KKR vs PBKS: Russell's riot took Kolkata to a 5-wicket victory over Punjab

Punjab Kings scored 58 runs in the powerplay but lost Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Liam Livingstone in that period. Dhawan then stitched things up for Punjab in the middle over, putting up a 53-run stand with Jitesh Sharma for the third wicket. Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar gave them a big boost. 36 runs were scored in those two overs, with 21 coming off the last, and Punjab Kings scored 179/7. KKR were not able to get too much momentum going in the powerplay. However, Andre Russell turned the tables with three sixes in the 19th over. Arshdeep Singh made sure it went down to the last ball. Rinku Singh hit a four off that to take KKR over the line. Read the match report of the KKR vs PBKS clash and share your thoughts in the comments.

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KKR vs PBKS: IPL 2023 Match Report

Kolkata got off to a positive start with the ball

Prabhsimran Singh & Skipper Shikhar Dhawan came into the middle after winning the toss and opted to bat first. After a brilliant start in the first over, Prabhsimran (12) lost his wicket in the last delivery of the second over. Harshit Rana struck twice in his first two overs. After dismissing Prabhsimran, he then went on and dismissed Rajapaksa for a duck. Liam Livingstone came to handle the situation alongside Dhawan and started off with three boundaries. Despite losing two wickets, Punjab looked confident ad scored runs o a good run rate. Varun Chakravarty didn't like that and gave another breakthrough in the last over of the powerplay by scalping the huge wicket of Liam Livingstone (15).

Jitesh Sharma & Shikhar Dhawan's partnership managed to control the situation for a bit

Punjab Kings' ace, Jitesh Sharma came in and showed some maturity. Dhawan and Jitesh constructed a partnership that was needed at that time. The second and third balls of the 12th over bowled by Narine were sent to the boundary and that brought up PBKS's 100. This turned into a great partnership between Jitesh & Dhawan. Varun Chakaravarthy didn't like that either and gave another blow by dismissing Jitesh Sharma for 21 runs. Shikhar Dhawan scored an important half-century but Nitish Rana sent him home just after that.

Rishi Dhawan (19) played a short cameo which was not fast enough but an important addition to the scoreline. Sam Curran (4) flopped again but Shahrukh Khan & Harpreet Brar shifted the momentum completely. Both the batters remained not out after playing brilliant cameos of 21 & 17 which helped Punjab to put up a total of 179 runs. Varun Chakaravarthy was the most successful with the bowl for KKR as he conceded only 16 runs in the 4-over spell and got away with three crucial wickets.

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KKR vs PBKS: IPL 2023 Match Report

Gurbaz came into the middle while Jason Roy entered as an impact player. Kolkata got off to a blistering start and boost the run rate in the fourth over. Nathan Ellis came in seek of a wicket and he delivered by dismissing Gurbaz for 12 runs. Jason Roy didn't have a problem and he carried on with a few big hits. Jason Roy missed out on his half-century by 12 runs as Harpreet Brar dismissed him for 38 runs. Kolkata Knight Riders lost their second wicket at a scoreline of 64 in the 8th over.

Nitish Rana held on to the run rate and carried on to chase the total of 180. Venkatesh Iyer had another poor game as he lost his wicket after scoring only 11 runs. Rana got to a 37-ball half-century off the first ball of the 16th by running two and then he holed out to Livingstone who came running in from long-off.

Andre Russell & Rinku Singh took responsibility to win it for KKR from there. Russell Played a brilliant knock of 42 runs in just 23 deliveries before getting run out. He smashed 3 boundaries and 3 maximums which set the perfect stage to make it easy for Rinku Singh. Rinku then finished the game with a boundary in the last delivery. KKR won the match by 5 wickets as Rinku Singh remained not out with 21 runs.