KKR vs PBKS highlights, IPL 2024: Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets to chase highest T20 total ever

“Save the bowlers” someone plsss
??? #KKRvsPBKS #IPL2024

— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) April 26, 2024

Sandip G: Smuggling a single, Shashank Singh leapt and punched the air. His partner and chief architect of the chase, Jonny Bairstow soon embraced. In a trice, ecstatic teammates piled on in cathartic joy. It  has been a difficult season for Punjab Kings, having lost six of their eight encounters before this. But here they pulled the highest run chase ever in this format, with eight balls to spare no less. The Eden Gardens crowd stood and stared shocked, wanting to celebrate the moment yet mourn their team’s defeat. They recovered from the initial jolt and gamely applauded Punjab Kings. A gutted Shreyas Iyer, the KKR captain, would tell the hosts broadcasters: “Both teams played tremendously. You have to go back to the drawing board and see where you went wrong. Not defending hurts but it's a great lesson for the players.” Shashank, who leathered 68 off 28 balls, choked for words as he explained his methods. It was just another league game, but the mood was akin to a big knockout match that had just gotten over. Then every day, teams don’t chase down 262 in this format. It’s a night to celebrate the game as much as the record chase.

It is ironical the match ended as after all the carnage of boundaries it was a quick single that gave Punjab Kings this historic win. Jonny Bairstow has been the anchor of the chase for lack of better words the likes of Prabhsimran and Shashank in the end did their cameo bit. As per KKR bowlers, there is a lot of work to be done with regards to their bowling. 

Nine runs are needed from two overs in a normal game it would have looked fine but given the context of the chase, this is remarkable for Punjab. It will take some time to sync in for both sides but KKR need to sort out their bowling going forward in the torunament.

Chameera has been brought back into the attack Shashank smacked him for three mammoth sixes to extract 18 runs. Punjab needs 18 more to win to make the highest chased total ever in the history of the tournament. What a game we are having.

Bairstow gets to his 100 in just 45 balls what a knock he single handi did the damage in the middle overs and made sure the rate has been under check through and the way things are going this might not even need 20 overs for Punjab to get it done.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) season has witnessed several high-scoring chases throughout 17 editions.

Rajasthan Royals recorded the highest successful run-chase in IPL history during the 2020 IPL season where they overhauled a 224-run target against the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Sharjah. They equalled the record in the 2024 season, with a sensational chase against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. RR chased down 224 off the final delivery, led by an unbeaten hundred from Jos Buttler. (Read more)

Narine has been brought back into the attack and the matchwinner again delivers the goods for KKR. Shashank has walked into the middle and he has a job to do here. This is a good time for KKR to bowl a few tight overs. 

That is another expense over some brutal hitting from Bairstow against Russell. 24 runs came off that last over this is now getting bad to worse for the Kolkata Knight Riders here as well. The way things are going this could be over way before 20 overs. 

This is turning into carnage here in Eden Gardens yes the ball is gripping but the brute strength with which the batters are clearing their front leg and hitting the balls into the stands has been remarkable. Off all the days it Bairstow has hit some form when Punjab needed the most. 

Vinayakk: Prabhsimran Singh had developed an unfortunate habit. Frequently used as the Impact Player by Punjab Kings, he almost always comes out to bat, goes bang-bang, then gets out in the 20s and 30s. Of the 8 innings before Friday night in Kolkata, Prabhsimran crossed 19 five times but didn't cross 35. At Eden Gardens though, he seemed to put it right in some style. He took Punjab to a blistering start, smashing Harshit Rana, Dushmantha Chameera, Anukul Roy in the powerplay. Then came Sunil Narine, and Prabhsimran welcomed him with a four and six. The 20-ball 54 was a brilliant knock... but it came to an end with a run out at the end of 24-run over. Jonny Bairstow smashed Anukul Roy 4-6-4-4-6 but off the last ball, took off for a single that saw Prabhsimran fall short thanks to a Narine direct hit. As he walked off, he put the bat face close to his helmet grille and roared in frustration. A soft end after a stunning start.

Bairstow smacked a six-through long off to bring up his 50 off just 23 balls. That is his first half-century since he came to India in January. His innings are here keeping Punjab Kings in the chase. This is promising to be another close contest.

Harshit Rana has been brought back into the attack by Kolkata after a cluster of overs from spin and he bowled a decent over without picking a wicket. Punjab can afford that slowing down of rate because of the hyperaggressive start given by Prabhsimran Singh.

