Andre Russell has hit a 23-ball 42 for Kolkata Knight Riders to prime Punjab Kings by 5 wickets and keep alive within the Indian Premier League playoffs race.
Russell’s late heroics drove Kolkata to the brink of victory till he was run out off the penultimate ball. Rinku Singh then hit the final supply by Arshdeep Singh to the sq. leg boundary to complete the job.
Monday’s win took KKR to fifth, trailing Rajasthan Royals within the final playoff qualifying slot on internet run-rate. Punjab slipped to seventh.
Shikhar Dhawan’s 57 off 47 balls powered Punjab to a par whole of 7-179. His 9 fours and a six anchored Punjab whereas wickets fell at common intervals on the different finish.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy picked up 3-26 in 4 overs to stifle the Punjab center order. This was after pacer Harshit Rana took 2-32 to make inroads on the prime.
England’s Jason Roy launched Kolkata’s reply with 38 off 24 balls, and skipper Nitish Rana took over with 51 off 38.
Russell arrived within the 14th over at 3-115, and he took slightly time to settle in with Rinku Singh. Then Russell smashed three sixes in a 20-run Sam Curran over to convey the goal down to 6 off the final over.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
