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IPL 2021 | PBKS vs KKR: Hits & Flops as the Purple brigade return to winning ways

Kolkata Knight Riders returned to winning ways after they defeated Punjab Kings by 5 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to climb to the fifth position in the points table on Monday, 26 April. Coming into the match on the back of three consecutive losses, the Kolkata Knight Riders needed a victory to gain some momentum. The victory was largely built around a sensational bowling performance from the Men in Purple and a mature innings from the blade of Eoin Morgan. 

 A target of 124 never seemed enough when KKR began the run-chase but the loss of three early wickets pushed them to the back foot straightaway. Nitish Rana was dismissed off a juicy full toss in the opening over of Moises Henriques while Shubman Gill was trapped plumb in front by Mohammed Shami. Again the ploy to send Sunil Narine at No 4 didn’t work out as KKR was reduced to 17/3. 

With the Kolkata based franchise left in disarray, Rahul Tripathi got the scare of his life when Chris Gayle dived to his left at short cover and threw the ball directly at the bowlers’ end. Tripathi felt that he was short of his crease and his reaction after the dismissal was a testimony to that. However, he was surprised and pumped up to see that he had just reached the popping crease was saved. 

Tripathi admitted at the end of the match that it was a heart in the mouth kind of situation, “Yes, I thought for a second that I was late to dive. But fortunately, I made it. I was a bit upset (thinking I was run out), but after watching the replay, I was very happy.”

From there on it was a good partnership between the skipper Eoin Morgan and Tripathi which steadied the ship and got KKR right back into the game. A partnership of 66 runs set the foundation for the victory and despite the wickets of Tripathi and Andre Russell, KKR were within touching distance of the target. Eoin Morgan remained unbeaten on 47 and played some delightful shots in the process. Eventually, they reached the target in the 17th over. 

Earlier in the day, it was Eoin Morgan who won the toss and opted to bowl. The Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad had produced some square turners in the Test matches against England. The spinners also got some purchase during the limited-overs series as well. The decision to chase proved to be a masterstroke in the end. 

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal shared a 36-run stand but an exceptional opening spell from Shivam Mavi put the brakes on Punjab. It was his impressive bowling that eventually led to the downfall of Rahul in the final over of the powerplay. He was dismissed in an attempt to improve the scoring rate. Chris Gayle also fell in quick succession and Mavi finally got the wicket that he deserved. 

Deepak Hooda who came into the match on the back of some good form had to depart early slicing a full delivery outside off straight to the point fielder Morgan. Some exceptional middle overs by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy never really allowed the Punjab Kings to press on the accelerator. 

They could never really hit the big shots until Chris Jordan came into the crease and smacked a quickfire 30 of 18 deliveries which included one four and three sixes. Eventually, it was his breezy knock that helped Punjab get past the 120-mark. 

Now let us have a look at the Hits and Flops of the match. 

HITS

Prasidh Krishna 

This young fast bowler has been a find for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last three years and it has been his performance from the Purple brigade which has also earned him a place in the national team. Once again Krishna showed his worth for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 21st match of the tournament against the Punjab Kings as he returned with figures of 3/30. 

Krishna was introduced into the attack in the 8th over and it paid dividends right away. He conceded one run in the first three deliveries before bagging the wicket of Depak Hooda on the 4th delivery. It was a fullish length delivery just outside off and Deepak Hooda played away from the body and ended up slicing it straight to Eoin Morgan at point and he completed the catch with utmost ease.  

Prasidh started off the 10th over with some good deliveries but ended up conceding a wide and a six on the 5th delivery of the over and ended up conceding 10. He was removed from the attack only to be brought back in the 18th over. It was a sensational over from Prasidh as he mixed up his full paced deliveries and the slower ones to perfection. Three runs in the 18th over were quite exceptional from the speedster. 

Prasidh Krishna got some treatment in the final over as he bowled two loose deliveries and was smashed out of the ground by Chris Jordan. However, he bounced back strongly with a well-disguised slower delivery castling Jordan with the change of pace. 

Sunil Narine 

When Narine was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2011 edition, he was a magician who just stormed into the scene with deliveries that were never seen before. He used to bowl both leg break and off-break with the same grip which made scoring against him extremely difficult for even top-class batsmen. 

