Punjab Kings (PBKS) succumbed to their fourth defeat of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 after failing to defend 123/9 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad.
KKR lost three wickets in the first three overs during the chase. Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine walked back without disturbing the scorers, while Shubman Gill manageD only 9 before getting trapped by Mohammed Shami.
Rahul Tripathi (41 off 32) and Eoin Morgan then forged an important partnership for the fourth wicket to bring their team back into the chase. Morgan walked back unbeaten on 47. He was adjudged as Player of the Match.
.@KKRiders captain @Eoin16 scored a match-winning 47* against Punjab Kings & won the Man of the Match award in Match 21 of the #VIVOIPL. π π #PBKSvKKR
Scorecard π https://t.co/sBoaBIpF2J pic.twitter.com/v1e2iPdHsB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2021
Earlier in the evening, KKR bowlers stood up to the occasion and restricted PBKS to a below-par total of 123/9 in 20 overs.
The KKR bowling attack fired on all cylinders tonight π₯#IPL2021 #pbksvskkr #kkr #prasidhkrishna #cummins #narine #mavi #cricketnews pic.twitter.com/uwHnEyTI6l
— CricketNews.com (@cricketnews_com) April 26, 2021
Although Morganβs knock stole the show, Tripathiβs was equally crucial.
Finally Captain #Morgan makes a sizable contribution and meets the big hype around him π 47(40)*
Rahul Tripathi 41(32) – crucial knock#KKR win by 5 wkts with 20 balls to spare. Much needed one for them#KKRvPBKS
— Kaushik LM (π· #StaySafe) (@LMKMovieManiac) April 26, 2021
Ravi Bishnoiβs catch to dismiss Narine was a thing of beauty. Even Lisa Sthalekar was impressed.
Yes boy, run around the whole damn field!! You deserve to Ravi Bisnoi ππ½ππ½ππ½ππ½
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) April 26, 2021
KKR finally ended their four-match losing streak with a five-wicket victory over PBKS.
That winning feeling ππ#PBKSvKKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2021pic.twitter.com/0N7McIjNxL
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2021