KKR record their second highest team total in IPL history after amassing 261/6 against PBKS in IPL 2024
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continued their near-invincible form in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they put on 261/6 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens on Friday, April 26. The total is not only the second-highest in KKR history but also the highest-ever score recorded at the historic venue in West Bengal.
The two-time winners were put into bat first by stand-in PBKS skipper Sam Curran. Much like the season so far, KKR were propelled by a blistering start by their in-form opening pair of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt. The duo piled misery on PBKS by scoring 76 runs in the powerplay, a phase that included a slew of dropped catches.
Narine and Salt reached their respective half-centuries, as KKR put on 137 runs in the first ten overs without losing a single wicket. Even though PBKS responded with breakthroughs in the second half of the innings, KKR's scoring never dipped as Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer all chipped in with crucial cameos.
KKR had a chance to record their highest total after reaching 259 runs in 19.2 overs. However, right-arm pacer Harshal Patel returned strongly in his over after conceding two boundaries, to give away only two runs off the final four deliveries.
This marks the sixth instance that the 250-run mark has been breached in the 2024 season, and prior to this campaign, that particular figure was only scaled twice. KKR also became the seventh franchise in T20 cricket history to score in excess of 250 runs across multiple occasions.
KKR's highest total remains their 272-run effort against DC earlier in the 2024 season
KKR's highest score prior to the ongoing season was 245 runs, which came against the Kings XI Punjab (now renamed to the Punjab Kings) in the 2018 season in Indore.
In their third match of the 2024 campaign, KKR posted a historic 272-7 against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Vizag. The total remains the third highest in the competition's history, only bettered by the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) efforts against the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the same ongoing season.
KKR's 18 sixes in the innings, more than half of which were scored by Narine and Salt, is their joint-highest as their onslaught against DC also witnessed the same.