PBKS vs KKR, IPL 2021 Highlights: Kolkata breaks four-match losing streak to beat Punjab by five wickets

KKR vs PBKS Live Cricket Score, IPL 2021: Get the live cricket streaming, ball by ball commentary updates between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings.

Updated : Apr 27, 2021 10:46 IST

Eoin Morgan anchored the Kolkata innings after Punjab's quick strikes.
Eoin Morgan anchored the Kolkata innings after Punjab's quick strikes.
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Eoin Morgan anchored the Kolkata innings after Punjab's quick strikes.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar 's HIGHLIGHTS of Match 21 of IPL 2021 between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders being played in Ahmedabad.

 

[ PBKS vs KKR, IPL 2021 LIVE SCORECARD ]

 

KKR 126/5 after 16.4 overs: Done and dusted. KKR breaks the four-game duck in style. Arshdeep feeds Karthik with a couple of shorter stuff that is nonchalantly put to the vacant mid-wicket region for a couple of boundaries that seals the deal for Kolkata.

KKR 115/5 after 16 overs: Morgan's in a hurry. Hooda is flattened by two exquisite strokes through extra cover. Hooda tosses it up and Morgan creates ample room to nail it for a four before he goes one up with a similar strokes, this time over the boundary. And that's 7000 T20 runs for Eoin Morgan - fourth England player to the feat.  A wry smile on Anil Kumble's face in the dug-out as Punjab nears its fourth defeat of the season.

KKR 102/5 after 15 overs: Bishnoi to Morgan. OUT! Russell is run out!  Morgan edges the googly that sneaks to Arshdeep at short-third. A good pick-up and throw aimed straight at the stumps has Russell stretch to make his ground despite the call being his own. The replays suggest that he's a goner and KL Rahul has managed some fine piece of glovework a sharp deflection of the ball to the stumps.  Russell run out (Arshdeep Singh) 10(9) [4s-2]

KKR 98/4 after 14 overs: Russell on thin ice. Jordan narrows one in off Russell's arc and he nearly chops it on the stump. Cruel as it seems, the ball trickles down the third-man boundary once again.

KKR 91/4 after 13 overs: Bishnoi stops Morgan and Russell in their tracks by bowling a lot fuller this tine. The KKR captain nearly holed out to mid-wicket as the ball nearly fell to the sub fielder Fabian Allen on the full from the slog sweep.

 

KKR 88/4 after 12 overs: Shami has managed to keep his nemesis Dre Russ fairly quiet this time. Comes around the wicket and darts in the fuller, yorker-length delivery. An odd-shorter one surprises Russell and the edge nearly clips the stumps before running down to the fine leg boundary.

KKR 83/4 after 11 overs: Hooda to Tripathi. OUT! Tripathi goes downtown and holes out to long-on!  A needless charge from Tripathi has cast his downfall. Hooda tossed it up but there was not enough room for Tripathi to power it over long-on. Shahrukh Khan runs in smoothly and completes a safe catch to send Tripathi after a well-made 41.  Tripathi c Shahrukh Khan b Hooda 41(32) [4s-7]

KKR 76/3 after 10 overs: Jordan sends the ball seaming in to Tripathi. He defends it first but his more than ready for Jordan's ploy the next time. Tripathi craftily cuts the tailing-in delivery past short-third to the boundary and KL Rahul's plans are on the wane.

KKR 68/3 after 9 overs: Game slipping away quickly from Punjab. Bishnoi continues to bowl shorter lengths and Tripathi cheekily directs one down leg with a paddle-sweep. Morgan and Tripathi bring up the 50-run partnership in what has been an excellent recovery for Kolkata.

KKR 59/3 after 8 overs: Morgan is back in the groove. Jordan offers a juicy wide delivery for his national captain. Morgan pummels it through long-off boundary and Kolkata has settled back well in this chase.

KKR 46/3 after 7 overs: Bishnoi strays onto the pads but surprisingly Tripathi and Morgan fail to cash in on the looseners. Just the four singles and Punjab is slowly crawling back into the contest.

