| 0.0 : Hello, folks! It's the fight for survival and only the best will survive. The points table of this season's Indian T20 League is looking red-hot at the moment. One spot is already booked by Chennai and the next two places look almost locked at the moment. That leaves only one place vacant and four teams are fighting for it. Currently, Kolkata are the marked team as they acquire the fourth position on the table and Punjab would be looking to upset them this evening to at least get on level point |
| It's nothing new with Punjab. They are the ultimate underachievers and their inconsistent performance has now become a norm. The close loss against Rajasthan in their first game after resumption would be haunting them at the moment. Since then, they have lost one game and won one, and are reeling in the bottom half with 4 wins. Chris Gayle has left them now citing 'bubble fatigue' but given his ordinary form, this should not be taken as a big blow. Apart from the top 3, their batting has been la |
| PITCH REPORT - Simon Doull and Kevin Pietersen are the pitch inspectors for the evening. Simon says that this is the same surface that they used two nights ago and there is a good even covering of grass and it is a hard surface. Kevin adds that he does not see demons on this deck. Doull ends by saying that as a bowler, if you hit your lengths right, then you will have success. |
| ... MATCH DAY ... |
| Kolkata are on a mission! Since the resumption of this edition, they have taken down teams like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, and narrowly missed out on taking down Chennai. While Eoin Morgan's bat has been silent, his captaincy has been in roaring form. He has put together a group of fearless cricketers and this group is approaching every game with an aggressive mindset. Be it their batting or their bowling, everything is working in tandem and the 2-time champions would be hoping to keep the sa |
| Who will replace Chris Gayle? There are options like Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen, and Punjab could go with the former for his wealth of knowledge in this format. Allen also offers them a good all-round option but he is a bits and pieces cricketer and possibly not a solution for Punjab's batting woes. Let's see who gets the nod. There are chances that they can completely ignore the overseas options and give an opportunity to the likes of Shahrukh Khan or Jalaj Saxena. Plenty of possibilitie |
| Just in - Tim Seifert is all set to make his debut for Kolkata. Interesting choice and Kolkata will have to tinker with their team composition to accommodate the Kiwi in the XI. |
| It's toss time! KL Rahul and Eoin Morgan are in the middle. The latter flips the coin, Rahul calls correctly and PUNJAB ELECT TO FIELD! |
| Punjab (Playing XI) - KL Rahul (C/WK), Mayank Agarwal (In for Mandeep Singh), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan (In place of Harpreet Brar), Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen (In place of Chris Gayle), Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh. |
| Kolkata (Playing XI) - Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Tim Seifert (In place of Lockie Ferguson), Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi (In place of Sandeep Warrier), Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy. |
| Eoin Morgan, the captain of Kolkata, says that it's a challenge to bat first here but the results here haven't been dictated by the toss. Informs about the changes as Lockie Ferguson is out and Tim Seifert comes in, also Shivam Mavi replaces Sandeep Warrier. Regarding the fitness of Andre Russell, Morgan replies that there are two significant blows to them and both Russell and Ferguson are getting monitored day by day. Feels that they will have to rehab really well in order to be fit. Mentio |
| The captain of Punjab, KL Rahul, says that they will bowl first and adds that the wickets have been quite tricky, based on the other games that have happened here, and so, it would be tricky to bat first and they aren't sure what sort of total would be good here. Adds that their bowling group has done really well and their batting has failed to fire. Hopes that they can come together and score some big runs but KL also hopes that they won't have to chase a big total as he wants to restrict Kolka |
