This should be a straightforward chase for Kolkata but their batters arenât in the best of forms. If Punjab start off well, you just never know, this could end up being a good game. Stay tuned for the second essay.
The man who played a crucial part in this impressive performance, Varun Chakaravarthy is caught for a chat. Varun says that the pitch is keeping a bit low but in the last 10 overs dew started to set in. Varun says that it was very difficult to grip the ball as there is a lot of dew and it was difficult. Chakravarthy says that he tries to not consider that the ball is slipping. Varun feels they can chase it as the dew is setting in.Â
The Punjab batting just never got going. None of their batters got used to the pace of the wicket and the set batters threw it away when they needed to bat for longer. Yet another low score registered by Punjab and Rahul will be very disappointed.
Mavi and Cummins were excellent in the Powerplay. Krishna, Narine and Varun then continued the good work. The key was, they kept picking wickets at regular intervals and that just never let Punjab accelerate. The last two overs did take a pounding but overall, they were excellent.
Jordanâs innings towards the end has given Punjab something to bowl with but overall it is a poor outing with the bat for them. Also, credit to Kolkata for the way they have bowled.
Prasidh Krishna to Mohammed Shami, Single to end the innings! Length ball outside off, Shami punches it to the right of long off. Arshdeep comes out for the second but Shami says no. The throw is at the keeper's end but Arshdeep is back in. PUNJAB FINISH WITH 123/9!
Prasidh Krishna to Arshdeep Singh, Length ball on middle and off. Arshdeep clears his front leg, and swings. It takes the outer half of his bat and luckily for Arshdeep it falls before Rana at third man. Single taken. Did not hit it where he intended to but Punjab will not care.
The last man in is Arshdeep Singh!
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! BOWLED! Finally Prasidh Krishna gets the better of Jordan and has the final laugh. End of a very good and very valuable innings from Jordan. Prasidh Krishna finally decides to take pace off the ball and go full on the stumps. Jordan does not pick the slower one as he looks to hit it across the line. He misses and the off stump goes for a toss.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! Jordan, you beauty! TPunjab have gone over 120 and this might be the differential runs in this game. Back of a length outside off, Jordan slaps it over long off for a biggie.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, Slower ball outside off. Jordan swings but it takes the outer half of his bat. The ball spins and Rana at third man overruns a bit. They do not take the run.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! SLAPPED! Perfect start to the final over for Punjab! Short and wide outside off. Jordan slaps it over the short boundary over point for a boundary.Â
Who will bowl the final over of the innings? It will be Prasidh Krishna!
Pat Cummins to Mohammed Shami, Dot to finish the over! Full outside off, Shami swings but connects with nothing.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Much, much better from Cummins. Full and wide outside off, Jordan can just place it to deep point for one.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! BOOM! Bonus and valuable runs for Punjab. Jordan was brought in to do the job with the ball but he has been forced to do some with the bat and he is doing well. Shortish on middle, Jordan pulls it and gets enough meat on it to sends it over the backward square leg fence for a biggie.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Jordan swings but misses.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! Valuable runs! 100 comes up for Punjab! Shortish ball on the body, Jordanm swivels his pull through square leg for a boundary.
Mohammed Shami walks out to bat now.
Pat Cummins to Ravi Bishnoi, ! CAUGHT! Cummins gets his second. A look at his figures might make you feel he has been expensive but if you dig deep, he has bowled superbly and most of those runs have come off edges. Morgan is having a good game, another catch for the skipper. Cummins steams in and bowls it on the pads at pace. Bishnoi looks to flick but gets a leading edge which goes high in the air towards cover. Morgan there makes no mistake and takes it.
Cummins is back on!
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, Shorter and on off, this is played down to third man for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, This one takes off after landing around off, Bishnoi is beaten as he looks to put bat on ball.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, WIDE! Short but down the leg side, left alone.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, A dot! On off, this is guided to point.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, ! TAKEN! Another one bites the dust and the last recognized batter is out of here! Shorter and on off, Sharukh is hurried into the shot. It goes off the splice and lobs towards cover where Morgan takes an easy catch.
Who will replace Sunil Narine? Prasidh Krishna is back on! 1/13 from his two.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Shahrukh Khan looks to pull but misses.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, A little fumble in the deep allows the batters to take two. A rare mistake from Kolkta so far in this game. Floated on off, Jordan drives it to the right of sweeper cover. The fielder there moves to that side but the dew has made the ball wet which makes it hard for him to hold onto the ball. Allows the batters to take two and Shahrukh to have the strike for the start of the next over.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Darted fuller around off, Jordan runs it down behind point for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Quicker one on off. Jordan is a little surprised by it but manages to block it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, A huge swing but it comes off the inner half. Floated around off, Shahrukh Khan swings across the line. It hits the inner half of his bat and gets it to the on side for one.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Floated on off, Jordan blocks it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Stifled appeal but the ball is going down leg. Floated delivery pitching on middle and it turns in. Jordan looks to flick but misses and gets hit on the pad.Â
Time-Out! Kolkata continue to dominate this game so far. Punjab have been behind the 8-ball since the start of this innings. They still have Shahrukh Khan out in the middle and will hope he can finish with a bang and see them enter the innings break with momentum and some decent target to bowl at.
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Single to end the over. 9 off it. Floated on off, Jordan milks it to the left of long off and gets a single.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Floated leg spinner pitching on middle and leg and turning in. Jordan looks to play but misses and gets hit on the pad. DK appeals but without any support.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Darted quicker on the pads, Shahrukh Khan flicks it to the right of deep mid-wicket. They think of two but need to be content with one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, ! No miss this time! Shahrukh Khan has smoked it over the fence. Flighted too full on off. This one spins in and Shahrukh Khan slog sweeps it with the spin over mid-wicket for a biggie.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A big swing but a miss! Short outside off. Shahrukh Khan looks to slash it over against the spin on the leg side but misses.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Flighted outside off, Jordan drives it nicely to sweeper cover for one. Punjab need more than singles now. Right now this innings is not going anywhere.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Two to end the over! Shorter and outside off, this is cut through point for two.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Fires it one middle, it is hit back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is played to silly mid on. Good field placement.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, On off, Jordan looks to drive but it goes off the inner half through square leg for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! TIMBER! So the batter who Punjab were relying on to take them to a good score is a goner! Flatter and on off, Pooran looks to go over the leg side but misses and the off pole is uprooted. 120 looks far away now.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A single to end! On middle, this is worked through square leg for one more.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Another dot as this is worked with the turn towards mid-wicket.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, On off, this is guided to point.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Khan is off the mark! On off, it is lifted over covers for one.
Sharukh Khan walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ! TIMBER! This lands on off and then spins back in. Henriques does not pick it. He tries to flick it but it sneaks through the gap between bat and pas and hits the stumps. Kolkata all over Punjab at the moment.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Another dot as this flatter ball is also pushed to the fielder at covers. Still a good over for Punjab. They need a few more like this.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Flatter and on off, this is pushed to covers.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! That has burst through Varun's hands! This is shorter and it is slapped towards the bowler. Varun puts his hands up but it goes through and down to the long on fence.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! Pooran power! Is this the start of something for him? They need him to fire. Fuller and on middle, it is lifted over the long on fence for a biggie.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Moises Henriques, Â Just another single! On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, On the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked towards mid-wicket for one more.
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ? That is very tough to take. Shorter and outside off. Henriques looks to cut but gets a bottom edge. It hits the inner part of Karthik's glove and goes towards fine leg for one. The bat also flew out of Henriques' hand.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, Shorter, this is pulled through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, this is defended into the ground.
Henriques walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, ! TAKEN! That is a superb catch from Rahul! Excellent. The well-set Agarwal is a goner! Â On middle, this is pulled hard but flat and towards deep mid-wicket. Rahul runs in and takes it with a dive forward. Punjab in big, big trouble now.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, Short and it grips in the surface. Agarwal is early in the pull. He gets an inside edge onto the pads.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Tosses it up on off, this is hit down to long off for one. Superb start from Varun. Just 4 from his first.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Very full and on off, it is squeezed through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran misses out! Down the leg side, he looks to sweep. It hits the glove and then the pads of the keeper. Goes on the off side for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Good shot! Only for one. Outside off, this is hit through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Starts well! Flatter and on off, defended.
Varun is on! FINALLY! Held him back for long did Morgan.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Brace to end the over. 10 off the over. Just the over they needed and they need a few more like this. The last ball is on a length around off, Mayank strokes it away from the fielder at sweeper cover and gets a couple.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, ! 50 comes up for Punjab in style. Is this the shot that changes things in favour of Mayank Agarwal? Prasidh looks to go short but does not bang is short enough. It sits well around the waist height for Mayank. He quickly gets in position and pulls it over the cow corner region for a cracking six.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Very well bowled but slightly overcooked. Mayanl moves away from the stumps, Prasidh follows him and bangs it short. Mayank looks to pull but misses. It has been wided.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Slightly fuller on middle and leg. Mayank defends it.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Play and a miss! Mayank Agarwal continues to struggle. Good length delivery outside off. Mayank looks to play it through point but misses.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Good length delivery outside off, Pooran punches it to sweeper cover for one.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Zip and pace from Prasidh Krishna! Good length delivery pitching on off and then going away from Pooran. Nicholas leaves it alone.Â
Strategic Time-Out! So far it is one-way traffic. Kolkata have dominated proceedings so far and are on top of this game. Punjab are struggling to get a move on. This pitch might not be an easy track to bat as we expected but Punjab are going under 6 rpo and have lost two wickets. They need to get a move along from now if they are to post a competitive total.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Another great over from Kolkata. Russell begins by just going for two. The last ball is short around the body. Mayank looks to pull but closes the face of the bat early. It hits the other side of the bat and lobs towards the vacant short cover region.
