IPL 2021: KL Rahul steers Punjab Kings to a 5-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders to keep playoff hopes alive 


IPL 2021: KL Rahul steers Punjab Kings to a 5-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders to keep playoff hopes alive 

KL Rahul

Punjab Kings locked horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in a must-win game at the Dubai International stadium. Though the game saw a lot of ups and downs, it was Kings who emerged as the winners in the end. Punjab kept their calm in the tricky run chase to keep their playoff hopes alive. 

The high-octane clash saw Punjab skipper KL Rahul winning the toss and opting to chase the score. Batting in the first innings, Kolkata Knight Riders had a turbulent start as they lost their opening batter, Shubman Gill, in the third over only at a score of seven. However, just like the previous few matches, Venkatesh Iyer emerged as the hero for the Knight Riders.

Iyer kept his calm in the pressure situation as he played another class innings. The batter hammered 67 runs off 49 deliveries. His knock was laced with nine boundaries and one maximum at a strike rate of 136.73. Meanwhile, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana were also decent with the willow.

The two batters played quick yet effective cameos as Rahul scores 34 off 28 while Rana returned with 18-ball 31. In the end, the Eoin Morgan side ended up with 165 runs in their 20 overs. For Punjab, Arshdeep Singh led the attack. The seamer picked a three-wicket haul while Ravi Bishoi returned with two scalps. 

KL Rahul is the highest run-scorer for Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings

Chasing 168, Punjab got off to a decent start as the opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul looked in fine form with the willow. Mayank slammed 40 runs off 27 deliveries. Meanwhile, it was Rahul who played the anchor role as he scored 67 runs in 55 deliveries. 

Punjab looked in trouble towards the end, however, it was Shahrukh Khan who played a sublime knock of nine-ball 22 to take the team home. Also, the Knight Riders made things easy for the KL Rahul side as they looked sloppy on the field and gave a lot of lifelines to the Punjab batters. 

Also Read: IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings hammer Surisers Hyderabad by six wickets to become first team to qualify for playoffs