| It's time to get the ball rolling. The players are coming on the ground. Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer are the openers for Kolkata. They have been in great form and Kolkata would be hoping for a good start from them. Punjab are beginning with the spin of Fabian Allen. All set, here we go...  |
| 0.1 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! What a way to get off the mark! Iyer starts off really well. Allen bowls this fuller, gives it some flight, on middle and leg, Venkatesh Iyer whips this one past the square leg fielder, who gives this chase, but fails to stop the ball. |
| 0.2 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Darted on middle, Iyer keeps this one out to covers. |
| 0.3 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Flatter, around off and middle, Iyer pushes this to the off side. |
| 0.4 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Allen keeps probing with the short length, on middle, Iyer knocks this one to long on and rotates the strike with a single. |
| 0.5 : Fabian Allen to Shubman Gill, Gill gets off the mark too! Fuller on middle, it's eased down to long off for a single. |
| 0.6 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Iyer gets another boundary! Oh, this lad can bat! The length is full, it is angling away outside off. Venkatesh Iyer slaps this one through covers and the ball speeds away to the fence. |
| Mohammed Shami to operate from the other end. |
| 1.1 : Mohammed Shami to Shubman Gill, A touch shortish to begin with from Shami, outside off, Gill punches it to covers where Mayank dives and parries it towards mid off. They take a run. |
| 1.2 : Mohammed Shami to Venkatesh Iyer, Back of a length, around off, Iyer manages to defend this one back to Shami. |
| 1.3 : Mohammed Shami to Venkatesh Iyer, On the body, a back-of-a-length delivery, Iyer nudges this awkwardly to square leg and takes a run. |
| 1.4 : Mohammed Shami to Shubman Gill, Some away movement on notice here! On a length, closer to off, it lands and nips away nicely, Gill watches it closely, before making a leave. |
| 1.5 : Mohammed Shami to Shubman Gill, FOUR! Gill gets a boundary now. He uses his feet well and bags a boundary. Short of a length, outside off, it does not rise too much as Shubman Gill skips down the track and slaps this one through covers. |
| 1.6 : Mohammed Shami to Shubman Gill, EDGY! Lucky for Gill. Around off, on a fuller length, Gill looks to push it to the off side but the ball takes the inside edge and goes to square leg for one. 7 off Shami's first! |
| 2.1 : Arshdeep Singh to Shubman Gill, That's a ripper from Singh to begin! Serves it fuller, outside off, slanting away from the right-hander. Gill plays a lazy looking drive, does not move his feet too and misses his shot. |
| 0.0 : Bowling change? Yes. The experiment with Fabian Allen lasted for just one over. Here is Arshdeep Singh... |
| 2.2 : Arshdeep Singh to Shubman Gill, WIDE. Arshdeep Singh sees Gill skipping down the track and serves a length ball, following the batter, Singh though slips it down leg. Gill misses his tuck and it is signalled as a wide. |
| Rahul Tripathi walks in next. |
| Arshdeep Singh to Shubman Gill, OUT! CLEANED HIM UP! 'Balle balle' for Singh very early on! Kolkata are one down very quickly. Arshdeep has impressed every single time he is handed the ball and he starts off with a bang on this occasion too. On a good length, around off, slanting away, Gill looks to push this to the off side but the ball takes the inside edge and crashes onto the furniture behind. Just the start that Punjab would have wanted! |
| 2.3 : Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, Wide! Angling down the leg side, Rahul Tripathi tries to buy some cheap runs off his pads but fails to connect. |
| Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, On a length and outside off, angling away, Rahul Tripathi pushes it off his front foot to covers. |
| 2.4 : Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, Plays late and beats backward point. Arshdeep Singh lands it close to off on a length, Rahul Tripathi allows the ball to come close and then opens the face of his bat late. Two runs taken. |
| 2.5 : Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, Beaten all ends up! Back of a length, around leg, Rahul Tripathi jumps down the track for a big heave-ho over the leg side but is beaten all ends up. |