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Back of a length delivery on off. Pooran swivels and mistimes his pull but along the ground through point. He wanted two but the fielder was quick to get to the ball and keep it down to one.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Good shot for nothing! Length ball on off, Pooran punches it but to mid off.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Russell hits the deck hard around off. Pooran taps it behind point.Â
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, This time Mayank taps it to cover for one.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Good length ball from Russell to begin with. Mayank blocks it.
Who will bowl now? Andre Russell is called into the action.
Who will walk out to bat now? It will be Nicholas Pooran. He has struggled so far but his team desperately needs him to step up tonight.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Good start for Prasidh! Just 3 off his first and a wicket too. The last ball is around off, Mayanlk runs it down to third man for a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran is off the mark! Prasidh Krishna hits the deck hard around leg, Pooran tucks it to fone leg and gets a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, ! CAUGHT! Hooda departs and it is a soft dismissal. Kolkata are enjoying Ahmedabad so far and Morgan has taken a very sharp catch. His captaincy so far is looking on point as Punjab are stuttering at 42/3. Prasidh gets his first in his first over. Full ball around off at pace. Hooda looks to drive it by getting on top of the bounce. The pace of the ball sees it jarrs Hooda's bat. Morgan's field placement is spot on. The skipper is standing at backward po
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, Good length delivery on middle, Hooda blocks it.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Prasidh hits the deck hard. Mayank looks to pull but the ball does not raise as much as he expected it. He mistimes his pull but luckily it falls in front of long on. Single taken.Â
Change in bowling. Prasidh Krishna is into the attack for the first time this evening.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh starts with a fullish ball around off, Mayank taps it to point.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Fantastic spell of bowling from Mavi. He has bowled out with the figures of 1/13. The last ball is around off, Mayank opens the face of the bat and runs it down to third man to keep the strike.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Short ball! It is well-directed as it does not give any room to Hooda. He pulls it awkwardly and gets off the mark with a single.Â
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Fullish on off, Hooda keeps it out.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, WIDE! Mavi misses his line to the right-hander and sprays one down the leg side. Hooda looks to flick but misses.Â
Shivam Mavi to Chris Gayle, ! CAUGHT! Excellent review from Morgan and Kolkta's brilliant start continues. Karthik knew there was an edge, he convinced his skipper and credit to Morgan to backing his keeper. The ploy to bowl out Mavi pays its reward. A second ball duck for the Universe Boss and it is a big blow for Punjab. Full ball wide outside off. Gayle looks to drive but the feet does not move at all. There is some noise as the ball goes past the bat. Karthik and Mavi appeal but the
Deepak Hooda walks out to bat now.
Review time! There is some noise as the ball has gone past the bat and to the keeper. The umpire though is unmoved. Dinesh Karthik is confident and Morgan has trusted his keeper and the bowler and signaled the 'T'.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Fullish ball outside off, Mayank slams it to the right of point and gets a single. It might have been two if it was Rahul at the other but it is Gayle so just a single.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Good fielding from Russell! Good length delivery on middle and leg. Mayank flicks it to the right of short mid-wicket. Russell there dives and saves runs for his side.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, A single to end the Powerplay and it is a very good one for Kolkata! On off, the last ball is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is flicked to mid-wicket.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! TAKEN! Cummins gets a wicket and it is the big fish, Rahul. Rahul makes room again. Cummins bowls it on a length and it is a slower one. Rahul looks to go over mid off but ends up skying it. The timing is not quite there as he is a touch early in the shot. The fielder at mid off, Narine takes a good catch. This is turning out to be an excellent Powerplay for Kolkata.
Chris Gayle walks out to bat.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, TOP EDGE AND ! Welcome one. Rahul makes room. Cummins bowls it full and outside off, Rahul goes after it. It flies off the outside edge over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On off, this is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, 4 dots in a row now! On middle, Agarwal works it to mid-wicket.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A dot to end! On middle, this is pushed to mid on. End of a superb over from Mavi.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Three dots in a row! On off, Rahul pushes it to covers again.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Good length and on middle, this is pushed back to the bowler. One more dot, pressure building.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul drives but to covers.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another run! Rotation of strike is very important when boundaries are hard to come by! On off, this is guided towards point for one.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, So once again a good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on. On middle, it is worked to mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, ! Welcome into the attack! Rahul makes room and Narine bowls it short and on off, it is slapped through covers for a boundary.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Slightly shorter, this is pushed to covers. Another dot.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played down to long on for one more.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, On middle, little bit of turn into the batter, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Makes room again, this is quicker and on middle, guided to point.
Narine is on now!Â
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Very well bowled! Length and on middle, Agarwal is squared up as he tries to block. It goes off the outer half towards cover. A good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, A good slower one, fuller and outside off, Mayank is done in by the lack of pace. Stops his shot and pushes it to cover.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, On off, Rahul drops it towards cover and gets to the other end.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Some swing for Mavi! This comes in a long way from off. Agarwal misses the flick and hits the pad. It rolls on the leg side. Leg bye taken.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another one right off the middle! On off, this is stroked back to the bowler who does well to get down and stop it.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, ! What a shot that is! Nothing much wrong with the ball. Length and on off, Agarwal takes a good stride ahead and times it brilliantly through covers.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! Just a little bit of room and Rahul bags his first blundary! Outside off, this is guided past point and it races away.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, Rahul looks to put the bowler off by moving around but this lands on a length on off, it is guided to point.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, On middle, this is worked to mid on.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Good length and on off, this is guided down to third man for one more.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Length now on middle, Agarwal guides it to point.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, ! All the way! Fortunate biggie but Agarwal won't mind. Short and on middle, Agarwal looks to pull but it flies off the top edge and over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Starts off with one down the leg side, Agarwal looks to flick but misses.Â
Who will bowl from the other end? Pat Cummins it is!
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, That stays a little low! Length and on off, does not bounce a lot. Hits low on Rahul's bat as he tries to block. A good start by Mavi.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller in length and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Agarwal is off the mark now! He plays this late and down to third man for one.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, This is angled into middle, Agarwal plays it back to mid on.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A full one to begin with, no swing, Rahul strokes it to covers.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Rahul and Punjab are underway! Angled into the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
We are all set for the action to begin! The Punjab openers, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are out in the middle. Rahul will take strike and he will be facing Shivam Mavi who has the new ball in hand. Here we go...Â
Kolkata (Playing XI) -Â Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab skipper, KL Rahul says that it is a new venue and new pitch and tells it will be interesting to see what kind of start they get. Rahul tells it is important the country fights back from what is happening. Adds they look to play cricket and entertain everyone. Rahul says the win in the last game has given them a lot of confidence and adds that the boys are positive as it was not an easy pitch to chase. Rahul says Gayle lightens the dressing room and told the boys to back up the good cricke
Eoin Morgan, Kolkata skipper, says it is the first they have won in few games and hopes it changes the luck. Informs they are going with the same eleven, they have played but have not done well with both, the bat and ball in the same game. Informs there is a lot of talent and depth in their squad and he hopes they can play well here. Adda if you go on a losing streak it can hurt badly but they do have the opportunity to change it now and he hopes they can do well.
TOSS - We are all in readiness for the toss. Punjab skipper, KL Rahul is out in the middle joined by Kolkata captain, Eoin Morgan. KL Rahul has the coin in hand. Up it goes. Morgan calls correctly. KOLKATA OPT TO BOWL!
PITCH REPORT -Â Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen doing the pitch report. The latter says when you get out here and see a surface like this being a batter, you will be licking your lips. States the covering off grass is beautiful and there are going to be runs on offer so the bowlers will have to bowl well.
Hello and welcome to game number 21 of the league. It is a brand new venue as the league plays its first game in the biggest cricket stadium in the world. Kl Rahul's Punjab are high on confidence as they come to Ahmedabad with a convincing win over Mumbai. Punjab will look to carry that momentum and start their winning run. Kolkata, on the other hand, are on a freefall. Morgan's side have struggled so far this season and have lost all of their last 4 contests. The 2-time champions desperately ne
This should be a straightforward chase for Kolkata but their batters arenât in the best of forms. If Punjab start off well, you just never know, this could end up being a good game. Stay tuned for the second essay.
