Twitter Reactions: Andre Russell, Rinku Singh seal famous last-ball victory for KKR against PBKS
Rinku Singh dispatched the last ball for a boundary to seal KKR's victory in a tense final over.
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A full house crowd at the Eden Gardens got their money's worth after Rinku Singh clinched another thrilling last-ball victory for his side against Punjab Kings. While Rinku made the headlines for his last ball heroics, it was Andre Russell's explosive innings that set up a famous victory for the home side.
Chasing an above-par total, the home side made a breezy start thanks to Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy's opening stand. But the Afghan opener departed in the fifth over to hand the opposition a much-needed lifeline. Despite that wicket, Roy continued his assault from the other end in the powerplay.
Shikhar Dhawan's side, much like their opponents, fought their way back into the contest after the introduction of spin. Roy fell to Harpreet Brar and a struggling Venkatesh Iyer succumbed to Rahul Chahar. KKR skipper Nitish Rana kept his side in the contest with a brisk half-century before Andre Russell and Rinku Singh came to the party in the death overs.
Russell brought the home side to the brink of victory after hammering Sam Curran to all parts of the ground in the penultimate over of the match. However, there was a late twist in the contest when Arshdeep Singh ran out the Caribbean all-rounder on the penultimate delivery. But Rinku, calm as ever, finished off the match with a boundary in a thrilling final over.
Harpreet and Shahrukh finish on a high after KKR's spin bowling masterclass
Earlier in the match, it was Punjab Kings' visiting skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who won the toss and elected to bowl first on a seemingly batting-friendly track in Kolkata. The visitors were quick off the blocks but lost explosive opener Prabhsimran Singh to a brilliant catch from Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the second over.
It wasn't a happy return to the side for Bhanuka Rajapaksa, as he was dismissed without troubling the scorers in the fourth over. Despite those two wickets, the visitors kept taking their chances, especially Liam Livingstone, who went all out against Andre Russell in the powerplay.
But the introduction of spin saw an end to Livingstone's brief assault as Varun Chakaravarthy trapped the dangerous English batter plumb in front of the wicket in the final over of the field restrictions. However, Dhawan steadied the ship for his side with a well-compiled half-century, his 50th in the competition.
Although Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma were able to thwart the KKR bowlers, they were never allowed to score freely in the middle overs. The trio of KKR spinners were all over the visitors, but all their good work was undone in the final two overs of the first innings as Harpreet Brar and Shahrukh Khan hammered the KKR pacers to take Punjab to a competitive total.
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