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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday, May 8. This came after Kolkata chased down 180 in the final ball of the match.
Opting to bat first, Punjab scored 179/7 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a half-century from skipper Shikhar Dhawan. The left-handed batter scored 57 runs off 47 balls, including a maximum and nine boundaries. Shahrukh Khan (21 off 8) and Harpreet Brar (17 off 9) provided a late flourish to ensure PBKS put on a fighting total.
Varun Chakaravarthy emerged as the pick of the bowlers for KKR, returning with figures of 3/26, while Harshit Rana scalped two wickets. Captain Nitish Rana and Suyash Sharma also took one wicket apiece.
Chasing 180, Rana led from the front with the bat for KKR with his 51 off 38 deliveries. Andre Russell (42 off 23) and Jason Roy (38 off 24) kept the hosts alive in the game. Later, Rinku Singh hit 21* off 10 balls to win the game for Kolkata with a boundary off the final ball when they needed two off the ultimate delivery.
For Punjab, Rahul Chahar scalped two wickets, while Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis took one wicket each.
Fans on Twitter expressed their disappointment with Shikhar Dhawan’s captaincy and PBKS’ management. One user shared a meme that reads:
“See you next season.”
Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:
“We don’t have a good off-spinner” – PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan explains why they lost the game against KKR
Shikhar Dhawan feels that the lack of a proper off-spinner cost Punjab their game against the Knight Riders. Speaking at the post-match conference, the 37-year-old said:
“Feels bad, of course not feeling great, we lost the match. I feel we don’t have a good off-spinner, that's where we are leaking a bit of runs when left-handers come in. This wicket was offering turn as well, that's where we took the hit.”
The Punjab-based franchise will next play the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday, May 13.
Click here to check out the KKR vs PBKS full scorecard.