After the expensive over from Anukul Roy it has been a good back from Narine just giving away one run in that over after the strategic time out. Here lies the challenge for Punjab batters. They need to deal with Kolkata mystery spinners. 

Off the final ball of the powerplay, Prabhsimran got himself runout trying to sneak a quick single. It has also been a dream powerplay for Punjab as they scored their highest in the phase when it was needed the most. 

Narine came into the attack and Prabhsimran slog-swept him for a six and brought up his fifty this has been an excellent start from Punjab Kings in this run chase but the challenge is they need to keep the momentum going even after field is spread. 

Spin has been introduced by KKR Anukul Roy has been brought into the attack and Prabhsimran played a couple of ugly shots to get boundaries away. However, the wicket seems to be still gripping a bit for spinners. 

Prabhsimran has got Punjab to a terrific start here. He is pummeling the bowlers all around the dial. It will be interesting to see if Iyer will turn to spinner as seamers are getting nothing out of this surface at the moment. 

Harshit Rana took the new ball from the other end however, missed his mark a couple of times and Prabhsimran punished him with boundaries. They need plenty of these in this powerplay so that they can stay in touch with the target. 

Dushmantha Chameera is the new face of KKR and he has taken the new ball and started well. There is not much of a swing on offer however, he did hit the top of the off stump in that first over. 

287/3 - SRH vs RCB, Bengaluru, 2024
277/3 - SRH vs MI, Hyderabad, 2024
272/7 - KKR vs DC, Visakhapatnam, 2024
266/7 - SRH vs DC, Delhi, 2024
263/5 - RCB vs PWI, Bengaluru, 2013
261/6 - KKR vs PBKS, Kolkata, 2024
262/7 - RCB vs SRH, Bengaluru, 2024
257/5 - LSG vs PBKS, Mohali, 2023

It is going to be a massive run chase for Punjab the damage has been done at the top by openers Narine and Salt and the rest has been a catch-up job. Punjab needs dew to set in even if they need to have any outside chance in this game as the wicket continues to get slower we will be right back for the 2nd innings action.

Sandip G: Amidst Shreyas Iyer’s carnage of Sam Curran—6,4, 6, 6—one stroke stood out for its impossible trajectory. The second six, a flick that was both brutal and beautiful. Iyer had premeditated and moved across, assuming that Curran would spear a wide yorker. But he bowled full on middle and leg stump. So Iyer had to readjust. He did so by keeping his front-leg upright, his back knee bent a touch, careful that it did not slide further away, which could have obstructed the path of the bat. It was an awkward pose, but he kept his poise, and let those malleable wrists twist and close and take the ball to the stands over deep midwicket, all the while standing tall and not bending forward as most batsmen naturally do when flicking, Watch out for the snapping wrists, that imparts direction onto the ball. Iyer loved the shot, as he watched it’s stand-ward ascent.

Vinayakk: In an otherwise all-out attacking approach KKR have adopted for this season, Shreyas Iyer has been going slow in the middle order. After starting the season with a 24-ball 39, Shreyas either played short cameos or dropped anchor. There was a 32-ball 34, a 38-ball 38 and a 36-ball 50 thrown into the mix. So it was a little bit of a surprise that he came out to bat in the 16h over when DreRuss got out. The first thought was it would have been the ideal entry point for finisher Rinku Singh. But after struggling with the short balls early on, Shreyas went out all guns blazing this time around. He smashed a 10-ball 28, with intent to go big without taking his time to settle in. Sure, the match situation helped but still, it was a welcome display of aggression from the KKR captain that hasn't been seen too frequently this year.

Arshdeep picked up Shreyas Iyer and finished off his spell with a 10-run over. 9 run over. It has been a brilliant spell from the left-armer under the circumstances. Rinku has walked into the middle for the final couple of overs. 

Vinayakk: Punjab Kings needed to break the KKR opening partnership early. Phil Salt and Sunil Narine have been key to Kolkata's fast starts eventually ending up in big totals but with their all-out attacking approach, there is also the downside of giving opportunities for the opponents. Punjab actually did well to create these chances. But unfortunately, they came to Eden Gardens with butter fingers. Narine was dropped by Harpreet Brar as early as the third over. Then Salt was put down twice, one an absolute sitter by Sam Curran. The openers went on to add 138 for the first wicket. Then Andre Rusell was given a life too. A smart field placement saw Arshdeep bowl with a fine fly slip but the outside edge that was heading straight into the hands, but gloved away by a diving Jitesh Sharma. Fortunately, this time around, DreRuss was out the next ball as Arshdeep bowled a bouncer. Harshal did take the catch this time.