However, with time, the bite slowly started going down especially after he was reported for a suspect action. He never looked the same Sunil Narine but against the Punjab Kings, he reminded the viewers what he is capable of. Narine was quite exceptional in the 21st match of the competition finishing with figures of 2/22 in his allotted 4 overs. 

Morgan introduced Narine in the 4th over and he was greeted into the attack with a boundary from the blade of KL Rahul. He bowled well in the remaining five deliveries conceding just three runs. 

He was removed from the attack and was brought back in the 12th over when the Punjab Kings were trying to steady the ship after losing some quick wickets. He bowled a sensational over bagging the wicket of Mayank Agarwal and conceding just three runs. 

Narine bowled a back of a length office which stopped on the surface a bit and Mayank ended up hitting this uppishly down the cow corner. It seemed a difficult chance of Rahul Tripathi but he came running in and clung onto a stunner. 

The first delivery of the 14th over was one of the finest deliveries of the day. He invited Moises Henriques into the off-drive but the drift was just enough to beat the defence of Henriques and the stumps were disturbed. 

The way he controlled the middle overs along with Varun Chakravarthy prevented the Punjab Kings from scoring big. He went onto concede 9 runs in his final over of the quota to finish with impressive figures of 2/22 in 4. 

Eoin Morgan 

The English skipper who brought about a revolution for the English limited-overs team finally managed to weave his magic in the IPL both as a leader and a batsman. 

The southpaw was due for runs and needed to lead from the front foot for his team to claw their way back into the tournament. He handled his troops very well and the bowling changes worked wonders for KKR. 

Chasing a below-par target of 124, Morgan needed to steady the ship for the Kolkata Knight Riders after they lost three early wickets. With the score reading 17/3, Morgan and Rahul Tripathi resurrected the run-chase with a 66 runs partnership. 

Morgan paced his innings to perfection and smashed the boundaries whenever the required rate neared run a ball. He cut and pulled to perfection and some of his execution oozed class. 

The southpaw remained unbeaten on 47 off 40 deliveries which was laced with 4 fours and a couple of sixes. Eventually, an unbeaten partnership of 28 runs with Dinesh Karthik sealed the deal for the two-time champions. 

Special Mention

Shivam Mavi narrowly missed out on this list despite a sensational opening spell but due to Sunil Narine’s impact in the match, he got the nod ahead of Mavi. The speedster bowled the opening over of the match and looked in good rhythm right from the word go. He bowled the hard lengths and had both Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul in some sorts of trouble. 

He finally managed to bag the prized wicket of Chris Gayle despite the onfield decision going in favour of the batting team. It was a full delivery outside off and Gayle slashed hard at it only to find an under edge which was safely grabbed by Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps. 

The umpire nodded his head but Karthik was sure and insisted Morgan to go for the review, It proved to be a masterstroke as there was a clear spike on the ultra-edge. Two more impressive overs followed as Mavi finished with figures of 1/13 in his 4 overs spell.

Flops 

Mayank Agarwal

This was a close call not picking his opening partner KL Rahul and including him despite scoring 31. However, the timing of his dismissal proved to be crucial in the context of the game and eventually allowed Punjab to just get to a score of 123 in their allotted 20 overs. 

He began his innings with a streaky six of Pat Cummins in the second over of the match. Cummins bowled a good back of a length delivery and Mayank was hurried with the pace. It got a bit big on him and ended up top-edging well over the deep third man fielder for a six. 

He never managed to get going as Shivam Mavi and the spinners bowled brilliantly and never allowed Mayank to score freely in the powerplay. KL Rahul was dismissed in the final over of the powerplay in a bid to up the ante. Agarwal struggled his ay to 31 of 33 deliveries before perishing at the hands of Sunil Narine. A short-arm jab carried to Rahul Tripathi at the cow corner as he came running in and completed a blinder. 

Nicholas Pooran 

There was no other option but to include Nicholas Pooran in the list. With the sort of hype he created before the start of the tournament, Pooran was expected to be one of the game-changers for the Punjab Kings. 

However, his returns so far in the tournament have been abysmal. After failing to trouble the scorers in three of the first four games, Pooran was castled by Varun Chakravarthy in the 15th over after scoring a run a ball 19. 

The southpaw started off well with a mighty six but couldn’t quite smash the boundaries on a consistent basis. He didn’t look comfortable in the middle and was eventually cleaned up by Chakravarthy. The left-handed batsman went for an ugly swipe down the leg side but ended up missing the line and his stumps were dislodged. 