The man who played a crucial part in this impressive performance, Varun Chakaravarthy is caught for a chat. Varun says that the pitch is keeping a bit low but in the last 10 overs dew started to set in. Varun says that it was very difficult to grip the ball as there is a lot of dew and it was difficult. Chakravarthy says that he tries to not consider that the ball is slipping. Varun feels they can chase it as the dew is setting in.Â
The Punjab batting just never got going. None of their batters got used to the pace of the wicket and the set batters threw it away when they needed to bat for longer. Yet another low score registered by Punjab and Rahul will be very disappointed.
Mavi and Cummins were excellent in the Powerplay. Krishna, Narine and Varun then continued the good work. The key was, they kept picking wickets at regular intervals and that just never let Punjab accelerate. The last two overs did take a pounding but overall, they were excellent.
Jordanâs innings towards the end has given Punjab something to bowl with but overall it is a poor outing with the bat for them. Also, credit to Kolkata for the way they have bowled.
Prasidh Krishna to Mohammed Shami, Single to end the innings! Length ball outside off, Shami punches it to the right of long off. Arshdeep comes out for the second but Shami says no. The throw is at the keeper's end but Arshdeep is back in. PUNJAB FINISH WITH 123/9!
Prasidh Krishna to Arshdeep Singh, Length ball on middle and off. Arshdeep clears his front leg, and swings. It takes the outer half of his bat and luckily for Arshdeep it falls before Rana at third man. Single taken. Did not hit it where he intended to but Punjab will not care.
The last man in is Arshdeep Singh!
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! BOWLED! Finally Prasidh Krishna gets the better of Jordan and has the final laugh. End of a very good and very valuable innings from Jordan. Prasidh Krishna finally decides to take pace off the ball and go full on the stumps. Jordan does not pick the slower one as he looks to hit it across the line. He misses and the off stump goes for a toss.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! Jordan, you beauty! TPunjab have gone over 120 and this might be the differential runs in this game. Back of a length outside off, Jordan slaps it over long off for a biggie.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, Slower ball outside off. Jordan swings but it takes the outer half of his bat. The ball spins and Rana at third man overruns a bit. They do not take the run.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! SLAPPED! Perfect start to the final over for Punjab! Short and wide outside off. Jordan slaps it over the short boundary over point for a boundary.Â
Who will bowl the final over of the innings? It will be Prasidh Krishna!
Pat Cummins to Mohammed Shami, Dot to finish the over! Full outside off, Shami swings but connects with nothing.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Much, much better from Cummins. Full and wide outside off, Jordan can just place it to deep point for one.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! BOOM! Bonus and valuable runs for Punjab. Jordan was brought in to do the job with the ball but he has been forced to do some with the bat and he is doing well. Shortish on middle, Jordan pulls it and gets enough meat on it to sends it over the backward square leg fence for a biggie.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Jordan swings but misses.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! Valuable runs! 100 comes up for Punjab! Shortish ball on the body, Jordanm swivels his pull through square leg for a boundary.
Mohammed Shami walks out to bat now.
Pat Cummins to Ravi Bishnoi, ! CAUGHT! Cummins gets his second. A look at his figures might make you feel he has been expensive but if you dig deep, he has bowled superbly and most of those runs have come off edges. Morgan is having a good game, another catch for the skipper. Cummins steams in and bowls it on the pads at pace. Bishnoi looks to flick but gets a leading edge which goes high in the air towards cover. Morgan there makes no mistake and takes it.
Cummins is back on!
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, Shorter and on off, this is played down to third man for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, This one takes off after landing around off, Bishnoi is beaten as he looks to put bat on ball.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, WIDE! Short but down the leg side, left alone.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, A dot! On off, this is guided to point.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, ! TAKEN! Another one bites the dust and the last recognized batter is out of here! Shorter and on off, Sharukh is hurried into the shot. It goes off the splice and lobs towards cover where Morgan takes an easy catch.
Who will replace Sunil Narine? Prasidh Krishna is back on! 1/13 from his two.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Shahrukh Khan looks to pull but misses.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, A little fumble in the deep allows the batters to take two. A rare mistake from Kolkta so far in this game. Floated on off, Jordan drives it to the right of sweeper cover. The fielder there moves to that side but the dew has made the ball wet which makes it hard for him to hold onto the ball. Allows the batters to take two and Shahrukh to have the strike for the start of the next over.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Darted fuller around off, Jordan runs it down behind point for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Quicker one on off. Jordan is a little surprised by it but manages to block it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, A huge swing but it comes off the inner half. Floated around off, Shahrukh Khan swings across the line. It hits the inner half of his bat and gets it to the on side for one.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Floated on off, Jordan blocks it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Stifled appeal but the ball is going down leg. Floated delivery pitching on middle and it turns in. Jordan looks to flick but misses and gets hit on the pad.Â
Time-Out! Kolkata continue to dominate this game so far. Punjab have been behind the 8-ball since the start of this innings. They still have Shahrukh Khan out in the middle and will hope he can finish with a bang and see them enter the innings break with momentum and some decent target to bowl at.
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Single to end the over. 9 off it. Floated on off, Jordan milks it to the left of long off and gets a single.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Floated leg spinner pitching on middle and leg and turning in. Jordan looks to play but misses and gets hit on the pad. DK appeals but without any support.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Darted quicker on the pads, Shahrukh Khan flicks it to the right of deep mid-wicket. They think of two but need to be content with one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, ! No miss this time! Shahrukh Khan has smoked it over the fence. Flighted too full on off. This one spins in and Shahrukh Khan slog sweeps it with the spin over mid-wicket for a biggie.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A big swing but a miss! Short outside off. Shahrukh Khan looks to slash it over against the spin on the leg side but misses.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Flighted outside off, Jordan drives it nicely to sweeper cover for one. Punjab need more than singles now. Right now this innings is not going anywhere.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Two to end the over! Shorter and outside off, this is cut through point for two.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Fires it one middle, it is hit back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is played to silly mid on. Good field placement.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, On off, Jordan looks to drive but it goes off the inner half through square leg for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! TIMBER! So the batter who Punjab were relying on to take them to a good score is a goner! Flatter and on off, Pooran looks to go over the leg side but misses and the off pole is uprooted. 120 looks far away now.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A single to end! On middle, this is worked through square leg for one more.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Another dot as this is worked with the turn towards mid-wicket.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, On off, this is guided to point.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Khan is off the mark! On off, it is lifted over covers for one.
Sharukh Khan walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ! TIMBER! This lands on off and then spins back in. Henriques does not pick it. He tries to flick it but it sneaks through the gap between bat and pas and hits the stumps. Kolkata all over Punjab at the moment.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Another dot as this flatter ball is also pushed to the fielder at covers. Still a good over for Punjab. They need a few more like this.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Flatter and on off, this is pushed to covers.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! That has burst through Varun's hands! This is shorter and it is slapped towards the bowler. Varun puts his hands up but it goes through and down to the long on fence.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! Pooran power! Is this the start of something for him? They need him to fire. Fuller and on middle, it is lifted over the long on fence for a biggie.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Moises Henriques, Â Just another single! On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, On the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked towards mid-wicket for one more.
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ? That is very tough to take. Shorter and outside off. Henriques looks to cut but gets a bottom edge. It hits the inner part of Karthik's glove and goes towards fine leg for one. The bat also flew out of Henriques' hand.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, Shorter, this is pulled through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, this is defended into the ground.
Henriques walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, ! TAKEN! That is a superb catch from Rahul! Excellent. The well-set Agarwal is a goner! Â On middle, this is pulled hard but flat and towards deep mid-wicket. Rahul runs in and takes it with a dive forward. Punjab in big, big trouble now.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, Short and it grips in the surface. Agarwal is early in the pull. He gets an inside edge onto the pads.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Tosses it up on off, this is hit down to long off for one. Superb start from Varun. Just 4 from his first.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Very full and on off, it is squeezed through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran misses out! Down the leg side, he looks to sweep. It hits the glove and then the pads of the keeper. Goes on the off side for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Good shot! Only for one. Outside off, this is hit through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Starts well! Flatter and on off, defended.
Varun is on! FINALLY! Held him back for long did Morgan.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Brace to end the over. 10 off the over. Just the over they needed and they need a few more like this. The last ball is on a length around off, Mayank strokes it away from the fielder at sweeper cover and gets a couple.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, ! 50 comes up for Punjab in style. Is this the shot that changes things in favour of Mayank Agarwal? Prasidh looks to go short but does not bang is short enough. It sits well around the waist height for Mayank. He quickly gets in position and pulls it over the cow corner region for a cracking six.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Very well bowled but slightly overcooked. Mayanl moves away from the stumps, Prasidh follows him and bangs it short. Mayank looks to pull but misses. It has been wided.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Slightly fuller on middle and leg. Mayank defends it.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Play and a miss! Mayank Agarwal continues to struggle. Good length delivery outside off. Mayank looks to play it through point but misses.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Good length delivery outside off, Pooran punches it to sweeper cover for one.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Zip and pace from Prasidh Krishna! Good length delivery pitching on off and then going away from Pooran. Nicholas leaves it alone.Â
Strategic Time-Out! So far it is one-way traffic. Kolkata have dominated proceedings so far and are on top of this game. Punjab are struggling to get a move on. This pitch might not be an easy track to bat as we expected but Punjab are going under 6 rpo and have lost two wickets. They need to get a move along from now if they are to post a competitive total.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Another great over from Kolkata. Russell begins by just going for two. The last ball is short around the body. Mayank looks to pull but closes the face of the bat early. It hits the other side of the bat and lobs towards the vacant short cover region.
