KKR steal one
The rain has won. The match has been called off. KKR walk away with one point from this game. PBKS will be disappointed they didn't get a chance to defend 201 on what was, according to almost everyone, "a very, very slow pitch".
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We start losing overs now
A steady rain still at Eden Gardens. Not many sticking around in the stands. We lose an over every four overs. That means we can afford to lose another hour and no more.
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Still raining
So we have lost a half hour already, and it's still raining. Another half hour of this, and we start losing overs.
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Thunderstorm at Eden: 7 for 0 in 1
Out of nowhere we have a thunderstorm in Kolkata, and players are walking off. Harpreet Brar is PBKS' Impact Player. Marco Jansen has bowled the only over. Now we wait.
This is quite a storm. The ground staff are struggling to keep the covers down, which are flying into the stands. A lot of rubbish flying around in the stands. We start losing overs only after an hour.
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KKR pull things back: 201 for 4 in 20
42 Number of runs PBKS managed in their last six overs. Andre Russell got some reverse, the spinners bowled two overs for 13 runs and Maxwell's wicket, and Arora used slower balls. So this looks like a very good total
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A weird promotion for Jansen ends: 184 for 4 in 18.3
Marco Jansen, promoted ahead of Shashank, Wadhera and Inglis, has gone for 3 off 7, causing a momentum drop in the PBKS innings. There are also signs the ball is gripping when the bowlers are running their fingers on it.
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Varun gets Maxwell again: 172 for 3 in 16.4
5 Number of times Varun Chakravarthy has got Glenn Maxwell out in eight innings, but he has scored 50 off 33. Even here he reverses him for a four, earns the short seam-up delivery, but misses it on the cut and is bowled. Marco Jansen promoted.
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Narine 4-0--35-0: 167 for 2 in 16 overs
Even though Sunil Narine has made a good comeback, conceding just 6 in the 16th over, this has been a big win for PBKS: deny Narine a wicket and also take 9 an over off him. Now Shreyas and Maxwell set themselves up for the death overs.
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Spin on good length is unhittable
91 Strike-rate against spin pitched in the 4-6m band. Anything shorter has gone at around 450 and anything fuller at around 150.
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Prabh finds long-off: 160 for 2 in 14.3
Prabhsimran Singh has hit some good balls for audacious boundaries tonight but his innings ends with a juicy full toss hit straight down the throat of long-off. He is gone for 83 off 49. Shreyas Iyer scored 5 out of 40 in the second-wicket stand.
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Varun taken down: 158 for 1 in 14
Prabhsimran has now scored 48 off the last 15 balls he has faced, including 19 off the Varun Chakravarthy over. Slog sweeps and a reverse-sweep do the job. He is now 82 off 47.
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Fifty for Prabhsimran as well: 126 for 1 in 12.2
With a lovely late-cut off Chetan Sakariya, Prabhsimran Singh gets to the mark off 38 balls. He has tried to hit but the ball hasn't always obeyed him. He was 34 off 32 at one pint. Then came the switch hit off Narine.
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Arya finally falls: 120 for 1 in 11.5
Priyansh Arya is not wasting any time, constantly accelerating in the second half of the innings. He takes Andre Russell for a six, and then mis-hits his second attempt in the same over. He is goen for 69 off 35. This stand of 120 is PBKS' only hundred partnership this IPL.
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Narine's third goes for 22: 112 for 2 in 11
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That's the 11th over, Sunil Narine's joint-third costliest over in all T20 cricket. The costliest he has ever bowled is 23.
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Switch hit to Narine: 103 for 0 in 10.3
The most audacious of shots as Prabhsmiran Singh gets down on a knee early and switches his grip and slog-sweeps Sunil Narine without getting to its pitch. Clean over what would have been extra cover.
This after Priyansh Arya charged him and lofted him for a straight six without getting to the pitch of the ball. I have heard a lot about this pitch being dry and slow, but those rumours might have been exaggerated.
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Fifty for Arya: 89 for 0 in 9.5
It has taken just 27 balls for Priyansh Arya to get to a fifty on what everybody is saying is a difficult pitch. He has played five false shots in these 27 balls. He has picked his bowlers beautifully: 11 off 12 against spin, and 43 off 16 against pace. This is some innings.
