KKR 261/6 in 20 Overs (Phil Salt 75(37), Sunil Narine 71(32); Arshdeep Singh 2/45 in 4 overs) lost to PBKS 262/2 in 18.4 overs (Jonny Bairstow 108*(48), Shashank Singh 68*(28); Sunil Narine 1/24 in 4 overs) by 8 wickets
KKR clashed against PBKS at the Eden Gardens in a match that promised to be an exhilarating one. Two powerhouses colliding with each other was an absolute treat for the spectators and one expected a feast of sixes all throughout the game. KKR had the winning momentum with all facets of their game clicking at the right time while PBKS required a win to bounce back in the tournament. One hell of a match was on the cards with these two sides clashing at an iconic stadium with fans ready to roar for their home side.
KKR were put into bat first and the Salt-Narine duo continued their explosive partnership right from the outset. Both batters were committed to score in an aggressive fashion and with an immense amount of intent. Narine continued his rich vein of form, so did Salt as both the batters brought up their fifties in quickfire style. An iconic 138-run stand put KKR right on the track to post a huge total. Narine departed after scoring an incredible 71 runs off just 32 balls while Salt also followed him a couple of overs after scoring 75 off 37 balls. The innings looked in a bit of a slide, however Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell kept the foot on the pedal and kept smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. The Skipper Shreyas Iyer also made a valuable contribution of 28 runs lower down the order. Contributions from Iyer, Russell and Shreyas steered KKR to a highest-ever total of 261 at the Eden Gardens. A complete team performance put KKR on the road towards yet another commanding win.
After putting on a huge total, KKR looked to make a confident start and looked to pick up a few wickets to put pressure on the PBKS batters. However, the PBKS openers started off in fine fashion and scored runs at a high tempo. A brilliant run-out from Narine sparked some confidence in the KKR unit as they looked to bounce back in their defense of the total. However, brilliant innings from both Jonny Bairstow and Shashank Singh helped PBKS to get over the line. A brilliant batting performance helped PBKS to win the game even though KKR tried their level best to pick up the win. The whole unit would be looking to bounce back from this loss and comeback strong in the next game.
