In a close battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings, the visiting team, KKR, won by eight wickets. KKR vs PBKS was an alarming clash for all ten teams in the tournament. Now, every team is copying Hyderabad’s gameplay, and scores are going 200+ every day.
KKR and PBKS were facing each other in the 42nd match of IPL 2024. Netigens witnessed some of the best innings by batters of both teams. However, like most tournament matches, there was nothing for bowlers in today’s match as well.
Both teams scored one century and four half-centuries, which is a danger sign for bowlers in the T20 format. More than 500 runs were made in just 38.4 overs, which is very tough even in the ODI and test formats.
KKR vs PBKS Highlights
Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The home team, KKR, came to bat first and took a good start. Salt and Narine collectively scored 138 runs without losing any wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders lost its first wicket in the 11th over and on 138 runs. Even though KKR lost wickets on regular intervals after the first blow, they maintained a reasonable strike rate in KKR vs PBKS. With some small but impressive innings from Iyer and Russell, KKR hung 261 on the scoreboard.
Salt scored a maximum of 75 runs for KKR, while his opening partner Sunil Narine played a 71-run innings. Salt smashed six towering sixes and six fours in his innings, while Sunil Narine smashed four sixes and nine fours.
PBKS Bowling
Punjab King’s bowling was below average. No bowler looked impressive with his efforts with the ball. Arshdeep was the highest wicket-taker for Punjab, who picked up two wickets. But he gave runs with 11+ economy.
Rabada gave runs with 17+ economy, while Sam Curran maintained a bad economy of 15. Rahul Chahar was the only bowler to concede runs with less than ten economy in KKR vs PBKS.
PBKS batting
Punjab Kings retaliated very well. They started their innings at a stormy pace and scored 93 runs without losing any wickets. Punjab lost their first wicket in the 6th over and on 93 runs.
Bairstow looked in a giant mode today and destroyed Kolkata Knight Riders’ complete bowling lineup. Firstly, with Prabhsimran and, secondly, with Rilee Rossouw, Jonny built 50+ runs with both.
After Rossouw, another dangerous Indian batsman, Shashank Singh, joined Bairstow. Jonny and Singh took PBKS to the winning total in the 19th over. Punjab won the KKR vs. PBKS match by 8 wickets.
Jonny Bairstow scored 108 runs off just 48 balls. His innings were decorated with five sixes and four fours. At the same time, Singh also played 68 runs in a very fast inning. He smashed eight sixes and two fours in his innings.
KKR bowling
KKR’s bowling can be judged by the number of wickets they took. Their highest wicket-taker, Sunil Narine, got one, so you can consider others.
Except for Narine, all the bowlers at KKR used spent runs, with more than 13 runs per over. Sunil was the only man to maintain a 6-run economy.
Also read: RCB Hopes for Playoffs: See how they can enter the race