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Back of a length delivery on off. Pooran swivels and mistimes his pull but along the ground through point. He wanted two but the fielder was quick to get to the ball and keep it down to one.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Good shot for nothing! Length ball on off, Pooran punches it but to mid off.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Russell hits the deck hard around off. Pooran taps it behind point.Â
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, This time Mayank taps it to cover for one.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Good length ball from Russell to begin with. Mayank blocks it.
Who will bowl now? Andre Russell is called into the action.
Who will walk out to bat now? It will be Nicholas Pooran. He has struggled so far but his team desperately needs him to step up tonight.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Good start for Prasidh! Just 3 off his first and a wicket too. The last ball is around off, Mayanlk runs it down to third man for a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran is off the mark! Prasidh Krishna hits the deck hard around leg, Pooran tucks it to fone leg and gets a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, ! CAUGHT! Hooda departs and it is a soft dismissal. Kolkata are enjoying Ahmedabad so far and Morgan has taken a very sharp catch. His captaincy so far is looking on point as Punjab are stuttering at 42/3. Prasidh gets his first in his first over. Full ball around off at pace. Hooda looks to drive it by getting on top of the bounce. The pace of the ball sees it jarrs Hooda's bat. Morgan's field placement is spot on. The skipper is standing at backward po
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, Good length delivery on middle, Hooda blocks it.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Prasidh hits the deck hard. Mayank looks to pull but the ball does not raise as much as he expected it. He mistimes his pull but luckily it falls in front of long on. Single taken.Â
Change in bowling. Prasidh Krishna is into the attack for the first time this evening.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh starts with a fullish ball around off, Mayank taps it to point.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Fantastic spell of bowling from Mavi. He has bowled out with the figures of 1/13. The last ball is around off, Mayank opens the face of the bat and runs it down to third man to keep the strike.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Short ball! It is well-directed as it does not give any room to Hooda. He pulls it awkwardly and gets off the mark with a single.Â
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Fullish on off, Hooda keeps it out.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, WIDE! Mavi misses his line to the right-hander and sprays one down the leg side. Hooda looks to flick but misses.Â
Shivam Mavi to Chris Gayle, ! CAUGHT! Excellent review from Morgan and Kolkta's brilliant start continues. Karthik knew there was an edge, he convinced his skipper and credit to Morgan to backing his keeper. The ploy to bowl out Mavi pays its reward. A second ball duck for the Universe Boss and it is a big blow for Punjab. Full ball wide outside off. Gayle looks to drive but the feet does not move at all. There is some noise as the ball goes past the bat. Karthik and Mavi appeal but the
Deepak Hooda walks out to bat now.
Review time! There is some noise as the ball has gone past the bat and to the keeper. The umpire though is unmoved. Dinesh Karthik is confident and Morgan has trusted his keeper and the bowler and signaled the 'T'.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Fullish ball outside off, Mayank slams it to the right of point and gets a single. It might have been two if it was Rahul at the other but it is Gayle so just a single.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Good fielding from Russell! Good length delivery on middle and leg. Mayank flicks it to the right of short mid-wicket. Russell there dives and saves runs for his side.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, A single to end the Powerplay and it is a very good one for Kolkata! On off, the last ball is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is flicked to mid-wicket.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! TAKEN! Cummins gets a wicket and it is the big fish, Rahul. Rahul makes room again. Cummins bowls it on a length and it is a slower one. Rahul looks to go over mid off but ends up skying it. The timing is not quite there as he is a touch early in the shot. The fielder at mid off, Narine takes a good catch. This is turning out to be an excellent Powerplay for Kolkata.
Chris Gayle walks out to bat.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, TOP EDGE AND ! Welcome one. Rahul makes room. Cummins bowls it full and outside off, Rahul goes after it. It flies off the outside edge over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On off, this is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, 4 dots in a row now! On middle, Agarwal works it to mid-wicket.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A dot to end! On middle, this is pushed to mid on. End of a superb over from Mavi.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Three dots in a row! On off, Rahul pushes it to covers again.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Good length and on middle, this is pushed back to the bowler. One more dot, pressure building.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul drives but to covers.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another run! Rotation of strike is very important when boundaries are hard to come by! On off, this is guided towards point for one.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, So once again a good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on. On middle, it is worked to mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, ! Welcome into the attack! Rahul makes room and Narine bowls it short and on off, it is slapped through covers for a boundary.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Slightly shorter, this is pushed to covers. Another dot.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played down to long on for one more.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, On middle, little bit of turn into the batter, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Makes room again, this is quicker and on middle, guided to point.
Narine is on now!Â
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Very well bowled! Length and on middle, Agarwal is squared up as he tries to block. It goes off the outer half towards cover. A good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, A good slower one, fuller and outside off, Mayank is done in by the lack of pace. Stops his shot and pushes it to cover.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, On off, Rahul drops it towards cover and gets to the other end.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Some swing for Mavi! This comes in a long way from off. Agarwal misses the flick and hits the pad. It rolls on the leg side. Leg bye taken.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another one right off the middle! On off, this is stroked back to the bowler who does well to get down and stop it.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, ! What a shot that is! Nothing much wrong with the ball. Length and on off, Agarwal takes a good stride ahead and times it brilliantly through covers.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! Just a little bit of room and Rahul bags his first blundary! Outside off, this is guided past point and it races away.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, Rahul looks to put the bowler off by moving around but this lands on a length on off, it is guided to point.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, On middle, this is worked to mid on.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Good length and on off, this is guided down to third man for one more.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Length now on middle, Agarwal guides it to point.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, ! All the way! Fortunate biggie but Agarwal won't mind. Short and on middle, Agarwal looks to pull but it flies off the top edge and over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Starts off with one down the leg side, Agarwal looks to flick but misses.Â
Who will bowl from the other end? Pat Cummins it is!
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, That stays a little low! Length and on off, does not bounce a lot. Hits low on Rahul's bat as he tries to block. A good start by Mavi.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller in length and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Agarwal is off the mark now! He plays this late and down to third man for one.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, This is angled into middle, Agarwal plays it back to mid on.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A full one to begin with, no swing, Rahul strokes it to covers.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Rahul and Punjab are underway! Angled into the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
We are all set for the action to begin! The Punjab openers, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are out in the middle. Rahul will take strike and he will be facing Shivam Mavi who has the new ball in hand. Here we go...Â
Kolkata (Playing XI) -Â Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab skipper, KL Rahul says that it is a new venue and new pitch and tells it will be interesting to see what kind of start they get. Rahul tells it is important the country fights back from what is happening. Adds they look to play cricket and entertain everyone. Rahul says the win in the last game has given them a lot of confidence and adds that the boys are positive as it was not an easy pitch to chase. Rahul says Gayle lightens the dressing room and told the boys to back up the good cricke
Eoin Morgan, Kolkata skipper, says it is the first they have won in few games and hopes it changes the luck. Informs they are going with the same eleven, they have played but have not done well with both, the bat and ball in the same game. Informs there is a lot of talent and depth in their squad and he hopes they can play well here. Adda if you go on a losing streak it can hurt badly but they do have the opportunity to change it now and he hopes they can do well.
TOSS - We are all in readiness for the toss. Punjab skipper, KL Rahul is out in the middle joined by Kolkata captain, Eoin Morgan. KL Rahul has the coin in hand. Up it goes. Morgan calls correctly. KOLKATA OPT TO BOWL!
PITCH REPORT -Â Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen doing the pitch report. The latter says when you get out here and see a surface like this being a batter, you will be licking your lips. States the covering off grass is beautiful and there are going to be runs on offer so the bowlers will have to bowl well.
Hello and welcome to game number 21 of the league. It is a brand new venue as the league plays its first game in the biggest cricket stadium in the world. Kl Rahul's Punjab are high on confidence as they come to Ahmedabad with a convincing win over Mumbai. Punjab will look to carry that momentum and start their winning run. Kolkata, on the other hand, are on a freefall. Morgan's side have struggled so far this season and have lost all of their last 4 contests. The 2-time champions desperately ne
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Diabytes
Kolkata Knight Riders
126/5(16.4 Overs)
This should be a straightforward chase for Kolkata but their batters arenât in the best of forms. If Punjab start off well, you just never know, this could end up being a good game. Stay tuned for the second essay.
The man who played a crucial part in this impressive performance, Varun Chakaravarthy is caught for a chat. Varun says that the pitch is keeping a bit low but in the last 10 overs dew started to set in. Varun says that it was very difficult to grip the ball as there is a lot of dew and it was difficult. Chakravarthy says that he tries to not consider that the ball is slipping. Varun feels they can chase it as the dew is setting in.Â
The Punjab batting just never got going. None of their batters got used to the pace of the wicket and the set batters threw it away when they needed to bat for longer. Yet another low score registered by Punjab and Rahul will be very disappointed.
