as well after the first three overs. Tried to make the batsmen hit to the bigger side. They had a clear plan and executed it well. We have given clear roles to players and they did it beautifully, got us over the line. Obviously, I would want to finish the games. The weather hasn’t been too kind here, coming from England and Australia. Hopefully, we can build on this. Chris has left the bubble, so we needed to see what would be the best XI. We are going to Sharjah next, he will be handy. Shahrukh Khan has been batting brilliantly in the nets. He is strong and can hit the big ball. He has been asking a lot of questions. He has developed a game and scores at 170-180 without taking a lot of chances. He can finish games, done that for Tamil Nadu, can do it for us and for India too in the future. We were the bottom team in the last two years. Everyone knows that we are a far better team than. Putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves is not helping. It’s just about going out and giving it our best. The last four games in the UAE is a perfect example. We were entertaining, defending low totals against MI and SRH. If we learn from these mistakes, we will be at the top.”

Eoin Morgan

“We did not field well. Put down some catches myself in the beginning and then some in the middle as well. That cost us the game. Few wickets there would have helped us. It was a par score on this track, not a winning score. The bowlers did well. Punjab fought well and then we came back well, but the catches cost us. When you slow things down, analyze, it might look different. The third umpire made the decision, and that’s final. Would have been nice if we had got that wicket. Rana played well, cashed in on balls in his area. We batted well for 13 and a half or 14 overs but did not capitalize. Venkatesh Iyer is a real find. He has been around with us for the whole season. He was impressive in the warm-up games and in the nets. His attitude, it’s absolutely fantastic. Takes responsibility with the ball as well. Russ is a huge gap as an all-rounder. It’s outstanding that Iyer can fill up the gap to an extent. A lot of positives coming from this game. The conditions are tough in the second innings. We fought in the manner that the scoreboard dictated. Two more games, hopefully, we will be there in the playoffs.”

While you wait for the next match report, you can check all the other states of the teams at IPL updates and schedules and place your bets on the winning team at the in-play IPL cricket matches. 

Furthermore, you can also read How to play and win IPL Satta Matka if you are a fan of Satta and would like to win some cash rewards.

We will be back soon with another IPL update at My Casino Guru about the doubleheader match on 2nd October between Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals.

Stay tuned!