KEY STORY
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Bouncing back after three back-to-back defeats in their last three games, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.
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Desperately searching for their second win of the season, Eoin Morgan & Co. got the better of Punjab Kings comfortably by chasing down the target of 124 runs in 16.4 overs.
.@KKRiders captain @Eoin16 scored a match-winning 47* against Punjab Kings & won the Man of the Match award in Match 21 of the #VIVOIPL. 👍 👍 #PBKSvKKR
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/sBoaBIpF2J pic.twitter.com/v1e2iPdHsB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
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Asked to bat first, Punjab got off to a decent start as skipper KL Rahul (19) and his opening partner Mayank Agarwal (31) posted a 36-run stand for the first wicket.
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Rahul managed to get off to a start but failed to convert it into a big score as he was dismissed by Pat Cummins in the final over of the Powerplay. Chris Gayle was then dismissed on a duck by young Shivam Mavi in the next over.
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Deepak Hooda (1) too departed cheaply as Prasidh Krishna got rid of him in the 8th over before picking up two more important wickets of Shahrukh Khan (13) and Chris Jordan (30). While Prasidh was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, Narine also bowled a brilliant spell and finished with 2/22 in his 4 overs.
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Jordan’s 18-ball 30 blitz towards the end helped Punjab cross the 120-run mark and post 123 runs on the board.
Safari Super Striker of the Match between @PunjabKingsIPL and @KKRiders is Chris Jordan.@TataMotors_Cars #SafariSuperStriker #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/x9WlS8S6QE
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
United diagnosticss
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In reply, KKR scaled the target down without breaking a sweat and clinched the low-scoring encounter by five wickets. Skipper Morgan played a captain’s knock of unbeaten 47 off 40 balls while Rahul Tripathi scored a 32-ball 41 as the duo helped the team reach the target comfortably.
CONCLUSION
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KKR lost openers Shubman Gill (9) and Nitish Rana (0) cheaply before pinch-hitter Sunil Narine was removed on a duck by Arshdeep Singh as Punjab Kings got off to a perfect start. Ravi Bishnoi pulled off a blinder to get rid of Narine, who couldn’t open his account after facing 4 balls.
A comfortable 5 wickets win for @KKRiders as they finish the job with 20 balls to spare. With this performance against #PBKS, #KKR's four-match losing streak comes to an end. https://t.co/sBoaBIpF2J #PBKSvKKR #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/7ZgBzU7MCO
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
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Just when it looked like PBKS might make a comeback in the contest despite posting a low-key total, Tripathi and Morgan joined forces and dished out an impressive fightback.
After their win today at @GCAMotera, @KKRiders jump to the 5th spot in the #VIVOIPL Points Table while @PunjabKingsIPL are 6th. #PBKSvKKR pic.twitter.com/vzrxN2TjlI
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
