KKR defeated Punjab Kings by five wickets, chasing down the 180-run winning target off the last ball of the innings, with Russell scoring a 23-ball 43 studded with three fours and as many maximums.
Russell punished PBKS quick Sam Curran in the penultimate over of the innings, hitting the England bowler for three sixes before the West Indian was run out, leaving Rinku Singh to score the winning runs.<\/p>\n
Rinku smashed a boundary of the last ball to win the match for KKR.
“Ten matches have gone, we were all waiting for that one Russell innings to come. He was one innings away, I kept backing him saying you have done a lot, and you will 100 per cent win us a game,” said Nitish Rana.<\/p>\n
![\"KKR](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/42706777.gif\"\/ "\\"KKR")
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KKR vs PBKS IPL 2023 Highlights: Kolkata clinch last-ball thriller to stay alive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Rana also conceded he was angry with his bowlers conceding runs in the last couple of overs to let PBKS score a competitive 179\/7.
“This pitch was a feel of home advantage as well. Our bowlers bowled badly at the death, I was angry that we conceded that many because this was a 160-165 run wicket.
Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan lamented the lack of a quality off-spinner in his side, though leg-spinner Rahul Chahar did bowl a tight spell.
“I feel that we don’t have a good off-spinner. When left-handers come, from one end we have a leg-spinner and at the other end we have a left-arm spinner (Harpreet Brar). So that’s where I feel we are leaking a bit of runs. This wicket was offering turn as well so I feel that’s where we took the hit,” said Shikhar.<\/p>\n
1<\/span>\/12<\/p>\n Show Captions<\/p>\n <p>Andre Russell’s blazing 42 and a finishing act by Rinku Singh kept Kolkata Knight Riders in the hunt for the playoffs with a tense final-ball win over Punjab Kings on Monday.<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Spinner Varun Chakravarthy set up victory with bowling figures of 3\/26 including the key wicket of Liam Livingstone (15), as Punjab finished on 179\/7.<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s 57 and late cameos boosted Punjab’s total with 36 runs from the last two overs, but the effort was not enough. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Fast bowler Harshit Rana provided the early breakthroughs including Bhanuka Rajapaksa for a duck. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma, who got Sam Curran caught behind four, combined to choke the flow of runs with their leg spin. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Dhawan kept up the charge despite getting little support from the other end as he reached his third fifty of the season before departing in the 15th over. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Skipper Nitish Rana set up the chase with his 51 after Jason Roy gave the home team a solid start with his 38 off 24 balls but a few wickets set KKR back. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>KKR looked in trouble at 124\/4 while chasing 180 for victory when Russell and Rinku (21*), put on a partnership of 54 to win by five wickets. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>The Russell-Rinku combination tore into the opposition attack as KKR hammered 53 runs in the final four overs to pocket their fifth win in 11 matches. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Russell smashed three sixes off Sam Curran in the 19th over but got run out on the penultimate delivery with KKR needing two off the final ball. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Rinku hit the winning boundary off Arshdeep Singh to take KKR from eighth to fifth in the points table. <\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dhawan did sound dejected now that they are staring at relegation. (With inputs from PTI) <\/span><\/div>\nIPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Punjab Kings to keep playoffs hopes alive<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
“Not feeling that great. We lost the game and it was not an easy track to bat on and I feel that we put on a good total. At the end, they played well.
“It was great, phenomenal effort from Arshdeep (Singh) and the way he has bounced back from the last game, all credit goes to him. It was quite interesting that he took the game to the last ball so it was really good,” added Shikhar. <\/p>\n![\"Cricket](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/imgsize-23456,msid-100088463,width-600,resizemode-4\/100088463.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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