DUBAI, CMC – Punjab Kings defied the departure of veteran West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and held their nerve in the final over to edge out Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) yesterday.
Gayle withdrew on Thursday from the Kings for the remainder of the IPL because of bio-secure bubble fatigue, but their captain KL Rahul and fellow opener Mayank Agarwal led a successful chase of 166 in 19.3 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Rahul made 67 from 55 balls and fellow opener Mayank Agarwal scored 40 after an early reprieve paved the way for victory that earned them two points and moved them into fifth on 10 to keep their playoff chances alive.
The result ensured that KKR did not break away from the mid-table pack that includes the Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals, with only two points separating the four teams between fourth and seventh.
It also confirmed a spot for Delhi Capitals in the playoffs as they can no longer finish below fourth.
The three West Indies players in the match did nothing special – the worrying form of T20 vice-captain Nicholas Pooran continued, Fabian Allen was wicket-less in four overs with his left-arm spin that cost 38 and did not get a real chance to bat, and Sunil Narine made three not out for KKR and had figures of 1-34 in his four overs.
KKR captain Eoin Morgan dropped Agarwal at cover off New Zealand pacer Tim Southee and the batsman made his opponents pay for that reprieve.
He creamed three fours and two sixes to guide the Kings to 46 without loss with Rahul at the close of the powerplay.
The pair completed a half-century stand in the seventh over, but KKR managed to break the opening act when Varun Chakaravathy got Agarwal caught at cover by Morgan in the ninth over.
Pooran got a life in the 10th over, but he failed to make the most opportunity before Chakaravarthy bowled him for 12 in the next over.
Rahul brought up his 50 and with South African Aiden Markram took the Kings past 120 before Narine struck.
The mystery spinner claimed Markram caught at deep extra cover for 18 and Shivam Mavi got Deepak Hooda caught at deep mid-wicket for three in the space of seven balls.
Kings still need 34 from 21 balls, but Shahrukh Khan survived an early chance when Venkatesh Iyer could not toss up the ball sufficiently to complete a catch at deep mid-wicket as the batsman earned a second-ball six.
Shahrukh then hit a four in the next over and Rahul struck two fours in the penultimate over before he was caught at long-off in the final over, leaving Shahrukh to seal the win for the Kings with three balls to spare.
Earlier, Iyer hit 67 too, from 49 balls and KKR posted a competitive 165 for seven after they were sent into bat.
Iyer and Shubman Gill gave KKR a brisk start, scoring 17 runs in the first two overs.
But Arshdeep Singh bowled Gill in the third over before Iyer and Rahul Tripathi stitched together the best partnership of the innings of 72 and KKR past 50
Tripathi lashed two fours of Nathan Ellis in the 11th over, but he got out in the next over when Ravi Bishnoi had him caught at long-on.
Iyer then notched up his second 50 of the season, as KKR moved past 100 in the 13th over, but he was fell to Bishnoi two overs later.
The Kings managed to keep things tight in the closing stages, conceding only 45 in the last five overs, with Singh ending with 3-32 and leg-spinner Bishnoi taking 2-22.
