Punjab Kings registered history on Tuesday by successfully defending the lowest total in the Indian Premier League history against defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders. The rejuvenated PBKS have started their campaign on the right note with four wins in six matches, and they have now turned out to be a title contender under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership.
Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tide in Punjab’s way with sensational figures of 4/28 as KKR crumbled under pressure in the 112-run chase. Chahal was under the scanners before Tuesday’s match, but he turned up when his team needed him the most.
KKR’s power-hitter Andre Russell put up a fightback with a couple of sixes and a four before getting dismissed by Marco Jansen. KKR (95 all out) were short of 16 runs in the end. It could have been a bigger one, but a bizarre error from Xavier Bartlett helped the visitors get a bonus four runs.
It was the eighth over of the chase, and Venkatesh Iyer swept Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery at the long leg, where Barlett fielded the ball comfortably. However, when he went to throw the ball, it slipped off his hands, and he ended up throwing it backwards for a boundary. Venkatesh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi had already completed a run before Barlett made the blunder, as five runs were added to KKR’s score. Yuzvendra Chahal got a bit agitated with the fielder’s efforts.
Meanwhile, KKR lost momentum after that as Chahal spun his web to get rid of Raghuavanshi and power-hitters Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh, which derailed the visitor’s chase.
‘It was a team effort’: Chahal
Chahal, who was named Player of the Match, credited the entire team for the effort but highlighted the importance of staying positive despite the low score on the board.
“I think it was a team effort. We wanted to stay positive, take 2-3 wickets in the powerplay. The pitch wasn’t easy. There was turn in the pitch as well,” Chahal said after the game.
“My first ball turned, so Shreyas [Iyer] said, ‘Let’s have a slip’. We needed to take wickets to win this game because the runs were low,” he added.
With the win, PBKS are moved to the the fourth spot, with four wins and two losses while, KKR are placed at the sixth spot, with three wins and four losses.