| 2.6 : Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, Around off and middle, on a length, nipping in, Rahul Tripathi looks to push but gets an inside edge to the left of deep square leg. A couple of runs to end a good over from Arshdeep Singh! |
| 3.1 : Mohammed Shami to Venkatesh Iyer, On a length on middle, Venkatesh nudges this towards square leg and takes one. |
| 3.2 : Mohammed Shami to Rahul Tripathi, Very well bowled from Shami! Outside off this time, on a length, the ball lands and shoots up this time. Rahul looks to punch to the off side but the ball evades his blade, to KL Rahul. |
| 3.3 : Mohammed Shami to Rahul Tripathi, Rahul Tripathi skips down the track looking for a big shot but it takes the bottom half of his blade and rolls towards mid on. They cross for a brisk run as Ravi Bishnoi misses his shy at the bowler's end. |
| 3.4 : Mohammed Shami to Venkatesh Iyer, Iyer makes room by moving to the leg side as Shami hurls a fuller ball, outside off. Iyer carves this one down to third man and collects a single. |
| 3.5 : Mohammed Shami to Rahul Tripathi, Tries to be funky, does Rahul! Served fuller, outside off, Rahul Tripathi shuffles and looks to paddle this to the leg side but he fails to connect as the ball takes the pad and goes to the fielder at first slip. |
| 3.6 : Mohammed Shami to Rahul Tripathi, FOUR! Rahul Tripathi gets hold of this one, alright! It was a good over for Shami until the last ball but Rahul takes him on and gets a boundary! Short of a length, around off, Rahul Tripathi smashes this one over wide mid on and the ball goes past the ropes. |
| 4.1 : Arshdeep Singh to Venkatesh Iyer, A touch fuller, on middle, Iyer flicks gently, but finds the fielder at mid-wicket. |
| 0.0 : Will Arshdeep Singh get another over? Yup, he is ready to deliver his second... |
| 4.2 : Arshdeep Singh to Venkatesh Iyer, In the zone outside off, on a length, guided straight to the point fielder by Iyer. |
| 4.3 : Arshdeep Singh to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Clipped away nicely! Iyer has started with a positive mindset! Arshdeep strays and serves a length ball on the pads, not a good delivery keeping in mind that there was no fine leg. Iyer whips this one past short fine leg and gets a boundary. |
| 4.4 : Arshdeep Singh to Venkatesh Iyer, Direct hit might have been tight! Outside off, a length ball, Iyer taps this one towards Ravi Bishnoi at short third man. The batters scamper through for one as Ravi has a shy at the striker's end, but misses. |
| 4.5 : Arshdeep Singh to Rahul Tripathi, Back of a length, on middle and leg, Rahul goes back and drops this to mid-wicket for one. |
| 4.6 : Arshdeep Singh to Venkatesh Iyer, A single to end the 5th over. Singh concedes 7 off his second over. Slower in pace, on middle and leg, clipped to short fine leg for one. |
| 5.1 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, The Aussie begins with a delivery on middle, Venkatesh Iyer works it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 5.4 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Shortish and on middle, played back to the bowler. |
| 5.5 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Fuller and on middle, it's pushed back past the bowler for a run as the mid off fielder cuts it off. |
| 5.3 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Shot! Another slower one, a bit short and on middle, Venkatesh Iyer stays on the back foot and packs a punch on this shot. He finds the gap between mid-wicket and mid on. Another boundary. |
| 5.6 : Nathan Ellis to Rahul Tripathi, Sliding down the leg side, fuller in length, Rahul Tripathi flicks it in front of square leg. Fabian Allen makes a sliding stop in the deep and the batsmen collect a couple of runs. At the end of the Powerplay, Kolkata are 48/1. |
| 5.2 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Not good from Ravi Bishnoi. âNathan Ellis bowls a slower one, very full and outside off, Venkatesh Iyer drills his drive to the right of mid off. Bishnoi moves across but dives over the ball and it sneaks through. |
| 0.0 : Bowling change. Nathan Ellis has been unleashed into the attack! |
| 6.1 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Fires in a fuller ball on middle, Iyer knocks it down to long on for a run. |