With that comfortable win, KKR and their captain Eoin Morgan will look to leave the horrors of Chennai in the past and build towards their bid to the top four spot after a streaky start to the tournament. The wealth of experience that KKR have, should ideally help them going forward, given they get their calls right. They play a crucial game against Delhi Capitals next up on April 29, who have just won a super over thriller against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament. Beating Delhi would mean that KKR have finally arrived into the tournament and will send a big message to the top of the pile who at the moment sit at a comfortable distance from the rest of the competition.

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IPL 2021 | KKR vs PBKS: What Experts said as clinical Kolkata punish listless Punjab

It was finally a change in fortunes for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they ended their four-match losing streak with a convincing win against Punjab Kings to move away from the bottom of the points table. With this five-wicket win, the team has now moved up to the fifth position in the table with an equal number of points as fourth-placed Mumbai Indians, albeit with an extra match played. Eoin Morgan, the skipper was right on the money in the chase of a modest 124 on a more than decent wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad’s Motera. The Englishman walked in with KKR in all sorts of trouble at 17-3. Showing exemplary character and determination, he built a 66-run stand with Rahul Tripathi to get the team out of the shackles. Even after two quick wickets of Tripathi and Andre Russell, he kept on going to make sure that the team crosses the hurdle once and for all, which it did in the 17th over. Captains' Viewpoints Speaking after the victory, Morgan said that wins have been hard to come by and thus this one is a special one. “[We] Have worked incredibly hard. Today, along with a bit of luck, the performance was very impressive, particularly with the ball up front.” The Irish born then went on to praise the young fast bowler Shivam Mavi for his fearless bowling. Saying that it was only the second game of the season for the 22-year-old who picked up the important wicket of Chris Gayle, Morgan lauded him. “The match-up against Gayle was favourable. He bowled well in the last game and started well here. For him to make an impact is a huge credit to him,” he added. Enlisting the advantage of having wrist spinners, or spinners that rely on variation rather than the help from the wicket, the 34-year-old skipper said, “The advantage we have over most spinners is that our spinners are variation bowlers. They don't rely on drift and turn. They control their lengths well and rely on a tiny amount of turn and today they were exceptional.” Morgan, who scored unbeaten 47, which is also his highest score this season hoped that this win could kickstart something great for the team. Acknowledging the fact that the conditions all around the world and especially in India are not well with respect to the pandemic, the KKR captain urged people to follow the protocols and stay safe. “When you consider the horrific nature of what's happening outside the bubble, we try and lend our support and encouragement for everything that's going on not only in India but around the world. If you're going out, wear a mask, social distance. We've seen first hand at home how devastating it can be," he concluded. KL Rahul, the losing skipper was at a loss of words to describe the horrific batting performance that his team put up, especially after an ideal match that it had with the bat in the very previous game. “It is never nice to be on the losing side. Don't know what to say. We should have adapted better. We could have applied a lot more with the bat. Expect the boys to be smarter,” said Rahul. The 29-year-old then went on to lament the soft dismissals, including his own saying, “Some soft dismissals have cost us the game.” The wicket-keeper captain also called the pitch two-paced which got better with dew settling in. “It was a bit two-paced. Kept a little up-down. Was tough to assess what are the high-risk shots here,” he said. The Karanataka born hope that the team would bounce back from this as is characteristic of a very good team. “It is expected of good teams to adapt quicker. We need to keep our heads higher and keep trying,” he said. Ravi Bishnoi, the leg spinner who removed Sunil Narine with a stunner of a catch at deep square leg was also praised by the skipper. “Bishnoi's catch was stunning. Especially when you have a coach like Jonty Rhodes, he puts us to tough tests and sees how every boy reacts. The training rubs on during match situations. Hopefully, we can keep building and get better,” Rahul said. Expert Opinion The experts were of the opinion that the Punjab team could not muster the courage and application to bat out on a difficult wicket and thus remained 20-25 run short of what could have been a challenging total. Ayaz Memon, the veteran journalist called the pitch sluggish but also blamed the approach of the Punjab batters on the same wicket. To present a contrasting picture of how KKR approached the game on the same wicket, Ayaz then went on to praise the captaincy and batting of Knight Riders' skipper Eoin Morgan. Ben Jones, the Australian cricket expert, in a way of mocking the Punjab Kings think tank for playing Moises Henriques as an all-rounder instead of pure batsman brought in stats that suggested how wrong the Punjab Kings approach towards Henriques has been. Gaurav Kalra, a veteran TV journalist has been featuring in our expert’s pieces, but generally for his witty content. Today though, he tried to enhance the importance of Gayle’s wicket in Shivam Mavi’s spell today. But if Gurav was not providing us with the fun content, Aakash Chopra, the cricketer turned pundit of the game, made sure that we were not devoid of it with his attempted wordplay on Nicholas Pooran’s miserable run of form in the tournament so far. The two teams would now face two different opponents, with Punjab Kings lining up to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore while KKR would face the in-form Delhi Capitals in their next clash. Both these matches would take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad only.