KKR 42/3 after 6 overs: Shami attacks the stumps and keeps Tripathi wound down to the crease. The tailing-in deliveries seem to trouble Tripathi a little bit and he just about manages to block the probing deliveries. Kolkata ends the Powerplay with a bitter-sweet feeling.

KKR 37/3 after 5 overs: Tripathi does not bog down and has reeled in two boundaries. Arshdeep coming from around provides just that much width for Tripathi to cut behind point. The over ends on a wry note for Punjab as last over's Superman, Bishnoi lets a ball rolls sheepishly through him to the boundary.

KKR 28/3 after 4 overs: Morgan isn't waiting tonight. Shot from Shami and Morgan pummels it for a cracking six over square. Morgan launches another over the off-side and the ball lands just inches within the boundary and rolls on to the boundary.

HOW.GOOD.WAS.THAT

 

KKR 17/3 after 3 overs: Arshdeep to Narine. OUT! A SCREAMER FROM RAVI BISHNOI!  Arshdeep cramps Narine as he goes for the slog over mid-wicket and what! Ravi Bishnoi sprints from some 30 yards square and kept his composure up till the very last moment. The ball was teeming towards the ground but Bishnoi then puts in a stunning full-length dive and plucks it from just inches off the ground. He's ecstatic and so is his teammates! Punjab right back in this one. Sunil Narine c Ravi Bishnoi b Arshdeep Singh 0 (4b)

KKR 10/1 after 2 overs: Shami to Gill. OUT! Shami traps him plumb in front! Full and straight and Gill plays across the ball. The umpire raises his finger in a flash and KKR's openers have disappointed once again. Shubman Gill lbw b Mohammed Shami 9 (8b 2x4)

KKR 5/1 after 1 over: Henriques to Rana. OUT!  Rana goes first ball! And that is some tame dismissal for the KKR opener. Henriques seems to be blushing as well! A juicy full toss for the taking and all Rana managed to do was to slice it straight to Shahrukh Khan at cover.  Nitish Rana c Shahrukh Khan b Henriques 0(1)

Moises Henriques up with the ball

BACK FOR THE CHASE! KKR openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill walk out to the crease as Rahul's men take their positions.

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And Punjab falls flat on a wicket that hosted certainly better conditions than the slow tracks back in Chennai. However, the Punjab top-order was sliced off brilliantly by Eoin Morgan's men. After a couple of hiccups in his decisions in the previous matches, we witnessed the trademark Captain Morgs tonight. Morgan put Rahul, Mayank and Gayle under the pump by continuing a fiery Shivam Mavi through four straight overs up-front. While Mavi kept the batsmen dry, the mystery spin of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy did the rest. 

Punjab's middle-order hardly put up a fight against some wily bowling, save for an excellent cameo from Chris Jordan. Jordan's late blitz ensured Punjab some respite as it huffed and puffed en route a lowly 122 on decent deck.

 

Punjab 123/9 after 20 overs: Jordan whacks Prasidh for two sixes! Absolute gold dust for Punjab. Jordan slashes the first one over point and then creams the pacer down the ground. Prasidh makes his comeback with a deft slower one that cleans Jordan's stumps. He exchanges a few words to Jordan on his way as well. Jordan b Prasidh 30(18) [4s-1 6s-3]

Punjab 109/8 after 19 overs: Cummins gets his second as Bishnoi slices one straight up in the air. There's something to cheer on for the Punjab dugout as Jordan smacks Cummins over mid-wicket for a biggie that brings up three-figures for his side. Can he find a couple of more in the final over?

Punjab 98/7 after 18 overs: Prasidh to Shahrukh. OUT! There goes Punjab's hopes of a late surge! Prasidh gets the ball to kick up from the pitch as Shahrukh goes for the pull and fails. The ball shoots up straight to Morgan at covers.  Shahrukh Khan c Morgan b Prasidh 13(14) [6s-1]

Punjab 95/6 after 17 overs: Excellent over from Varun as Shahrukh was aiming for the big hits over mid-wicket. Chakravarthy rushed Shahrukh, forcing him to nudge around for singles. Jordan ensures that SRK retains strikes as the pair sneak in a cheeky double.

Punjab 91/6 after 16 overs: Shahrukh smokes Narine for a massive six over deep mid-wicket. Narine gets his length back and darts in the quicker ones that pushes SRK and Jordan to exchange strike.

Punjab 82/6 after 15 overs: Varun to Pooran. OUT! Cleaned 'em up! The pressure gets to Pooran as he sets sights on a rough heave over mid-wicket. Some fierce in his style but Varun had cleaned up the wickets by then. Punjab has fallen flat on a pitch that had enough for the batsmen. Excellent from both the spinners to continue to the stranglehold set by the pacers. Pooran b Chakravarthy 19(19) [4s-1 6s-1]

Punjab 78/5 after 14 overs: Narine to Henriques. OUT! Through the gate! Absolute corker from Narine as he gets the ball turn in from outside off. Henriques fails to read through and the ball simply sneaked in through his defence to rattle the stumps.  Henriques b Narine 2(3)

Punjab 75/4 after 13 overs: Pooran gets going, finally! He bludgeons the ball down the ground with two similar strokes, one that flies over long-on while the other beats a running Shubman Gill to the boundary.

Punjab 63/4 after 12 overs: Narine to Mayank. OUT! A snorter from Tripathi sends Mayank Agarwal on his way back!  Short from Narine and Mayank latches onto the pull. The ball dips much before Tripathi who dives forward to complete a terrific catch. Punjab in all sorts here. Henriques the new man, goes for the cut off Narine's off-breaker first ball and the bottom-edge clips DK's gloves before trickling down. Meanwhile, Henriques' bat flies off his hands towards short square!   Mayank c Tripathi b Narine 31(34) [4s-1 6s-2]

Punjab 60/3 after 11 overs: Varun Chakravarthy keeps it tight in his first over. A slew of variations there from Varun as he mixes up the length. Mayank and Pooran resort to the singles to exchange strike.

Punjab 56/3 after 10 overs: Prasidh keeps the pressure on Mayank, only to let it loose towards the end. Mayank wallops the pacer for a cracking six over long-on to break the shackles, sending PBKS past 50 in the process.

Punjab 46/3 after 9 overs: Russell fires in the full length deliveries that keeps Pooran and Agarwal under the pump. Just the two runs conceded and this has been a cracking 40 minutes for Kolkata.

Andre Russell with the ball

Punjab 44/3 after 8 overs: Prasidh to Hooda. OUT! In the air and gone! Hooda goes for the slash through point and find Morgan on his toes, diving to complete an excellent catch. KKR well and truly on top as the bowlers have been spot-on so far.  Hooda c Morgan b Prasidh 1(4)

Prasidh Krishna replaces Cummins

Punjab 41/2 after 7 overs: Mavi in his fourth. Mavi to Gayle. OUT! Loud shout from Karthik behind the stumps and KKR goes for the review. The umpire does not seem to have heard anything as the ball passed Gayle's bat. The replays suggest a clear spike and Mavi gets his man! Chris Gayle is sent back for a golden duck. A cracking spell comes to end as Mavi finishes with figures of 4-0-13-1. Gayle c Karthik b Shivam Mavi 0(1)

Punjab 37/1 after 6 overs: Cummins to Rahul. OUT! Cummins is back and gets the Punjab skipper! Rahul tries to fetch some runs to end the Powerplay on a high and gets out going for the glory shot. Cummins' previous ball had taken the top-edge for six and Rahul wanted to continue the momentum with a slog off the fuller ball. The pace errs Rahul's timing and sends the ball straight up in the air and Narine makes no mistake at mid-off.  Rahul c Narine b Cummins 19(20) [4s-2 6s-1]

Punjab 29/0 after 5 overs: Three overs on the trot for Mavi and he completes another top over!  Mavi continues to tail in the fuller delivery as Mayank and Rahul restrict themself to solid blocks to see him off.

