The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the eighth game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Umesh Yadav was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.
| PUNJAB KINGS | 137/10 (20 OVERS) |
| BHANUKA RAJAPAKSA 31 (9) | UMESH YADAV 4-1-23-4 |
| KAGISO RABADA 21 (16) | TIM SOUTHEE 4-0-36-2 |
| LIAM LIVINGSTONE 19 (16) | ANDRE RUSSELL 0.3-0-0-1 |
| SHIKHAR DHAWAN 16 (15) | SUNIL NARINE 4-0-23-1 |
| KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS | 141/4 (14.3 OVERS) |
| ANDRE RUSSELL 70* (31) | RAHUL CHAHAR 4-1-13-2 |
| SHREYAS IYER 26 (15) | KAGISO RABADA 3-0-23-1 |
| SAM BILLINGS 24* (23) | ODEAN SMITH 2-0-39-1 |
| AJINKYA RAHANE 12 (11) | LIAM LIVINGSTONE 0.3-0-13-0 |
Smith unable to salvage Kings’ innings
Barring Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the start and Kagiso Rabada at the end, none of PBKS’ batters seemed comfortable at the crease. Umesh Yadav, who has been having a fantastic tournament, continued on the same note, as did pretty much every other bowler. The batters simply failed to get going at any stage.
Yadav and Tim Southee managed to get rid of Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone. Shivam Mavi, despite going for runs aplenty, saw the back of Rajapaksa after a bludgeoning 31 off 9 balls. The rest of the bowlers played their part in keeping the batting side quiet.
Yet the PBKS team may have been hoping that Odean Smith, their hero from their first game, could take the team to a more respectable and competitive total. However, even as Rabada played his shots with freedom, Smith seemed to be missing everything. Andre Russell dismissed Rabada for 25, leaving the Kings at 137 with a wicket to go at that stage. Arshdeep Singh, the new and last batter, tried to scurry off the mark first ball in a desperate attempt to get the West Indian on strike, but instead got run out himself, ending the innings.
Smith remained unbeaten on 9 off 12 balls, which included one six, but his team needed much more.
Chahar brings life to the game
137 was a total Shreyas Iyer and the team would have taken after winning the toss and choosing to bowl. However, they knew that complacency had no room, given how they had come stunningly close to defend 131 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match.
Ajinkya Rahane seemed to settle a few nerves with a few boundaries, before finding the grateful hands of Smith. On the other hand, Venkatesh Iyer, still unable to find last year’s form, fell victim to Smith after just 7 balls. With a relatively small total needed to chase down, Shreyas and Sam Billings seemed to steady the ship, with the skipper finding the boundaries consistently.
However, Agarwal turned to Rahul Chahar right after the powerplay and struck gold. The crafty leg spinner lured Shreyas into a big shot, which only ended his impressive stay at the crease. Two balls later, Chahar had bowled a googly to outfox Nitish Rana, the new batter, and catch him plumb in front for leg before wicket. Before anyone realised what had happened, Chahar had bowled a double-wicket maiden over, leaving KKR 51/4 after 8 overs.
Smith’s forgettable day
Despite not finding runs with the bat, Smith may have thought that his fortunes were to change with the ball, especially after seeing the return of Venkatesh in his first over. Little did he know that a certain national teammate of his would change it all in his next over.
When Smith was called on to bowl the twelfth over again, the match was evenly poised. Russell was just finding his groove with Billings holding back, while a wicket or two would swing the game PBKS’ way.
The first three balls went for 4, 6, and 6, all courtesy of the powerhitting of Russell. Smith managed a dot on the fourth ball, before being smoked for half a dozen more on the fifth. Smith may as well have heaved a sigh of relief after the sixth ball was only dragged for a single… before realising that he had overstepped. The only silver lining for him was that Billings would face the free-hit.
Billings, too, however, joined the party, cashing in with six more. 30 runs came off the over, leaving KKR in the driver’s seat.
Russell and the art of hard hitting
Russell came out to bat with the score at 51/4 after 7 overs. KKR won the match with 141/4 in 14.3 overs. Suffice to say, the Jamaican was the game changer of the match.
Russell holds the power of being able to attack the bowlers from ball one, a talent not all batters can boast of. However, on days like yesterday, Russell bided his time at first, making sure to settle in well. Before hitting his first six, he was on 2 off 6. At the end of the match, he was unbeaten on 70 off 31, smashing 8 sixes in the process. The turning point of the match may well have been that 12th over off Smith, but it was Russell who had been the force of change.
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