Who won Sunday's (April 21) IPL matches? Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosted Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Eden Gardens in match 36 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in the afternoon, followed by Punjab Kings welcoming Gujarat Titans later in the evening. (KKR Vs RCB, As It Happened | PBKS Vs GT, Highlights)
Nevertheless, the hosts did not lose momentum as their captain Shreyas Iyer kept the tempo up and scored a 36-ball 50. Ramandeep Singh came in to bat in the 18th over and smashed an undefeated nine-ball 28 that gave KKR the final fillip. Andre Russell too stayed unbeaten at 27 off 20 deliveries as the home team set a daunting target of 223 runs.
In reply, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis came out to open for RCB. Kohli, in particular started strongly, hitting 18 runs off the first six balls he faced before he was dismissed in controversial fashion. Harshit Rana bowled a slow full toss that dipped before Kohli tried to fend it. The ball looped back up and Rana caught it.
Kohli tried to review the decision, claiming an above-waist no-ball. But the umpires had already reviewed it themselves. The TV umpire ruled that the ball was below waist height and Kohli had to walk back, clearly unhappy with the decision.
Faf too was dismissed soon after and RCB were in a spot of bother at 35-2, but Will Jacks (55 off 32) and Rajat Patidar (52 off 23) then stitched together a 102-run partnership in just 48 balls to keep Bengaluru in the game.
But that is when Russell and Sunil Narine together picked up four wickets in a span of 12 balls, dislodging Jacks, Patidar, Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror to reduce RCB to 155-6 after 13 overs.
A couple of more wickets fell and the visitors eventually needed 21 runs off the last over. With Karn Sharma and Mohammed Siraj at the crease, most thought the match was over. But the leg-spinner Karn smashed Mitchell Starc for three sixes to bring RCB at the doorstep of victory.
Andre Russell was named the Player of the Match for his 27-run knock and three wickets (3/25).
Brief Scores: KKR 222/6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 50, Phil Salt 48; Cameron Green 2/35) beat RCB 221 all out in 20 overs (Will Jacks 55, Rajat Patidar 52; Andre Russell 3/25) by one run.
In the second match of the day, acting PBKS captain Sam Curran (standing in for injured Shikhar Dhawan) won the toss and opted to bat first. He opened the batting with Prabhsimran Singh, who was the first to be dismissed after scoring 35 off 21 balls. Wickets fell regularly, with Rilee Rossouw (9 off 7 balls) the next to be dismissed.
Then, Curran himself returned to the dugout, with talismanic Afghan all-rounder Rashid Khan claiming his wicket in the eighth over of the Kings innings. Curran hit 20 off 19 balls, and Jitesh Sharma made 13 runs off 12 balls.
Hard-hitting English batter Liam Livingstone could not make the most of his start, getting out for just six runs to Noor Ahmad. Harpreet Brar then showed some resistance with a 12-ball 29 but could not score a big one. All-rounder Harshal Patel was out for a golden duck. Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada stayed not out at one, as PBKS were all out for 142.
GT's pursuit of the 143-run target started nicely, with skipper Shubman Gill scoring a steady 35 off 29 balls. Wriddhiman Saha was the first to get out, Arshdeep Singh having him caught at short midwicket in the fourth over.
After Gill's wicket, southpaw David Miller too fell soon after. India prospect Sai Sudharsan made 31 runs off 34 balls, but it was Rahul Tewatia's unbeaten 36 off 18 deliveries that took GT over the line. The visitors ended up with a total of 146 for 7 wickets in 19.1 overs, winning the match by three wickets.
Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore was named the Player of the Match for his fine spell for GT. Sai Kishore scalped four wickets for 33 runs in his four overs.
Brief Scores: PBKS 142 all out in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 35, Harpreet Brar 29; R Sai Kishore 4/33). lose to GT 146/7 in 19.1 overs (Rahul Tewatia 36 not out, Shubman Gill 35; Harshal Patel 3/15) by three wickets.
Points Table Update
With their sixth successive defeat, RCB stayed at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table and have just two points from their eight games so far. KKR, on the other hand, climbed to the second spot and have 10 points from seven matches.
Meanwhile, GT are in sixth place with eight points from as many games while Punjab Kings languish at the ninth rung with four points from eight clashes.