Mavi and Cummins were excellent in the Powerplay. Krishna, Narine and Varun then continued the good work. The key was, they kept picking wickets at regular intervals and that just never let Punjab accelerate. The last two overs did take a pounding but overall, they were excellent.
Jordanâs innings towards the end has given Punjab something to bowl with but overall it is a poor outing with the bat for them. Also, credit to Kolkata for the way they have bowled.
Prasidh Krishna to Mohammed Shami, Single to end the innings! Length ball outside off, Shami punches it to the right of long off. Arshdeep comes out for the second but Shami says no. The throw is at the keeper's end but Arshdeep is back in. PUNJAB FINISH WITH 123/9!
Prasidh Krishna to Arshdeep Singh, Length ball on middle and off. Arshdeep clears his front leg, and swings. It takes the outer half of his bat and luckily for Arshdeep it falls before Rana at third man. Single taken. Did not hit it where he intended to but Punjab will not care.
The last man in is Arshdeep Singh!
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! BOWLED! Finally Prasidh Krishna gets the better of Jordan and has the final laugh. End of a very good and very valuable innings from Jordan. Prasidh Krishna finally decides to take pace off the ball and go full on the stumps. Jordan does not pick the slower one as he looks to hit it across the line. He misses and the off stump goes for a toss.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! Jordan, you beauty! TPunjab have gone over 120 and this might be the differential runs in this game. Back of a length outside off, Jordan slaps it over long off for a biggie.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, Slower ball outside off. Jordan swings but it takes the outer half of his bat. The ball spins and Rana at third man overruns a bit. They do not take the run.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! SLAPPED! Perfect start to the final over for Punjab! Short and wide outside off. Jordan slaps it over the short boundary over point for a boundary.Â
Who will bowl the final over of the innings? It will be Prasidh Krishna!
Pat Cummins to Mohammed Shami, Dot to finish the over! Full outside off, Shami swings but connects with nothing.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Much, much better from Cummins. Full and wide outside off, Jordan can just place it to deep point for one.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! BOOM! Bonus and valuable runs for Punjab. Jordan was brought in to do the job with the ball but he has been forced to do some with the bat and he is doing well. Shortish on middle, Jordan pulls it and gets enough meat on it to sends it over the backward square leg fence for a biggie.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Jordan swings but misses.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! Valuable runs! 100 comes up for Punjab! Shortish ball on the body, Jordanm swivels his pull through square leg for a boundary.
Mohammed Shami walks out to bat now.
Pat Cummins to Ravi Bishnoi, ! CAUGHT! Cummins gets his second. A look at his figures might make you feel he has been expensive but if you dig deep, he has bowled superbly and most of those runs have come off edges. Morgan is having a good game, another catch for the skipper. Cummins steams in and bowls it on the pads at pace. Bishnoi looks to flick but gets a leading edge which goes high in the air towards cover. Morgan there makes no mistake and takes it.
Cummins is back on!
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, Shorter and on off, this is played down to third man for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, This one takes off after landing around off, Bishnoi is beaten as he looks to put bat on ball.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, WIDE! Short but down the leg side, left alone.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, A dot! On off, this is guided to point.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, ! TAKEN! Another one bites the dust and the last recognized batter is out of here! Shorter and on off, Sharukh is hurried into the shot. It goes off the splice and lobs towards cover where Morgan takes an easy catch.
Who will replace Sunil Narine? Prasidh Krishna is back on! 1/13 from his two.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Shahrukh Khan looks to pull but misses.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, A little fumble in the deep allows the batters to take two. A rare mistake from Kolkta so far in this game. Floated on off, Jordan drives it to the right of sweeper cover. The fielder there moves to that side but the dew has made the ball wet which makes it hard for him to hold onto the ball. Allows the batters to take two and Shahrukh to have the strike for the start of the next over.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Darted fuller around off, Jordan runs it down behind point for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Quicker one on off. Jordan is a little surprised by it but manages to block it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, A huge swing but it comes off the inner half. Floated around off, Shahrukh Khan swings across the line. It hits the inner half of his bat and gets it to the on side for one.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Floated on off, Jordan blocks it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Stifled appeal but the ball is going down leg. Floated delivery pitching on middle and it turns in. Jordan looks to flick but misses and gets hit on the pad.Â
Time-Out! Kolkata continue to dominate this game so far. Punjab have been behind the 8-ball since the start of this innings. They still have Shahrukh Khan out in the middle and will hope he can finish with a bang and see them enter the innings break with momentum and some decent target to bowl at.
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Single to end the over. 9 off it. Floated on off, Jordan milks it to the left of long off and gets a single.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Floated leg spinner pitching on middle and leg and turning in. Jordan looks to play but misses and gets hit on the pad. DK appeals but without any support.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Darted quicker on the pads, Shahrukh Khan flicks it to the right of deep mid-wicket. They think of two but need to be content with one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, ! No miss this time! Shahrukh Khan has smoked it over the fence. Flighted too full on off. This one spins in and Shahrukh Khan slog sweeps it with the spin over mid-wicket for a biggie.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A big swing but a miss! Short outside off. Shahrukh Khan looks to slash it over against the spin on the leg side but misses.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Flighted outside off, Jordan drives it nicely to sweeper cover for one. Punjab need more than singles now. Right now this innings is not going anywhere.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Two to end the over! Shorter and outside off, this is cut through point for two.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Fires it one middle, it is hit back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is played to silly mid on. Good field placement.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, On off, Jordan looks to drive but it goes off the inner half through square leg for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! TIMBER! So the batter who Punjab were relying on to take them to a good score is a goner! Flatter and on off, Pooran looks to go over the leg side but misses and the off pole is uprooted. 120 looks far away now.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A single to end! On middle, this is worked through square leg for one more.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Another dot as this is worked with the turn towards mid-wicket.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, On off, this is guided to point.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Khan is off the mark! On off, it is lifted over covers for one.
Sharukh Khan walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ! TIMBER! This lands on off and then spins back in. Henriques does not pick it. He tries to flick it but it sneaks through the gap between bat and pas and hits the stumps. Kolkata all over Punjab at the moment.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Another dot as this flatter ball is also pushed to the fielder at covers. Still a good over for Punjab. They need a few more like this.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Flatter and on off, this is pushed to covers.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! That has burst through Varun's hands! This is shorter and it is slapped towards the bowler. Varun puts his hands up but it goes through and down to the long on fence.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! Pooran power! Is this the start of something for him? They need him to fire. Fuller and on middle, it is lifted over the long on fence for a biggie.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Moises Henriques, Â Just another single! On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, On the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked towards mid-wicket for one more.
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ? That is very tough to take. Shorter and outside off. Henriques looks to cut but gets a bottom edge. It hits the inner part of Karthik's glove and goes towards fine leg for one. The bat also flew out of Henriques' hand.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, Shorter, this is pulled through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, this is defended into the ground.
Henriques walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, ! TAKEN! That is a superb catch from Rahul! Excellent. The well-set Agarwal is a goner! Â On middle, this is pulled hard but flat and towards deep mid-wicket. Rahul runs in and takes it with a dive forward. Punjab in big, big trouble now.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, Short and it grips in the surface. Agarwal is early in the pull. He gets an inside edge onto the pads.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Tosses it up on off, this is hit down to long off for one. Superb start from Varun. Just 4 from his first.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Very full and on off, it is squeezed through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran misses out! Down the leg side, he looks to sweep. It hits the glove and then the pads of the keeper. Goes on the off side for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Good shot! Only for one. Outside off, this is hit through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Starts well! Flatter and on off, defended.
Varun is on! FINALLY! Held him back for long did Morgan.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Brace to end the over. 10 off the over. Just the over they needed and they need a few more like this. The last ball is on a length around off, Mayank strokes it away from the fielder at sweeper cover and gets a couple.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, ! 50 comes up for Punjab in style. Is this the shot that changes things in favour of Mayank Agarwal? Prasidh looks to go short but does not bang is short enough. It sits well around the waist height for Mayank. He quickly gets in position and pulls it over the cow corner region for a cracking six.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Very well bowled but slightly overcooked. Mayanl moves away from the stumps, Prasidh follows him and bangs it short. Mayank looks to pull but misses. It has been wided.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Slightly fuller on middle and leg. Mayank defends it.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Play and a miss! Mayank Agarwal continues to struggle. Good length delivery outside off. Mayank looks to play it through point but misses.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Good length delivery outside off, Pooran punches it to sweeper cover for one.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Zip and pace from Prasidh Krishna! Good length delivery pitching on off and then going away from Pooran. Nicholas leaves it alone.Â
Strategic Time-Out! So far it is one-way traffic. Kolkata have dominated proceedings so far and are on top of this game. Punjab are struggling to get a move on. This pitch might not be an easy track to bat as we expected but Punjab are going under 6 rpo and have lost two wickets. They need to get a move along from now if they are to post a competitive total.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Another great over from Kolkata. Russell begins by just going for two. The last ball is short around the body. Mayank looks to pull but closes the face of the bat early. It hits the other side of the bat and lobs towards the vacant short cover region.
