3 best moments in KKR vs PBKS matches in IPL ft. Andre Russell
The Kolkata Knight Riders ((KkKR) will take on the Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta in the 42nd match of IPL 2024 on April 26, Friday.
At the time of writing, PBKS have won the toss and opted to bowl, with their opponents cruising at 20 without loss at the end of two overs.
These two teams have seen a lot of big moments between themselves in the past, and it does one no harm to be reminded of them from time to time.
While KKR are perched significantly higher than PBKS in the league table at the moment, the latter can very well pull a cat out of their bag and surprise the home crowd.
In this listicle, we take a look at the three best moments from KKR-PBKS games in the past.
#1 Prasidh Krishna's 3-30 in 2021
Karnataka seamer Prasidh Krishna, who plies his trade for KKR in the IPL, shot into the limelight in the 2021 season of the tournament.
In the game against PBKS at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Krishna was single-handedly responsible for destroying the PBKS batting lineup by picking up 3/30 in his quota of four overs.
PBKS, despite boasting of an impressive lineup consisting of the likes of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Shahrukh Khan among others, could not keep up with Krishna's magic and ended up with just 127/9, which KKR chased down rather comfortably.
#2 Andre Russell's 70* in 2022
When these two teams met in the 2022 season of the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium, PBKS folded up for a meek 137 in just 18.2 overs while batting first.
All the bowlers of KKR were on point on that day, with Umesh Yadav being particularly fearsome with a spell of 4/23 in his quota of four overs which included a maiden. Tim Southee too picked up a couple of wickets to back his opening bowling partner.
In response, KKR were expected to chase these runs down quite comfortably, but found themselves in a state of bother at 51-4 by the end of seven overs.
In walked Andre Russell and changed the script of the game with a 31-ball unbeaten 70 which included 2 boundaries and eight sixes. As a result, KKR were able to make a swift turnaround and chase the target down in just 14.3 overs.
#3 Arshdeep Singh's 3-19 in 2023
India left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who has become one of the vital cogs of the PBKS setup ever since he was given an opportunity by them in the IPL, starred for them with the ball in hand against KKR in 2023.
PBKS batted first in Mohali and put up a decent total of 191-5 in their quota of 20 overs thanks largely to Bhanuka Rajapaksa scoring an even 50 and skipper Shikhar Dhawan contributing with 40.
Rain came into the game, and KKR were set a revised target of 156 in sixteen overs via the DLS method.
PBKS bowled well but seemed in danger of conceding the game; that is when Arshdeep stepped up and picked up the wickets of Mandeep Singh, Anukul Roy and Venkatesh Iyer by conceding just nineteen runs in his three overs.
In the end, despite Andre Russell wielding his muscle, KKR fell agonisingly short by seven runs.