| 0.0 : Will Arshdeep Singh bowl his third on the trot? Nopes. Fabian Allen is back on. 1-0-10-0 so far. |
| 6.2 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, Floated full, around off, Rahul Tripathi pushes it off his front foot to covers. |
| 6.3 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, Flatter and full on middle, it's chipped over mid on for a single. 50 up! |
| 6.4 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Venkatesh Iyer shows no mercy. Slightly short and around off, skidding away, Iyer quickly transfers his weight on the back leg and powers it through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 6.5 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Fabian goes quicker through the air and fires it in on middle, Iyer hangs back and hits it back to the bowler. |
| 6.6 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Fullish and on middle, clipped to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 6.4 : Change. Ravi Bishnoi to roll his arm now... |
| 7.1 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Beaten! Bishnoi begins with a googly around off, Iyer tries to push through the line from the back foot but misses. |
| 7.2 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Nicely flighted this time, full and around leg, Venkatesh Iyer flicks it in the gap at mid-wicket and takes a single. |
| 7.3 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, This one is flat and short around off, at 94 clicks, Rahul Tripathi keeps it out in the gap at mid-wicket. They cross as Bishnoi runs across to collect the ball. |
| 7.4 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Short and outside off, Venkatesh Iyer cuts but finds the point fielder. |
| 7.5 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Clever placement. Identical to the last delivery, this time Venkatesh Iyer stays back and plays late. He opens the face of the bat to place it through the gap between short third man and backward point. Fabulous! |
| 7.6 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi goes quicker through the air, it's short and wide outside off, Iyer cracks it to deep point for two. 8 from Bishnoi's first over. |
| 8.1 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, SIX! Handsomely put away! Fabian Allen serves it flat and full on middle, skidding in, Rahul Tripathi gets forward with a big stride and smokes it over mid-wicket for a biggie. The 50-run stand is up! |
| 8.2 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, Fuller and on middle, pushed down to long off for a single. |
| 8.3 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Fuller and around leg, Venkatesh Iyer uses his feet and whips it to wide long on for a single. |
| 8.4 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, Just short! Short and outside off, Tripathi goes to cut but it takes the outside edge. It flies towards short third man but reaches the fielder on one bounce. |
| 8.5 : Fabian Allen to Rahul Tripathi, Fuller and on middle, Rahul Tripathi hurries down the track and flicks it to deep square leg for a single. |
| 8.6 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, On the pads, quicker one again, Iyer clips it to deep mid-wicket and jogs across to the other end. 10 from this over! |
| 9.1 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Edgy! Short in length and outside off, skidding away, Venkatesh Iyer goes for the cut but edges it towards short third man. Looks for a run but is sent back. |
| 9.2 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Full around middle, Venkatesh Iyer uses his feet and knocks it down to long on for a single. |
| 9.3 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, Full and flighted on off, Rahul Tripathi walks forward and plays a lovely cover drive. Finds the fielder though. |
| 9.4 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, Slightly quicker this time, full and on off, once again Rahul drives it straight to covers. Two dots. |
| 9.5 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, Fine stop in the deep! A googly this time, on the shorter side, Rahul Tripathi goes back and pulls it to deep mid-wicket. Fabian Allen makes a tumbling stop and keeps the batsmen down to one. |
| 9.6 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Too full and on middle, it's forced down to long on for a run. At the halfway mark, Kolkata are 76/1. |
| 0.0 : Strategic Time-Out! This has been a good start by Kolkata as they are playing well and are on their way to a good total if they continue in the same manner. Yes, they did lose Gill, but Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer are doing well to keep the scoreboard ticking. They have a plethora of batting talent in their ranks as well. Punjab, meanwhile, will be looking to break this stand as Kolkata have started gaining momentum and then keep taking regular wickets to keep the pressure on. |
| 10.1 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Direct hit would have been curtains for Rahul Tripathi! On a length and outside off, Iyer goes back to cut but edges it towards backward point. They cross for a run as the fielder misses his shy at the striker's end. |
| 10.2 : Nathan Ellis to Rahul Tripathi, FOUR! Crashed away! Terrific shot. Rahul Tripathi is in full flow! On a length, outside off, Rahul Tripathi opens up the face of his blade and cracks this one past point for a boundary. |
| 10.3 : Nathan Ellis to Rahul Tripathi, On a fullish length, around off, heaved down towards long on for a single. |
| 10.4 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Ellis goes short this time, on middle, pulled away to deep mid-wicket for one. |
| 10.5 : Nathan Ellis to Rahul Tripathi, FOUR! Rahul is making batting look easy. But, with that being said, it was a poor delivery. A slower, loopy, full toss, outside off, Rahul Tripathi just bangs this one past point again and gets a boundary. |
| 10.6 : Nathan Ellis to Rahul Tripathi, Pace off again, on a length outside off, RT waits for it and punches it to mid off for one. |
| Ravi Bishnoi to continue with his spell... |
| 11.1 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, Flatter and quicker on middle, knocked down to long on for one. |
| 11.2 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Fuller this time, outside off, hit down towards long off. One run. |
| 11.3 : Ravi Bishnoi to Rahul Tripathi, OUT! TAKEN! Ravi Bishnoi strikes and Punjab finally get the wicket that they were waiting for! Rahul Tripathi tries to force the issue this time but it proves to be his undoing. Bishnoi serves this fuller, loopy, around off, Rahul Tripathi gets low and tries to mow a slog-sweep towards the deep mid-wicket region. It goes high in the air off the top edge and hence fails to get the required distance. Deepak Hooda runs across to his right from long on and |
| Nitish Rana walks in next. |
| 11.5 : Ravi Bishnoi to Nitish Rana, Rana gets off the mark on his first ball! Shortish, outside off, gently dabbed to short third man for one. |
| 11.4 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Flatter this time, on off, milked to long off for one. |
| 11.6 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Flatter again, outside off, skidding away, Iyer slices this behind point and gets one. A top over from Ravi Bishnoi comes to an end! |
| 12.1 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, FIFTY FOR IYER! Yet another 50 for Iyer and he has played very well so far. Gets to this landmark in 39 balls and would be hoping to continue the way he has been batting. On middle and leg, knocked towards mid-wicket for one. |
| 0.0 : Fabian Allen is back into the attack. 3-0-27-0 are his figures so far. |
| 12.2 : Fabian Allen to Nitish Rana, Allen loops this one up, fuller around leg, Rana sweeps this to the short fine leg region for one. An appeal for LBW but turned down. |
| 12.3 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Quicker and shorter outside off, punched to covers for one. |
| 12.4 : Fabian Allen to Nitish Rana, Another run as Rana flicks this one through mid-wicket. |
| 12.5 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, SIX! BANG! Iyer is on fire at the moment! He plays this so effortlessly. Looped up, fuller around middle and leg, Venkatesh Iyer stands tall and whips this one delightfully over deep square leg. |
| 12.6 : Fabian Allen to Venkatesh Iyer, Darted on middle and off, Iyer slaps this one back towards Allen, who tries to stop this with his leg but the ball ricochets to the mid on region, for a single. Allen seems to be in some pain. Looks to have been stung hard. |
| 13.1 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Starts this spell well, does Ellis! Fullish this time, outside off, Iyer looks to dig this one out but he fails to do so. |
| 13.2 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Funky! Iyer bags yet another boundary! On a length, outside off, Venkatesh Iyer shuffles across quickly and just paddles this one over short fine leg. Boundary. |
| 0.0 : Nathan Ellis is back on. He has been expensive so far, going for 23 runs in his 2 overs. |
| 13.3 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, FOUR! Stand and deliver stuff from Iyer! He is scoring runs with ease. Around off, on a length this time, Venkatesh Iyer thrashes this one through covers. |
| 13.4 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Good comeback from Ellis! He serves a wide yorker outside off, Iyer gets low and looks to get bat on the ball. Misses though. Nathan puts in a strong appeal for caught behind but the umpire is unmoved. Rahul was not too interested too. |
| 13.5 : Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, WIDE. Looked to have slipped out of Ellis' hand! He bowls a full toss, way outside off, Iyer just leaves it. Wide signalled. |
| Nathan Ellis to Venkatesh Iyer, Slower in pace, outside off, Iyer punches this to long off for one. |
| 13.6 : Nathan Ellis to Nitish Rana, 11 off this over! Outside off, on a length, Rana steers this one gently to third man for a single. |
| Ravi Bishnoi to bowl out. |
| 14.1 : Ravi Bishnoi to Nitish Rana, FOUR! WOAH! That's played very well. Great connection on this stroke. Fuller, on middle and off, Nitish Rana gets low and reverse-sweeps it over backward point for a boundary. |
| 14.2 : Ravi Bishnoi to Nitish Rana, Fuller again, on off, Rana looks to work this to the leg side but closes the face of his bat early. The leading edge is induced but it loops up behind Ravi, landing safely near mid off, for a single. |
| 14.3 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, Flatter, quicker, slanting away outside off, Iyer camps back and looks to slash but misses. |
| 14.5 : Ravi Bishnoi to Nitish Rana, Shortish, around off, Rana gets low and taps this to the short third man fielder. They wanted one but were not able to take it, as this was played straight to the fielder. |
| 14.4 : Ravi Bishnoi to Venkatesh Iyer, OUT! CAUGHT! Venkatesh Iyer got the right connection on this, but, didn't get the desired elevation and distance. Ravi Bishnoi gets his second and Punjab get rid of Iyer, who was looking in top form. Bishnoi floats this one up, lands it fuller and wide outside off, Venkatesh Iyer goes down and across and looks to clear the deep mid-wicket fence, with a slog-sweep. But he hits it flat and straight towards Deepak Hooda. Another catch for him. |
| 14.6 : Ravi Bishnoi to Nitish Rana, Fuller on middle and leg, Rana flicks this to mid-wicket and takes a run. Ravi Bishnoi is done for the night and ends with figures of 4-0-22-2. Impressive from the youngster. |
| 14.4 : Eoin Morgan walks in next. Can he strike some form in this match? |
| 15.1 : Mohammed Shami to Nitish Rana, Beaten! Shami angles across a length ball, around off, Nitish Rana tries to play inside the line but misses. |
| 15.2 : Mohammed Shami to Nitish Rana, Outside off, a touch short, Rana taps it down towards backward point and looks for a run. Confusion over a run, nothing added to the scoreboard in the end. |
| 0.0 : Strategic Time-Out! A wicket at the perfect time for Punjab. The dangerous Venkatesh Iyer is sent back and they would like to build on this breakthrough. 30 balls left in the innings. Let's see how it pans out. Mohammed Shami returns into the attack. |
| 15.3 : Mohammed Shami to Nitish Rana, Fuller and wide outside off, it's driven through point for a single. |
| 15.4 : Mohammed Shami to Eoin Morgan, Slower one from Shami, full and outside off at 119.2 clicks, Morgan is a bit early into the drive but does well to place it towards long off. Good enough to give him two. |
| 15.5 : Out walks Dinesh Karthik! |
| Mohammed Shami to Eoin Morgan, OUT! Morgan is trapped in front! His sorry form is refusing to leave him. Shami keeps it nice and straight, fuller in length, Morgan walks across the stumps for a cheeky paddle shot probably. He is late into the shot though, misses the ball and is rapped on the pads. The appeal is made and the finger has gone up almost immediately. Dead plumb. |
| 15.6 : Mohammed Shami to Dinesh Karthik, DK opens his account straightaway. A near-yorker outside off, at 140 clicks, Karthik plays late and squeezes it out past backward point for a single. |
| 16.1 : Nathan Ellis to Dinesh Karthik, Well played! Nathan Ellis returns and bowls his trademark slower delivery. It's short and wide outside off, Karthik picks it and slaps it to deep point for a brace. |
| 16.2 : Nathan Ellis to Dinesh Karthik, Back of a length, outside off at 132.6 kph, Dinesh Karthik punches it through cover-point and rotates the strike. |
| 0.0 : Bowling change. Nathan Ellis is back to bowl out. He has given 34 off his 3 overs so far. |
| 16.3 : Nathan Ellis to Nitish Rana, Nathan Ellis switches to 'round the wicket and serves it very full around off, Nitish Rana steps back and drives it to the right of mid off for a single. |
| 16.4 : Nathan Ellis to Dinesh Karthik, Tap and run. Slightly short and close to off, at 134.5 kph, Karthik stays back and just taps it down towards point for one. |
| 16.5 : Nathan Ellis to Nitish Rana, SIX! Put away in style! Nathan Ellis angles in a slower one, around middle and on a length, Rana steps down the track and towers it behind the bowler's head for a biggie. |
| 16.6 : Nathan Ellis to Nitish Rana, Fuller and straighter, Rana again moves back to make room and drives it towards point for a quick run. End of an expensive evening for Nathan Ellis - 0/46. |
| 16.5 : Arshdeep Singh (2-0-13-1) returns. |
| 17.1 : Arshdeep Singh to Nitish Rana, SIX! Nitish Rana has decided to play his attacking shots now. Arshdeep Singh bowls it on a fuller length, wide outside off at 129 clicks, Rana walks across the stumps to get close to the delivery and smacks it all the way over covers. A great start to the over for Kolkata. |
| 17.2 : Arshdeep Singh to Nitish Rana, Use of the feet again! Fuller and on off, Rana walks forward and drives it through the line. He places it to the left of the deep cover fielder for a couple of runs. |
| 17.3 : The Kiwi, Tim Seifert makes his way out now. |
| Arshdeep Singh to Nitish Rana, FOUR! Rana is displaying his full range here. Arshdeep bowls it full and around off at 135 clicks, Nitish Rana shuffles across the stumps, uses the pace of the bowler and spoons it over short fine leg for a boundary. |
| 17.4 : Arshdeep Singh to Nitish Rana, OUT! CAUGHT! End of the Rana show this evening. Slower one does the trick for Arshdeep Singh. Short in length, around off at 116.9 kph, Nitish Rana probably picks it but still has not managed to generate enough power behind his attempted pull shot. It flies to the deep and Mayank Agarwal takes the catch safely near the fence, at deep mid-wicket.  |
| 17.5 : Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, On a length, around leg, Karthik tries to flick but misses. It goes off his pads to the right of the point fielder and they cross. Arshdeep is appealing but the only signal coming from the umpire is for a leg bye. Pitching outside leg, possibly. |
| 17.6 : Arshdeep Singh to Tim Seifert, Fuller and outside off, angling away at 114.5 kph, Tim Seifert cracks it to sweeper cover and opens his account in this League with a single. |
| 18.1 : Mohammed Shami to Tim Seifert, Fuller in length on middle and leg, angling in to follow the batsman, Tim walks forward and lofts it over mid off for a single. |
| 0.0 : Mohammed Shami to bowl the penultimate over. 3-0-18-1 are his figures so far. |
| 18.2 : Mohammed Shami to Dinesh Karthik, Angling down the leg side, a low full toss at 139.4 kph, Dinesh Karthik works it off his pads to deep square leg for a single. |
| 18.3 : Mohammed Shami to Tim Seifert, Wide! Slips one down the leg side, Tim Seifert looks to flick but then lets it be. |
| Mohammed Shami to Tim Seifert, Lovely deception from Shami! Slower one, on a length around middle, Tim Seifert attempts to power it over the leg side but misses. They attempt for a bye and KL Rahul misses his shy at the striker's end. Shami collects the ball and tries to knock the stump at his end but he misses as well. The batters cross again. Two byes in total. |
| Sunil Narine walks out into the middle. |
| 18.4 : Mohammed Shami to Tim Seifert, OUT! This time it's a run out and Tim Seifert will have to depart. A near-yorker just outside off, Tim Seifert tries to be adventurous with his reverse-batted shot but misses. He is hit on the boot and the ball deflects on the leg side. Shami appeals but then realizes that the batsmen are looking to steal a run. He immediately attacks the ball, picks it up, turns and scores a direct hit at the bowler's end to find Tim Seifert short. Great athleticism show |
| 18.5 : Mohammed Shami to Dinesh Karthik, Shami fails to land his yorker and DK heaves this full toss over mid-wicket for a couple of runs. |
| 18.6 : Mohammed Shami to Dinesh Karthik, A dot ball to finish this over and a fantastic spell from Mohammed Shami. On a length around off, slower in pace at 126 kph, Karthik only manages to hit it back towards the bowler. Shami makes a half stop and they decide not to run. |
| 19.1 : Arshdeep Singh to Sunil Narine, Fuller in length and on middle, Narine hangs back to heave but only manages to drag it behind square leg. Two runs taken. |
| 19.2 : Arshdeep Singh to Sunil Narine, Outside off, slapped to deep point for a single. |
| 19.3 : Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, Arshdeep goes slower, a full toss outside off, Dinesh Karthik shuffles across and works it through square leg for two. |
| 19.4 : Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, Back of a length, around off, Dinesh Karthik rocks back and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a single. The fielder in the deep had fumbled slightly but no extra run was taken. A good over so far from Singh. |
| 19.5 : Arshdeep Singh to Sunil Narine, Brilliant delivery! Arshdeep Singh goes for a yorker, following the batsman down at 137 clicks, Narine misses and it goes through his legs to the keeper. KL Rahul misses his shy at the striker's end. Arshdeep collects the ball and tries to hit the stumps at his end but he too misses. |
| 19.6 : Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, OUT! TIMBER! What a fantastic last over by Arshdeep Singh! Serves it very full and in the line of the stumps at 135.9 kph, Dinesh Karthik walks way too across the stumps as he tries to play the paddle shot. Ends up missing the ball and finds his stumps shattered. Kolkata finish on 165/7! |
| A good comeback from Punjab has seen them end this innings very well. At one point, it looked like Kolkata would post a total of around 185-190, but some good bowling towards the death sees Kolkata finish on 165, which is still a good total, but it could have been something more had Kolkata got that final flourish. |
| The Kolkata innings did not get off to the perfect start as after a couple of boundaries from the openers, the stand was broken as Shubman Gill was sent packing. Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi took matters into their own hands and played brilliantly as they raised a 72-run stand and were taking the attack to the Punjab bowlers. Iyer got to another fifty too and was looking very menacing, but, Ravi Bishnoi struck in a couple of overs and removed both of them in a quick time. Morgan's sorry |
| Punjab will feel that they have done a decent job with the ball in hand. After getting the early breakthrough, they were unable to pile on the pressure, as Kolkata's batters navigated that phase well. But, Punjab fought back well after that partnership from Iyer and Rahul and did well to stem the flow of runs towards the end. The Indian contingents in the Punjab bowling unit had a good game as all three - Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi bowled very well and kept things tight. T |
| Venkatesh Iyer comes up for a quick chat. Says that after the Powerplay was done, it got a bit slow and it's slow in general. Tells us that he is very happy with the total they have got. Mentions that he has to fulfil the responsibility of an opener and deliver what the team wants from him. He thanks the backroom staff and Abhishek Nayar for all the hard work done on him. |
| Right then. 166 is what Punjab need to keep their playoff chances afloat. Batting seems nice on this deck and Punjab have a good batting lineup too. But, it will not be easy as Kolkata's bowling is no joke. It should be a mouth-watering run chase. Stay tuned for the second segment of this match. |
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