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Back of a length delivery on off. Pooran swivels and mistimes his pull but along the ground through point. He wanted two but the fielder was quick to get to the ball and keep it down to one.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Good shot for nothing! Length ball on off, Pooran punches it but to mid off.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Russell hits the deck hard around off. Pooran taps it behind point.Â
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, This time Mayank taps it to cover for one.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Good length ball from Russell to begin with. Mayank blocks it.
Who will bowl now? Andre Russell is called into the action.
Who will walk out to bat now? It will be Nicholas Pooran. He has struggled so far but his team desperately needs him to step up tonight.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Good start for Prasidh! Just 3 off his first and a wicket too. The last ball is around off, Mayanlk runs it down to third man for a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran is off the mark! Prasidh Krishna hits the deck hard around leg, Pooran tucks it to fone leg and gets a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, ! CAUGHT! Hooda departs and it is a soft dismissal. Kolkata are enjoying Ahmedabad so far and Morgan has taken a very sharp catch. His captaincy so far is looking on point as Punjab are stuttering at 42/3. Prasidh gets his first in his first over. Full ball around off at pace. Hooda looks to drive it by getting on top of the bounce. The pace of the ball sees it jarrs Hooda's bat. Morgan's field placement is spot on. The skipper is standing at backward po
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, Good length delivery on middle, Hooda blocks it.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Prasidh hits the deck hard. Mayank looks to pull but the ball does not raise as much as he expected it. He mistimes his pull but luckily it falls in front of long on. Single taken.Â
Change in bowling. Prasidh Krishna is into the attack for the first time this evening.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh starts with a fullish ball around off, Mayank taps it to point.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Fantastic spell of bowling from Mavi. He has bowled out with the figures of 1/13. The last ball is around off, Mayank opens the face of the bat and runs it down to third man to keep the strike.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Short ball! It is well-directed as it does not give any room to Hooda. He pulls it awkwardly and gets off the mark with a single.Â
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Fullish on off, Hooda keeps it out.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, WIDE! Mavi misses his line to the right-hander and sprays one down the leg side. Hooda looks to flick but misses.Â
Shivam Mavi to Chris Gayle, ! CAUGHT! Excellent review from Morgan and Kolkta's brilliant start continues. Karthik knew there was an edge, he convinced his skipper and credit to Morgan to backing his keeper. The ploy to bowl out Mavi pays its reward. A second ball duck for the Universe Boss and it is a big blow for Punjab. Full ball wide outside off. Gayle looks to drive but the feet does not move at all. There is some noise as the ball goes past the bat. Karthik and Mavi appeal but the
Deepak Hooda walks out to bat now.
Review time! There is some noise as the ball has gone past the bat and to the keeper. The umpire though is unmoved. Dinesh Karthik is confident and Morgan has trusted his keeper and the bowler and signaled the 'T'.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Fullish ball outside off, Mayank slams it to the right of point and gets a single. It might have been two if it was Rahul at the other but it is Gayle so just a single.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Good fielding from Russell! Good length delivery on middle and leg. Mayank flicks it to the right of short mid-wicket. Russell there dives and saves runs for his side.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, A single to end the Powerplay and it is a very good one for Kolkata! On off, the last ball is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is flicked to mid-wicket.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! TAKEN! Cummins gets a wicket and it is the big fish, Rahul. Rahul makes room again. Cummins bowls it on a length and it is a slower one. Rahul looks to go over mid off but ends up skying it. The timing is not quite there as he is a touch early in the shot. The fielder at mid off, Narine takes a good catch. This is turning out to be an excellent Powerplay for Kolkata.
Chris Gayle walks out to bat.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, TOP EDGE AND ! Welcome one. Rahul makes room. Cummins bowls it full and outside off, Rahul goes after it. It flies off the outside edge over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On off, this is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, 4 dots in a row now! On middle, Agarwal works it to mid-wicket.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A dot to end! On middle, this is pushed to mid on. End of a superb over from Mavi.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Three dots in a row! On off, Rahul pushes it to covers again.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Good length and on middle, this is pushed back to the bowler. One more dot, pressure building.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul drives but to covers.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another run! Rotation of strike is very important when boundaries are hard to come by! On off, this is guided towards point for one.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, So once again a good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on. On middle, it is worked to mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, ! Welcome into the attack! Rahul makes room and Narine bowls it short and on off, it is slapped through covers for a boundary.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Slightly shorter, this is pushed to covers. Another dot.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played down to long on for one more.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, On middle, little bit of turn into the batter, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Makes room again, this is quicker and on middle, guided to point.
Narine is on now!Â
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Very well bowled! Length and on middle, Agarwal is squared up as he tries to block. It goes off the outer half towards cover. A good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, A good slower one, fuller and outside off, Mayank is done in by the lack of pace. Stops his shot and pushes it to cover.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, On off, Rahul drops it towards cover and gets to the other end.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Some swing for Mavi! This comes in a long way from off. Agarwal misses the flick and hits the pad. It rolls on the leg side. Leg bye taken.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another one right off the middle! On off, this is stroked back to the bowler who does well to get down and stop it.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, ! What a shot that is! Nothing much wrong with the ball. Length and on off, Agarwal takes a good stride ahead and times it brilliantly through covers.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! Just a little bit of room and Rahul bags his first blundary! Outside off, this is guided past point and it races away.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, Rahul looks to put the bowler off by moving around but this lands on a length on off, it is guided to point.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, On middle, this is worked to mid on.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Good length and on off, this is guided down to third man for one more.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Length now on middle, Agarwal guides it to point.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, ! All the way! Fortunate biggie but Agarwal won't mind. Short and on middle, Agarwal looks to pull but it flies off the top edge and over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Starts off with one down the leg side, Agarwal looks to flick but misses.Â
Who will bowl from the other end? Pat Cummins it is!
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, That stays a little low! Length and on off, does not bounce a lot. Hits low on Rahul's bat as he tries to block. A good start by Mavi.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller in length and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Agarwal is off the mark now! He plays this late and down to third man for one.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, This is angled into middle, Agarwal plays it back to mid on.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A full one to begin with, no swing, Rahul strokes it to covers.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Rahul and Punjab are underway! Angled into the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
We are all set for the action to begin! The Punjab openers, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are out in the middle. Rahul will take strike and he will be facing Shivam Mavi who has the new ball in hand. Here we go...Â
Kolkata (Playing XI) -Â Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab skipper, KL Rahul says that it is a new venue and new pitch and tells it will be interesting to see what kind of start they get. Rahul tells it is important the country fights back from what is happening. Adds they look to play cricket and entertain everyone. Rahul says the win in the last game has given them a lot of confidence and adds that the boys are positive as it was not an easy pitch to chase. Rahul says Gayle lightens the dressing room and told the boys to back up the good cricke
Eoin Morgan, Kolkata skipper, says it is the first they have won in few games and hopes it changes the luck. Informs they are going with the same eleven, they have played but have not done well with both, the bat and ball in the same game. Informs there is a lot of talent and depth in their squad and he hopes they can play well here. Adda if you go on a losing streak it can hurt badly but they do have the opportunity to change it now and he hopes they can do well.
TOSS - We are all in readiness for the toss. Punjab skipper, KL Rahul is out in the middle joined by Kolkata captain, Eoin Morgan. KL Rahul has the coin in hand. Up it goes. Morgan calls correctly. KOLKATA OPT TO BOWL!
PITCH REPORT -Â Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen doing the pitch report. The latter says when you get out here and see a surface like this being a batter, you will be licking your lips. States the covering off grass is beautiful and there are going to be runs on offer so the bowlers will have to bowl well.
Hello and welcome to game number 21 of the league. It is a brand new venue as the league plays its first game in the biggest cricket stadium in the world. Kl Rahul's Punjab are high on confidence as they come to Ahmedabad with a convincing win over Mumbai. Punjab will look to carry that momentum and start their winning run. Kolkata, on the other hand, are on a freefall. Morgan's side have struggled so far this season and have lost all of their last 4 contests. The 2-time champions desperately ne
This should be a straightforward chase for Kolkata but their batters arenât in the best of forms. If Punjab start off well, you just never know, this could end up being a good game. Stay tuned for the second essay.
The man who played a crucial part in this impressive performance, Varun Chakaravarthy is caught for a chat. Varun says that the pitch is keeping a bit low but in the last 10 overs dew started to set in. Varun says that it was very difficult to grip the ball as there is a lot of dew and it was difficult. Chakravarthy says that he tries to not consider that the ball is slipping. Varun feels they can chase it as the dew is setting in.Â
The Punjab batting just never got going. None of their batters got used to the pace of the wicket and the set batters threw it away when they needed to bat for longer. Yet another low score registered by Punjab and Rahul will be very disappointed.
Mavi and Cummins were excellent in the Powerplay. Krishna, Narine and Varun then continued the good work. The key was, they kept picking wickets at regular intervals and that just never let Punjab accelerate. The last two overs did take a pounding but overall, they were excellent.
Jordanâs innings towards the end has given Punjab something to bowl with but overall it is a poor outing with the bat for them. Also, credit to Kolkata for the way they have bowled.
Prasidh Krishna to Mohammed Shami, Single to end the innings! Length ball outside off, Shami punches it to the right of long off. Arshdeep comes out for the second but Shami says no. The throw is at the keeper's end but Arshdeep is back in. PUNJAB FINISH WITH 123/9!
Prasidh Krishna to Arshdeep Singh, Length ball on middle and off. Arshdeep clears his front leg, and swings. It takes the outer half of his bat and luckily for Arshdeep it falls before Rana at third man. Single taken. Did not hit it where he intended to but Punjab will not care.
The last man in is Arshdeep Singh!
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! BOWLED! Finally Prasidh Krishna gets the better of Jordan and has the final laugh. End of a very good and very valuable innings from Jordan. Prasidh Krishna finally decides to take pace off the ball and go full on the stumps. Jordan does not pick the slower one as he looks to hit it across the line. He misses and the off stump goes for a toss.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! Jordan, you beauty! TPunjab have gone over 120 and this might be the differential runs in this game. Back of a length outside off, Jordan slaps it over long off for a biggie.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, Slower ball outside off. Jordan swings but it takes the outer half of his bat. The ball spins and Rana at third man overruns a bit. They do not take the run.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, ! SLAPPED! Perfect start to the final over for Punjab! Short and wide outside off. Jordan slaps it over the short boundary over point for a boundary.Â
Who will bowl the final over of the innings? It will be Prasidh Krishna!
Pat Cummins to Mohammed Shami, Dot to finish the over! Full outside off, Shami swings but connects with nothing.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Much, much better from Cummins. Full and wide outside off, Jordan can just place it to deep point for one.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! BOOM! Bonus and valuable runs for Punjab. Jordan was brought in to do the job with the ball but he has been forced to do some with the bat and he is doing well. Shortish on middle, Jordan pulls it and gets enough meat on it to sends it over the backward square leg fence for a biggie.
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Jordan swings but misses.Â
Pat Cummins to Chris Jordan, ! Valuable runs! 100 comes up for Punjab! Shortish ball on the body, Jordanm swivels his pull through square leg for a boundary.
Mohammed Shami walks out to bat now.
Pat Cummins to Ravi Bishnoi, ! CAUGHT! Cummins gets his second. A look at his figures might make you feel he has been expensive but if you dig deep, he has bowled superbly and most of those runs have come off edges. Morgan is having a good game, another catch for the skipper. Cummins steams in and bowls it on the pads at pace. Bishnoi looks to flick but gets a leading edge which goes high in the air towards cover. Morgan there makes no mistake and takes it.
Cummins is back on!
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, Shorter and on off, this is played down to third man for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, This one takes off after landing around off, Bishnoi is beaten as he looks to put bat on ball.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, WIDE! Short but down the leg side, left alone.
Prasidh Krishna to Ravi Bishnoi, A dot! On off, this is guided to point.
Prasidh Krishna to Chris Jordan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, ! TAKEN! Another one bites the dust and the last recognized batter is out of here! Shorter and on off, Sharukh is hurried into the shot. It goes off the splice and lobs towards cover where Morgan takes an easy catch.
Who will replace Sunil Narine? Prasidh Krishna is back on! 1/13 from his two.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Shahrukh Khan, Back of a length delivery outside off, Shahrukh Khan looks to pull but misses.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, A little fumble in the deep allows the batters to take two. A rare mistake from Kolkta so far in this game. Floated on off, Jordan drives it to the right of sweeper cover. The fielder there moves to that side but the dew has made the ball wet which makes it hard for him to hold onto the ball. Allows the batters to take two and Shahrukh to have the strike for the start of the next over.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Darted fuller around off, Jordan runs it down behind point for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Quicker one on off. Jordan is a little surprised by it but manages to block it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, A huge swing but it comes off the inner half. Floated around off, Shahrukh Khan swings across the line. It hits the inner half of his bat and gets it to the on side for one.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Floated on off, Jordan blocks it.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, Stifled appeal but the ball is going down leg. Floated delivery pitching on middle and it turns in. Jordan looks to flick but misses and gets hit on the pad.Â
Time-Out! Kolkata continue to dominate this game so far. Punjab have been behind the 8-ball since the start of this innings. They still have Shahrukh Khan out in the middle and will hope he can finish with a bang and see them enter the innings break with momentum and some decent target to bowl at.
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Single to end the over. 9 off it. Floated on off, Jordan milks it to the left of long off and gets a single.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Floated leg spinner pitching on middle and leg and turning in. Jordan looks to play but misses and gets hit on the pad. DK appeals but without any support.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Darted quicker on the pads, Shahrukh Khan flicks it to the right of deep mid-wicket. They think of two but need to be content with one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, ! No miss this time! Shahrukh Khan has smoked it over the fence. Flighted too full on off. This one spins in and Shahrukh Khan slog sweeps it with the spin over mid-wicket for a biggie.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A big swing but a miss! Short outside off. Shahrukh Khan looks to slash it over against the spin on the leg side but misses.Â
Sunil Narine to Chris Jordan, Flighted outside off, Jordan drives it nicely to sweeper cover for one. Punjab need more than singles now. Right now this innings is not going anywhere.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Two to end the over! Shorter and outside off, this is cut through point for two.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, Fires it one middle, it is hit back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is played to silly mid on. Good field placement.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Chris Jordan, On off, Jordan looks to drive but it goes off the inner half through square leg for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! TIMBER! So the batter who Punjab were relying on to take them to a good score is a goner! Flatter and on off, Pooran looks to go over the leg side but misses and the off pole is uprooted. 120 looks far away now.Â
Varun Chakaravarthy to Shahrukh Khan, On middle, this is hit down to long on for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, A single to end! On middle, this is worked through square leg for one more.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Another dot as this is worked with the turn towards mid-wicket.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, On off, this is guided to point.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Shahrukh Khan, Khan is off the mark! On off, it is lifted over covers for one.
Sharukh Khan walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ! TIMBER! This lands on off and then spins back in. Henriques does not pick it. He tries to flick it but it sneaks through the gap between bat and pas and hits the stumps. Kolkata all over Punjab at the moment.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Another dot as this flatter ball is also pushed to the fielder at covers. Still a good over for Punjab. They need a few more like this.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Flatter and on off, this is pushed to covers.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! That has burst through Varun's hands! This is shorter and it is slapped towards the bowler. Varun puts his hands up but it goes through and down to the long on fence.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, ! Pooran power! Is this the start of something for him? They need him to fire. Fuller and on middle, it is lifted over the long on fence for a biggie.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Moises Henriques, Â Just another single! On middle, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, On the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, it is worked towards mid-wicket for one more.
Sunil Narine to Moises Henriques, ? That is very tough to take. Shorter and outside off. Henriques looks to cut but gets a bottom edge. It hits the inner part of Karthik's glove and goes towards fine leg for one. The bat also flew out of Henriques' hand.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, Shorter, this is pulled through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to Nicholas Pooran, On middle, this is defended into the ground.
Henriques walks out to bat!
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, ! TAKEN! That is a superb catch from Rahul! Excellent. The well-set Agarwal is a goner! Â On middle, this is pulled hard but flat and towards deep mid-wicket. Rahul runs in and takes it with a dive forward. Punjab in big, big trouble now.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, Short and it grips in the surface. Agarwal is early in the pull. He gets an inside edge onto the pads.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Tosses it up on off, this is hit down to long off for one. Superb start from Varun. Just 4 from his first.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played back to the bowler.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Very full and on off, it is squeezed through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran misses out! Down the leg side, he looks to sweep. It hits the glove and then the pads of the keeper. Goes on the off side for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Mayank Agarwal, Good shot! Only for one. Outside off, this is hit through covers for one.
Varun Chakaravarthy to Nicholas Pooran, Starts well! Flatter and on off, defended.
Varun is on! FINALLY! Held him back for long did Morgan.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Brace to end the over. 10 off the over. Just the over they needed and they need a few more like this. The last ball is on a length around off, Mayank strokes it away from the fielder at sweeper cover and gets a couple.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, ! 50 comes up for Punjab in style. Is this the shot that changes things in favour of Mayank Agarwal? Prasidh looks to go short but does not bang is short enough. It sits well around the waist height for Mayank. He quickly gets in position and pulls it over the cow corner region for a cracking six.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Very well bowled but slightly overcooked. Mayanl moves away from the stumps, Prasidh follows him and bangs it short. Mayank looks to pull but misses. It has been wided.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Slightly fuller on middle and leg. Mayank defends it.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Play and a miss! Mayank Agarwal continues to struggle. Good length delivery outside off. Mayank looks to play it through point but misses.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Good length delivery outside off, Pooran punches it to sweeper cover for one.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Zip and pace from Prasidh Krishna! Good length delivery pitching on off and then going away from Pooran. Nicholas leaves it alone.Â
Strategic Time-Out! So far it is one-way traffic. Kolkata have dominated proceedings so far and are on top of this game. Punjab are struggling to get a move on. This pitch might not be an easy track to bat as we expected but Punjab are going under 6 rpo and have lost two wickets. They need to get a move along from now if they are to post a competitive total.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Another great over from Kolkata. Russell begins by just going for two. The last ball is short around the body. Mayank looks to pull but closes the face of the bat early. It hits the other side of the bat and lobs towards the vacant short cover region.
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Back of a length delivery on off. Pooran swivels and mistimes his pull but along the ground through point. He wanted two but the fielder was quick to get to the ball and keep it down to one.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Good shot for nothing! Length ball on off, Pooran punches it but to mid off.Â
Andre Russell to Nicholas Pooran, Russell hits the deck hard around off. Pooran taps it behind point.Â
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, This time Mayank taps it to cover for one.
Andre Russell to Mayank Agarwal, Good length ball from Russell to begin with. Mayank blocks it.
Who will bowl now? Andre Russell is called into the action.
Who will walk out to bat now? It will be Nicholas Pooran. He has struggled so far but his team desperately needs him to step up tonight.
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Good start for Prasidh! Just 3 off his first and a wicket too. The last ball is around off, Mayanlk runs it down to third man for a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Nicholas Pooran, Pooran is off the mark! Prasidh Krishna hits the deck hard around leg, Pooran tucks it to fone leg and gets a run.
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, ! CAUGHT! Hooda departs and it is a soft dismissal. Kolkata are enjoying Ahmedabad so far and Morgan has taken a very sharp catch. His captaincy so far is looking on point as Punjab are stuttering at 42/3. Prasidh gets his first in his first over. Full ball around off at pace. Hooda looks to drive it by getting on top of the bounce. The pace of the ball sees it jarrs Hooda's bat. Morgan's field placement is spot on. The skipper is standing at backward po
Prasidh Krishna to Deepak Hooda, Good length delivery on middle, Hooda blocks it.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Prasidh hits the deck hard. Mayank looks to pull but the ball does not raise as much as he expected it. He mistimes his pull but luckily it falls in front of long on. Single taken.Â
Change in bowling. Prasidh Krishna is into the attack for the first time this evening.Â
Prasidh Krishna to Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh starts with a fullish ball around off, Mayank taps it to point.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Single to end the over. Fantastic spell of bowling from Mavi. He has bowled out with the figures of 1/13. The last ball is around off, Mayank opens the face of the bat and runs it down to third man to keep the strike.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Short ball! It is well-directed as it does not give any room to Hooda. He pulls it awkwardly and gets off the mark with a single.Â
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, Fullish on off, Hooda keeps it out.
Shivam Mavi to Deepak Hooda, WIDE! Mavi misses his line to the right-hander and sprays one down the leg side. Hooda looks to flick but misses.Â
Shivam Mavi to Chris Gayle, ! CAUGHT! Excellent review from Morgan and Kolkta's brilliant start continues. Karthik knew there was an edge, he convinced his skipper and credit to Morgan to backing his keeper. The ploy to bowl out Mavi pays its reward. A second ball duck for the Universe Boss and it is a big blow for Punjab. Full ball wide outside off. Gayle looks to drive but the feet does not move at all. There is some noise as the ball goes past the bat. Karthik and Mavi appeal but the
Deepak Hooda walks out to bat now.
Review time! There is some noise as the ball has gone past the bat and to the keeper. The umpire though is unmoved. Dinesh Karthik is confident and Morgan has trusted his keeper and the bowler and signaled the 'T'.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Fullish ball outside off, Mayank slams it to the right of point and gets a single. It might have been two if it was Rahul at the other but it is Gayle so just a single.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Good fielding from Russell! Good length delivery on middle and leg. Mayank flicks it to the right of short mid-wicket. Russell there dives and saves runs for his side.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, A single to end the Powerplay and it is a very good one for Kolkata! On off, the last ball is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is flicked to mid-wicket.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! TAKEN! Cummins gets a wicket and it is the big fish, Rahul. Rahul makes room again. Cummins bowls it on a length and it is a slower one. Rahul looks to go over mid off but ends up skying it. The timing is not quite there as he is a touch early in the shot. The fielder at mid off, Narine takes a good catch. This is turning out to be an excellent Powerplay for Kolkata.
Chris Gayle walks out to bat.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, TOP EDGE AND ! Welcome one. Rahul makes room. Cummins bowls it full and outside off, Rahul goes after it. It flies off the outside edge over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, On off, this is guided through point for one.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, 4 dots in a row now! On middle, Agarwal works it to mid-wicket.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A dot to end! On middle, this is pushed to mid on. End of a superb over from Mavi.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Three dots in a row! On off, Rahul pushes it to covers again.Â
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Good length and on middle, this is pushed back to the bowler. One more dot, pressure building.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul drives but to covers.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another run! Rotation of strike is very important when boundaries are hard to come by! On off, this is guided towards point for one.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, So once again a good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on. On middle, it is worked to mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, ! Welcome into the attack! Rahul makes room and Narine bowls it short and on off, it is slapped through covers for a boundary.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Slightly shorter, this is pushed to covers. Another dot.
Sunil Narine to Mayank Agarwal, On middle, this is played down to long on for one more.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, On middle, little bit of turn into the batter, it is worked through mid-wicket for one.
Sunil Narine to KL Rahul, Makes room again, this is quicker and on middle, guided to point.
Narine is on now!Â
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Very well bowled! Length and on middle, Agarwal is squared up as he tries to block. It goes off the outer half towards cover. A good comeback by the bowler after going for a boundary early on.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, A good slower one, fuller and outside off, Mayank is done in by the lack of pace. Stops his shot and pushes it to cover.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, On off, Rahul drops it towards cover and gets to the other end.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Some swing for Mavi! This comes in a long way from off. Agarwal misses the flick and hits the pad. It rolls on the leg side. Leg bye taken.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Another one right off the middle! On off, this is stroked back to the bowler who does well to get down and stop it.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, ! What a shot that is! Nothing much wrong with the ball. Length and on off, Agarwal takes a good stride ahead and times it brilliantly through covers.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, ! Just a little bit of room and Rahul bags his first blundary! Outside off, this is guided past point and it races away.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, Rahul looks to put the bowler off by moving around but this lands on a length on off, it is guided to point.
Pat Cummins to KL Rahul, On middle, this is worked to mid on.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Good length and on off, this is guided down to third man for one more.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, Length now on middle, Agarwal guides it to point.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, ! All the way! Fortunate biggie but Agarwal won't mind. Short and on middle, Agarwal looks to pull but it flies off the top edge and over the third man fence.
Pat Cummins to Mayank Agarwal, WIDE! Starts off with one down the leg side, Agarwal looks to flick but misses.Â
Who will bowl from the other end? Pat Cummins it is!
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, That stays a little low! Length and on off, does not bounce a lot. Hits low on Rahul's bat as he tries to block. A good start by Mavi.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Fuller in length and on off, Rahul pushes it to mid off.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, Agarwal is off the mark now! He plays this late and down to third man for one.
Shivam Mavi to Mayank Agarwal, This is angled into middle, Agarwal plays it back to mid on.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, A full one to begin with, no swing, Rahul strokes it to covers.
Shivam Mavi to KL Rahul, Rahul and Punjab are underway! Angled into the pads, this is worked through square leg for one.
We are all set for the action to begin! The Punjab openers, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are out in the middle. Rahul will take strike and he will be facing Shivam Mavi who has the new ball in hand. Here we go...Â
Kolkata (Playing XI) -Â Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab skipper, KL Rahul says that it is a new venue and new pitch and tells it will be interesting to see what kind of start they get. Rahul tells it is important the country fights back from what is happening. Adds they look to play cricket and entertain everyone. Rahul says the win in the last game has given them a lot of confidence and adds that the boys are positive as it was not an easy pitch to chase. Rahul says Gayle lightens the dressing room and told the boys to back up the good cricke
Eoin Morgan, Kolkata skipper, says it is the first they have won in few games and hopes it changes the luck. Informs they are going with the same eleven, they have played but have not done well with both, the bat and ball in the same game. Informs there is a lot of talent and depth in their squad and he hopes they can play well here. Adda if you go on a losing streak it can hurt badly but they do have the opportunity to change it now and he hopes they can do well.
TOSS - We are all in readiness for the toss. Punjab skipper, KL Rahul is out in the middle joined by Kolkata captain, Eoin Morgan. KL Rahul has the coin in hand. Up it goes. Morgan calls correctly. KOLKATA OPT TO BOWL!
PITCH REPORT -Â Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen doing the pitch report. The latter says when you get out here and see a surface like this being a batter, you will be licking your lips. States the covering off grass is beautiful and there are going to be runs on offer so the bowlers will have to bowl well.
Hello and welcome to game number 21 of the league. It is a brand new venue as the league plays its first game in the biggest cricket stadium in the world. Kl Rahul's Punjab are high on confidence as they come to Ahmedabad with a convincing win over Mumbai. Punjab will look to carry that momentum and start their winning run. Kolkata, on the other hand, are on a freefall. Morgan's side have struggled so far this season and have lost all of their last 4 contests. The 2-time champions desperately ne