At the new stadium of Chandigarh, Punjab Kings played Kolkata Knight Riders and handed them a 16-run defeat. Earlier, Punjab won the toss and chose to bat, but this decision of Iyer proved to be a blunder as PBKS were bundled out for 111 by KKR on a surface which is a 180+ pitch according to KKR’s premier spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
At the midway point of their chase, KKR were 60/2. But Chahal and Jansen strangled KKR batters and all out them on just 95 runs. This was the lowest score ever defended in IPL history. This 16-run victory for PBKS put them in fourth position, whereas the run rate to score was just over seven to win within 14.1 overs.
Punjab Kings
Priyansh Arya scored a couple of fours off Anrich Nortje in the second over, one over cover and the other by pulling past mid-on. Prabhsimran Singh nearly went for a catch at short fine leg off Vaibhav Arora, but he got his first four with a scoop. Arya muscled a pull over mid on, and there were 20 runs off the third over. Harshit Rana was brought to bowl and his first ball went for a six over extra cover, but the next one saw the left-hander get caught at deep square leg off a flick. KKR’s prior captain, Shreyas Iyer, came out and threw his wicket away by cutting straight to deep point without scoring. Josh Inglis was out early too, bowled by Varun CV off an attempted sweep. Prabhsimran was not to be troubled, however, he hit a six over thirdman and another over long-off to take PBKS past fifty.
Nehal Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell’s partnership was short-lived in the ninth over as they both fell to Nortje. Suryansh Shedge was brought in as a sub and was caught-behind by Sunil Narine. Maxwell, for the fourth time in 31 balls, was dismissed by Varun. Narine and Marco Jansen bowled to make sure PBKS ended 86/8 at the 11-over mark. Shashank Singh and Xavier Bartlett had helped PBKS through the middle overs, also getting to 100 runs in the match.
Shashank and Bartlett had put on a partnership that had grown to more than 20 before they came up with a different plan, but at least PBKS should have played out the remaining overs. Arora trapped Shashank and Bartlett, meaning PBKS finished their innings in the 16th over with the lowest total at home.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Punjab Kings couldn’t hold on to the momentum after a poor early start. Narine hit a boundary off Jansen, but missed the pull, allowing a key delivery to be bowled. Then came Quinton de Kock, who also fell cheaply, mis-timing a flick off Bartlett. KKR were still doing well, with Raghuvanshi making regular bounds, including a six off Bartlett, eventually getting 19 runs off the sixth over.
Rahane and Raghuvanshi were gone in quick cascade exits to Yuzvendra Chahal. PBKS were trying to come back into the game, but Rahane decided against the review after getting struck on the pad. Raghuvanshi tried the inside out, and got a feather outside edge to a backward point, and KKR were relegated to 72/4. Maxwell trapped Venkatesh Iyer after making the breakthrough in the following over. In the 12th over, Chahal caught Ramandeep on a scoop move after taking two wickets off Rinku Singh. The skipper Rana was out to Jansen, and KKR were at 79/8. Russell had a charge at Chahal and hit two maximums and a four in the 14th over. Arora was out off a short delivery and KKR was at 95/9.
Russell, on strike, needed a single-handed effort to lead KKR to the finish line, but Jansen stole the limelight, bowling off an inside edge to complete PBKS’ heist.
Scorecard, PBKS vs KKR, 31st Match IPL 2025, Mohali, Apr 15 2025
Punjab Kings 111
Prabhsimran Singh 30 (15)
Priyansh Arya 22/12
Shashank Singh 18 (17)
Yuzvendra Chahal 4/28
Marco Jansen 3/17
Glenn Maxwell 1/5
Kolkata Knight Riders 95
Angkrish Raghuvanshi 37 (28)
Andre Russell 17 (11)
Ajinkya Rahane 17 (17)
Harshit Rana 3/25
Sunil Narine 2/14
Varun Chakravarthy 2/21
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