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Andrew Tye questions running IPL during Covid-19 crisis in India

Rajasthan Royals bowler Andrew Tye, who left the team bubble on Sunday, 25 April to fly back to Australia has questioned the Indian Premier League’s organising committee and the Indian government on how the league has been allowed to function when there are so many people unable to get hospital beds and oxygen cylinders. “Looking at it from an Indian point of view, how are these companies and franchises spending so much money, and the government, on the IPL when there are people not being able to get accepted into hospital?” Tye questioned while speaking on the SEN WA Breakfast with Gilly and Goss from Doha. The 34-year-old fast bowler further doubted how long could the players remain safe in the bio-bubble. “From a player safety point of view, we’re safe now but is it going to stay safe?” he asked. Tye, who has represented several IPL teams over the years and taken 40 wickets in 27 games, also felt that if the sport does bring in some positivity, then he has no problem in the league going on. “If sport can continue and be one of those avenues to relieve stress or give a glimmer of hope that the world is OK and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I think it should go ahead. But I know that’s not everyone’s feelings and I completely respect everyone’s views from all angles,” said Western Australia born. Talking about the reasons why he left the IPL midway, Tye said, “There was a number of reasons, but the main one was with the situation that has started to happen back home in Perth with a lot of cases in hotel quarantine coming out of India.” Tye had said that he might not be the only one leaving the bubble as the number of Covid-19 cases grow in India. He was right in his prediction as soon after his return, two players from the RCB, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson chose to return back home as well. Earlier Liam Livingstone left the RR bio-bubble citing bubble fatigue.

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IPL 2021: ECB still not mulling to withdraw players despite huge spike in COVID cases

The English players who are currently part of the IPL is expected to stay in their respective bio-bubbles atleast as of now after the England Cricket Board (ECB) made a revelation that they have no plans to pull their players out of the ongoing IPL. With three of the Australian players reportedly flying back home, the English players were bound to feel the heat as well. However, the English board has left it upon the individuals to decide whether they want to continue or fly back home. Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa pulled out of the tournament earlier today after Andrew Tye and Ravichandran Ashwin also announce their decision to withdraw midway through the tournament. While Ashwin expects to return if the situation improves, the other three Australian players cannot take any further part in the tournament. Earlier it was Liam Livingstone who left the Rajasthan Royals bio-bubble citing bubble fatigue. Currently, there are 11 English players who are plying their trade in the IPL. Despite the situation worsening in India, ECB doesn’t feel the immediate need to pull their players out of the tournament. Earlier today, Mumbai Indians pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile stated that he feels more secure in the MI bio-bubble at the moment rather than going back home. “We continue to monitor and work with the players on an individual basis. We are offering advice daily to those that seek it. Our thoughts are with the people of India during these difficult times,” a spokesperson for the ECB said. Earlier in the day, it was Australian speedster Pat Cummins who is part of the Kolkata Knight Riders who showed a wonderful gesture by donating 50,000 dollars to India’s Prime Minister Fund in response to India’s fight against COVID-19. He also urged other cricketers and from other fraternities as well to contribute for India’s cause. “There has been quite a bit of discussion over here as to whether it is appropriate for the IPL to continue while COVID-19 infection rates remain high. I’m advised that the Indian Government is of the view that playing the IPL while the population is in lockdown provides a few hours of joy and respite each day at an otherwise difficult time for the country. “As players, we are privileged to have a platform that allows us to reach millions of people that we can use for good. With that in mind, I have made a contribution to the ‘PM Cares Fund’, specifically to purchase oxygen supplies for India’s hospitals. “I encourage my fellow IPL players – and anyone else around the world who has been touched by India’s passion and generosity – to contribute. I will kick it off with 50,000. I know my donation isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but I hope it will make a difference to someone,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