Punjab 27/0 after 4 overs: Rahul latches onto Narine's loosener first ball. Rahul rocks back and crashed the ball through point for the boundary. No turn whatsoever there for Narine. Narine dishes in the off-break that fetches some drift as Rahul and Mayank wade through with singles.

Sunil Narine replaces Cummins

Punjab 20/0 after 3 overs: Mayank starts with a over with a blazing cover drive to the boundary. Mavi quickly corrects to rush the batsmen with tailing-in delivery that unsettles Mayank on his feet.

Punjab 14/0 after 2 overs: Cummins is a bit off the radar in his first over. He goes down leg first-up before a short-ball goes flying over the third-man for six off Mayank's top-edge. Rahul then closes the over with a delightful cut past point to the boundary.

Pat Cummins into the attack

Punjab 2/0 after 1 over: Mavi on the money from ball one. The lack of bounce surprises both Mayank and Rahul who manage to keep it down for the moment.

Shivam Mavi up with the new ball

Game on. In walk Morgan's men followed by Punjab openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.

=====================================

No Lockie Ferguson yet for the Knights and Sunil Narine gets another opportunity up his sleeve. Punjab brings in Chris Jordan as the extra seam option.

Punjab Kings XI: KL Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Chris Jordan , Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi.

Kolkata Knight Riders   XI : Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

TOSS: KKR wins Toss and Elects to Field

TOSS TIME!

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Pitch report:   Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen size up the Motera pitch. The pitch has hosted a couple of India-England matches earlier this year where runs have not come easily bating first. The chasing side won on three occasions in the five-match T20I series. A lot hinges on the toss on a deck that has an even covering of grass, possibly a good sight for the batsmen. The dimensions are not big and the captain winning the toss would want to field first tonight.

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After managing just 45 runs in five innings so far, Captain Morgan will be desperate to come good against Punjab tonight.
 

6:20PM: Two men at the helm  - Baz McCullum and Anil Kumble have a light moment near the main wicket. It's been a gruelling start for both men as they continue to wrap their heads around the ideal combinations for momentum.

 

6:10PM: Nearly an hour to go for the Toss. Can KKR finally shed off the fatigue of successive losses and redeem itself in the first game being played in Ahmedabad this season?

Numbers Game

 

 

- Match Preview -

Over a fortnight's action done and five games each off their schedules, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders find themselves on similar course. Kolkata, however, is wounded deeper as the side has just lost the plot altogether.

Captain Eoin Morgan's resources could not be labelled below any other side in the league - a powerhouse middle-order comprising himself, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik and a talismanic Pat Cummins who steps up at possibly the right hour - easily puts them above most teams.

Yet the Knights have found a way to let slip the points from winning positions. With a tepid batting display paving way for its fourth loss on the trot on Saturday, Kolkata is hoping for its leading stars to take charge imminently. While pace spearhead Pat Cummins has put up a more eye-popping showing with the bat, Andre Russell's on-and-off show has also hurt the cause. Skipper Morgan's blade has been on the wane as well - just 45 runs from five innings. 

 

KKR's openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill have also failed to cash in on the Powerplays, forcing their side into a shell before the middle-order attempts an all-out slog in an act of desperation.

KL Rahul's men, on the other hand, have some respite as they touchdown in Ahmedabad. A convincing nine-wicket win over the defending champion Mumbai Indians on Friday, helped Punjab snap a run of three straight losses. However, Rahul and coach Kumble will have another tussle in tweaking its winning combination to suit themselves to the conditions of Ahmedabad.

STARS FROM LAST SEASON (IPL 2020):


Full Squads

Punjab Kings Squad : KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jalaj Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar, Jhye Richardson, Ishan Porel, Riley Meredith, Utkarsh Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar

Kolkata Knight Riders   Squad : Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Sandeep Warrier, Tim Seifert, Lockie Ferguson, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vaibhav Arora

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