Well, Curran brought himself back into the attack missed his yorkers Iyer stood there and delivered the ball into the stands courtesy of his flexible rubber-like wrists. All the momentum that has been pulled back was regained in that over. 

Another decent over in the context of the game from Rabada. After the rampage once the openers fell things have quieted down here. If Punjab can restrict KKR under 250 with the foreign batting options they have at their disposal they might have an outside chance.

Arshdeep Singh is brought into the attack and he bounces out Andre Russell. After bowling an expensive first over this has been a good spell from the left-armer. However, still, four overs are remaining and Punjab would be hoping dew to fall in the second innings to help their cause.

Sandip G: Sam Curran has developed so many slower-ball variations that he rarely nudged 130kph, let alone 140 which once he regularly clocked. But for once, he was forced to rev up his pace and was indeed rewarded. Phil Salt had clouted him for a pair of flat sixes, both off slower balls. The first one hovered around the 115kph mark, the second even slower at 109 kph. Salt would judge the length and just swing through the line. Curran had already conceded 30 runs in 14 balls and he wanted a shot at redemption. He reverted to his biggest strength, that is to bowl a yorker at full-pelt. The ball only measured 131 clicks on the speedo, but it was pinpoint accurate. The ball drifted in a tad from his wrists, and upon landing, block-hole or thereabouts straightened to blast the off-stump. The batsman was beaten chiefly for pace. Perhaps this is his new trick—reverse the routine. Batsmen are expecting him to take the pace off the ball. So slip one faster, and beat them for pace. It worked.

Rahul Chahar has been brought back into the attack after the strategic timeout. He is done for the day and given the way things have unfolded tonight it has been a very good spell from Chahar. With six overs remaining it will be interesting to see how much can KKR get here.

Sam Curran has brought himself into the attack and he picks Phil Salt with a brilliant yorker. Both the openers are now back in the hut but there is no respite for Punjab batters as Andre Russell has walked into the middle now. 

Finally, Brar has been brought into the attack and he delivered a decent over. The over did not go for a boundary and remained under double digits. Punjab have shot themselves in the foot by not using the left-arm spinner till now as if he has to complete his spell it would go into the death overs of the game.

That over is what Punjab needed. Rahul Chahar provides the breakthrough. The wicket is gripping and it is hard to understand why Curran has not even given one over to Brar despite pacers have been taken for cleaners. 

10 overs into the game Kolkata are threatening to break SRH's record of highest total here. How will Punjab stop that is impossible to know. They have not taken the opportunities given and their bowling is below par. As we update Narine departs.

Salt cuts one through point to get past his 50 of the night. Both openers have made 50. Punjab did take a review against Narina for an LBW which did not go their way. Nothing is working out for Punjab they have been in and out of all the games they have played this is the first time they are looking completely out of their depth. 

Another big big over from Rabada and in the due course Narine has gone past fifty as well. This is turning into a nightmare evening for Punjab with batting order which is struggling whatever the score it is from here on it will take a lot for PBKS to get there.

Rahul Chahar was brought into the attack and Phil Salt gave another opportunity to backwards point Rabada and he spilt it again. It is the third drop chance of the evening. The partnership is already flying for KKR and these drops are helping their cause as well.

Arshdeep bowled a decent final over off the powerplay however, the disappointing part of that over was been Salt gave a catch which Curran standing at mid-off dropped.  This is getting bad to ugly for PBKS 30 minutes into the game already.

This is a blistering start for KKR yet again. Punjab who has been playing low-scoring games at Mullanpur for the last five games need to adapt to the conditions quickly here. More importantly, they need to get a breakthrough as the batters just keep coming in this KKR line up one after the other. 

Rabada was given the ball however, Sunil Narine was in no mood to show any respect to Punjab's ace bowler and he climbed onto him. Four overs into the game KKR have reached 59. It will be interesting to see how Punjab reacts from here on.

Surprising tactic from Curran to throw the ball in the powerplay to Harshal Patel who got a bit of pasting from Phil Salt. This is another rollicking start for KKR. PBKS need to quickly get in a bowler who can pick a wicket aka Kagiso Rabada

Arshdeep Singh has taken the new ball from the other end and it has been an expensive over from the left-armer. Must say his form in the tournament continues to spiral down as each game is passing by. Narine on the other hand has got himself a start.

