IPL 2021 Match 21: KKR register comfortable win over PBKS

|| India Correspondent ||

The second leg of IPL has started in a new venue as Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosted the 21st match of IPL 2021 between bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders took (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). 

KKR won the toss and chose to field first where both the teams didn't make any change in their playing eleven. KL Rahul (19) and Mayank Agarwal (31) tried their best in front of tight bowling by Shivam Mavi (1-13) and Pat Cummins (2-31). However, the opening pair struggled for runs which saw Rahul accelerating in the final over of the powerplay. Meanwhile, after hitting a six, Rahul failed to get going and became the victim of Cummins 

Young pacer Shivam Mavi bowled four on the trot and removed Chris Gayle (0) in the final over of his spell. And, Punjab lost 5 wickets in the middle overs and struggled to score quickly in the innings. Spinners Sunil Narine (2-22) and Varun Chakravarthy (1-24) bowled quite well whereas Prasidh Krishna (1-31) too supported them. Later, Chris Jordan (30) played a quick cameo to push the total to 123-9.

While chasing, in-form Nitish Rana fell for a first-ball duck off Moises Henriques' full toss and Shubman Gill’s poor form continued as he was being trapped in front by the pace spearhead Mohammad Shami. Soon after, an exceptional catch by Ravi Bishnoi sent Sunil Narine in.

KKR were reduced to 17-3 in the third over when Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan started to steady the ship and they both added a 66-run partnership. Although Punjab Kings bowlers tried their best with their tight spells, especially by Mohammed Shami and Ravi Bishnoi as they picked up wickets towards the end, KKR captain Eoin Morgan remained unbeaten at 47 and a 6-ball 12 from Dinesh Karthik sealed the deal for KKR with 20 balls in hand.