PBKS vs KKR | Twitter in awe as Chahal’s four-fer outshines KKR’s collapse in a nail-biting thriller

Debayan Sinha

ByDebayan Sinha,SportsCafe Editor

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Chahal' four-fer was instrumental in KKR's collapse at Mullanpur

Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in a nail-biting contest at Mullanpur. Choosing to bat first, Punjab’s batting was rattled by Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravathy, which restricted them to 111, while Yuzvendra Chahal’s four-fer collapsed KKR for 95 runs.

‌Hoping to clean their win record at Mullanpur, Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against KKR. The Punjab openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya were off to a cracking start and took the scorecard to 33/0 in three overs. However, Punjab’s top order stumbled as Arya and Iyer were dismissed by Harshit Rana in the fourth over. Adding to their troubles, Varun Chakaravarthy removed debutant Josh Inglis in the fifth over. More woes followed as Prabhsimran, who was striking at 200, departed in the sixth over with Punjab reeling at 54/4 at the end of the powerplay. The collapse continued when Nehal Wadhera fell in the ninth over, leaving half the side back in the dugout. Glenn Maxwell too failed to fire and fell to Chakaravarthy later in the 10th over. The Kolkata bowlers were clinical as Sunil Narine joined the party by dismissing impact sub Suryansh Shedge. The home side showed little resistance as batters kept losing their wickets cheaply. With Shashank Singh and Xavier Bartlett at the crease, Punjab were in deep trouble at 86/8 in 11 overs. However, a small push from Shashank helped Punjab cross the 100-run mark in the 14th over. But with wickets falling regularly, KKR bowled out the hosts for just 111 in 15.3 overs. 

 

KKR had a disastrous start, with openers Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock falling within the powerplay. The visitors were reeling at 12/2 in just two overs, with Punjab's bowlers sensing an opening for a miracle. However, Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied the ship, accelerating KKR’s innings and taking the score to 55/2 by the end of the powerplay. With just 57 runs required off 14 overs, Kolkata looked poised to finish the chase clinically. But Punjab's bowlers struck back, with Yuzvendra Chahal removing Rahane in the eighth over. Chahal continued his dominance, dismissing Raghuvanshi in the 10th over as KKR stumbled to 72/4. The momentum had shifted, and Chahal’s brilliance brought Punjab back into the game. The 34-year-old then took the key wickets of Rinku Singh and Ramandeep, leaving KKR in tatters at 77/7 by the 12th over. Marco Jansen piled on the pressure, dismissing Shreyas Iyer in the 13th over. With Andre Russell and Vaibhav Arora at the crease, KKR still hoped for a miracle. But their hopes were dashed as KKR crumbled to just 95 runs, handing Punjab a thrilling 16-run victory.

He knows it!

 Unreal

King

That's how

True

Smash time

Sad

Wow

He just did not

IPLing

Absolute cinema

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