We are done with the first over Sam Curran has taken the new ball and instead of looking to swing the ball up front he used a few slower ones to get the better of Sunil Narine who was up to the task as he smacked the bowler over covers for a boundary. 

The pitch is looking good for batting the last couple of games we had at this venue have been on the higher-scoring side and the atmosphere here is promising to be the same today. The openers are walking out into the middle and the ground is buzzing as it always does.

Total matches played: 32, 

Kolkata Knight Riders won: 21, 

Punjab Kings won: 11

Coming back (into the IPL), obviously to a different team. Getting to know about the youngsters in this KKR set-up, I have played against a few, but I've seen a lot of talent in this franchise, sharing my thoughts and answering their questions, it's been enjoyable. We know that the grounds in India are smaller when compared to back at home (in Australia), the wickets are generally pretty good throughout the game, the impact player rule as well. The batters are coming in with an intention to throw their bats around. You can see that impact in the Sunrisers with Heady at the top, just going out and trying to clear the infield. It's been a challenge to come here and play in the best T20 league in the world. The wickets have played differently in the day games and the night games - it does become easier to bat under the lights, it has been a learning curve. Playing in the heat is a part of the game, fortunately it's only 20 overs in the field and you can deal with it. Things have been going well so far (for KKR), different individuals have stood up, the next two home games are very important for us before we travel. So the two points today could be very important in that regard.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Prince Choudhary

Kolkata Knight Riders Subs: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Dushmantha Chameera, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran(c), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

We've had different players stepping up at different times, that's the thing I'm pleased about this season. Starcy got a cut on his finger in the last game, Dushmantha Chameera replaces him. Need a great start and then convert it into a big score, hoping to continue the same form and momentum.

We will have a bowl. We had 4 games at home, unfortunately lost all four, guys are ready for the away games though. We know what we need to do from here, just go out and play. Liam Livingstone misses out, Jonny Bairstow is back.

In Punjab Kings, they meet a side that has been inconsistent and despite two good finds in Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, they haven’t exactly done well during key moments and like every other year, they are all but out of play-off contention.

The experience has been very good, I'm enjoying right now and hopefully it'll stay the same during the rest of the season. Our only thought is to to have the right process (on his batting partnership with Shashank Singh), if we do that we'll definitely start winning. Not thinking about it., my job is only about batting and batting well for the team. I can't talk about the top-order failures, but I can assure that we'll do well tonight.

It's absolutely scorching at mid-forty degrees which will make it slightly uncomfortable for the players. 66m and 63m square boundaries while the straight boundary is at 73m. This is going to play as it has right through the season, it has plenty of pace and bounce on offer, the pitch itself is rock hard, the silt content on this surface is around 70% or more, in general it's around 50-60%. There are a lot of patches on a good length area on both ends, the grass is abrasive and the spinners could get some help, especially in the first innings. KKR's spinners should have an advantage as they rely on pace and lateral movement. It's a high scoring venue, there's now dew, the curators have confirmed the same. The captain winning the tos could still opt to chase first

In the heyday of fearsome Caribbean pace packs, Andy Roberts, the patron saint of fast bowlers, was asked if he would ever resort to a slower ball. He replied, in a condescending tone, the story goes: “The quicker one is the bouncer that hit him on the helmet because he played it too late; the slower one is the bouncer that struck him on the helmet because he played too early.” None of his compatriots or the fast bowling fraternity elsewhere, like Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson, felt the need to reduce pace to deceive batsmen.

Times have changed. The slower ball is as powerful a weapon, across formats, as the toe-crusher or rib-tickler. Even more so in T20s, where not possessing a lethal slower ball is akin to a doctor without a super-specialization degree these days. Even the quickest and deadliest have it. Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins; Shaheen Shah Afridi and Kagiso Rabada. Those that haven’t fine-tuned one find themselves swept aside in this format, even if they own several other gifts. As is the plight of Mitchell Starc, the most expensive fetch in IPL.

Total matches played: 12, 

Kolkata Knight Riders won: 9, 

Punjab Kings won: 3

"We need to stick to our routines and processes and see to it that we execute the things we want." - Shreyas Iyer wants KKR to keep doing the basics right

"Now we know what to do, we have to win every game." - Sam Curran knows his team's task ahead is simple yet complicated