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Spin is in: 74 for 0 in 9
21 Number of runs added in four overs since spin was introduced. Only one six off Varun in these overs
PBKS win the powerplay: 56 for 0 in 6
We just heard PBKS' coach Ricky Ponting say the pitch is "very, very slow". That makes this opening from Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh extra special. And they have not taken big risks. When Varun Chakravarthy came on to bowl, they went to measured batting even though it was the last over of the powerplay.
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PBKS off and running: 43 for 0 in 4
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PBKS have hardly played a shot in anger, but they have 43 for 0 in four overs. Above is the fourth over, bowled by Chetan Sakariya, who was allowed to bowl his first for just three. It just seems they are extra conscious to not over-hit the ball
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Arya through the covers: 25 for 0 in 3
4 Number of fours PBKS have hit in the first three overs. All by Priyansh Arya. All between mid-off and cover.
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Arya gets off to a smooth start: 10 for 0 in 1 over
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As usual, Vaibhav Arora stays on a good length, swinging the ball right to left, but Priyansh Arya has started and ended the over with lovely cover-driven fours.
Arora tried the outswinger to Prabhsimran Singh, but the batter has been walking at him to cut down the movement.
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Have Arya-Prabhsimran been the Travishek of IPL 2025?
191 votesYes - the most exciting opening pair
Nah - there are better duos at the top
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PBKS choose to bat first, Maxwell back
For the first time since last Saturday, a team decided to bat first after winning the toss in the IPL. Punjab Kings' Shreyas Iyer said he saw cracks on the pitch and expected the pitch to turn as the game progressed. This was also the first time a side had decided to bat first at Eden Gardens this year.
The particular strip was hosting its third match of this season. Pitch reports suggested a dry and tired pitch. With a breeze settling in, PBKS were also hopeful there wouldn't be much dew later in the night. They reserved the option of bringing in Harpreet Brar as an Impact Player.
Keeping the conditions in mind, PBKS welcomed back Glenn Maxwell into the XI, not just as a better batter of spin than Marcus Stoinis but also as a spinner. Azmatullah Omarzai also came in for PBKS.
Kolkata Knight Riders, almost fighting for survival in their title defence, handed debuts to Rovman Powell and Chetan Sakariya. Angkrish Raghuvanshi was expected to be their Impact Player. One of their retained players, Ramandeep Singh, was neither in the XI nor in the list of substitutes.
PBKS had 10 points from eight games, joint-fourth on the table, but with a game in hand. Defending champions KKR were joint-seventh after winning only three matches in eight.
Punjab Kings 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt.), 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Shashank Singh, 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Glenn Masxwell, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Possible Impact Players Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Pravin Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge
Kolkata Knight Riders 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh iyer, 4 Ajinkya Rahane (capt.), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Vaibhav Arora, 9 Chetan Sakariya, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Possible Impact Players Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia
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Conditions report
This will be the third match on this pitch. Matthew Hayden has seen dry patches on it. He says players tell him they expect it to turn more in the second innings. So can they be bold enough to take the dew on and bat first? We will know shortly. We already know KKR have handed out a cap to Rovman Powell. More from the toss to come soon.
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Is it time for Rahane to start opening?
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KKR's ghosts of heroes past
It is never possible to retain everyone, but KKR have let two big ones slip through their fingers in the recent years. First it was Shubman Gill, then Shreyas Iyer, the latter after he had led them to a title. Given how much they bid on Venkatesh Iyer, these don't seem to be money decisions either.
Already Gill and Shreyas have hurt KKR this year. Gill was Payer of the Match when GT beat PBKS, and Shreyas led a ferocious defence of 111. Shreyas once again comes up against KKR of whom he would have expected more love after the championship.
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Watch out for some records
In the last two matches between these two teams, Punjab Kings have registered both the highest successful chase and the lowest successful defence in the history of the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders will want one back over PBKS, more so because they can't afford any more slip-ups if they are to keep their title defence alive.
Position on the points table
PBKS: 5 wins in 8 matches, joint-fourth but with a game in hand
KKR: 3 wins in 8 matches, joint-seventh but with a game in hand
KKR: 3 wins in 8 matches, joint-seventh but with a game in hand
So this game is quite important for PBKS as well as they are involved in a slugfest in the middle of the table right now. Let the records tumble.
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