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IPL 2021 | DC vs RCB: Brutally hurt Challengers look to regroup against Red-hot Capitals

The Royal Challengers Bangalore were looking like a team to beat before they met Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in their last match of the Mumbai leg. They were not only defeated but thrashed brutally with all their confidence taking a tumble. Their main bowler, Harshal Patel was taken to the cleaners and all their strike batsmen including Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli were tossed up like minions in the sky under the Chennai storm. It is under these circumstances that the red and gold would take the field against a team that is oozing with confidence under a young skipper and with a super over victory under their belt. Delhi Capitals by any means are not an easy opponent for the pride hurt Challengers. Could Ashwin's absence be a blessing in disguise for DC? Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the major part of a Delhi Capitals outfit decided to quit the IPL midway to be with his family which is fighting Covid-19. In any circumstance, Ashwin, 34, is an asset for any team with his ability to provide so many variations with the ball, especially in the powerplay. However, in this IPL, Ashwin hasn’t really been that effective. The spinner has got only one scalp in the 19 overs of the five games that he has bowled in. His economy rate of 7.74 isn’t the best either and it could be said that with the comeback of Axar Patel, Ashwin’s absence could pretty much solve the jigsaw puzzle for the Capitals. Lalit Yadav, who has been in great touch with both bat and ball could now be included in the side without compromising on anything. In the three matches that he has played, Yadav, 24, has scored 54 runs and has got dismissed only once. With the ball too, he has been successful in picking a wicket and has generally been economical only. With Amit Mishra, Axar, Lalit, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan and Marcus Stoinis as bowling options, the Capitals have a more than good enough chance of trouncing any opponent. Getting the loss out of system should be RCB's priority The RCB unit must take the defeat at the hands of CSK as an off day which any team could have had in a season. Instead of drawing too many conclusions Virat Kohli and his men must let that defeat sink in and redraw the lessons from their previous wins to focus on the next game. The fact that their prime bowler, who has so far taken 15 wickets in just five games of the tournament, went for 37 runs in the last over, was not a mistake on the part of his skills. Rather they should take it on the face value that the batsman at the other end was too brave, too skilful, too lucky at times to do what he did in that game. Similarly with their batsmen including the skipper himself failing in the face of the adversity should not demoralise themselves. Instead, they should go chin up and trust their skills with which one Devdutt Padikkal scored a hundred, another Maxwell showed that he could be consistent and an ABD demonstrated that winning games were still a trick he could pull easily. It is only this attitude that could lift up the morale of the team and could lead its comeback. Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Match Details Match Number-22 Date and Time: April 27, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The newly built Motera Stadium has several strips which could be used as the pitch for the game and fortunately or unfortunately, all the strips do not behave the same way. This means that a game could be as high scoring affair as a team getting 224 and the second team could close it down as well, or it could be as low scoring as the team bundling out for 124. But with the experience of the India-England T20I series and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy knockouts, it could be reasoned that the square won’t be super quick and thus expecting runs in access of 170 might be too much. Weather and Toss With clear skies and temperatures getting better for playing cricket with each passing hour, Motera could be a better place to play with three fast bowlers and two spinners. It would surely be better than Chennai and the western part of India is prone to dew in this period of the year. Hence, a skipper winning the toss and deciding to field first shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Team News Delhi Capitals With Ashwin leaving the field and no signs of Nortje’ full recovery, the only change possible in the team seems the coming back of Lalit Yadav in place of the off-spinner. Strongest XI Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan Royal Challengers Bangalore The idea of pushing Dan Christian ahead of Daniel Sams is beyond logic, especially with the fact that Sams has so far been untested. Moreover, since Motera has been pace friendly, playing Sams with an option of left-arm angle for the left-handed Delhi batters would be an interesting approach. Also, the fact that Sams in the past had been part of the DC camp could also come as an advantage for the RCB unit, giving all the more reasons as to why he should play. Shahbaz Ahmed should also get back his place in place of Navdeep Saini. Strongest XI Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Dream XI Predictions / Fantasy XI Suggestions AB de Villiers (wk), Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Glenn Maxwell, Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan.