IPL 2022, KKR vs PBKS HIGHLIGHTS: Russell powers Kolkata to six-wicket win against Punjab at Wankhede

It was a perfect off-break delivery to Raj Bawa, who was squared up completely and subsequently fell for the the trick. He departed for 11 (13).

PBKS 84/5 in 9.3 overs

Umesh delivered a length ball but placed it a tad wider than the previous delivery and Livingstone's bat swung the other way. The ball went high and just when it looked to cross the long-off boundary, Southee picked the catch right on the edge. PBKS go 4 down.

Raj Bawa, who was dismissed for a duck in the previous game, survived a run-out scare in the second ball of the eighth over. Narine made a good start to the game, conceding only five runs in his first over. Strategic timeout!

PBKS 70/3 in 8 overs

In his second over of the game, Varun conceded only three singles.

PBKS 65/3 in 7 overs

In the second ball of the final over of the powerplay, Livingstone shimmied down the track to muscle the length ball high and over mid-wicket for a six. Dhawan then hit his first boundary. Sliced the shorter and wider one towards third man for a four. Southee dished out the same, but changed his length a bit and got an instant revenge. Dhawan departs for 16 (15)

PBKS 62/3 in 5.5 overs

Varun Chakravarthy comes into the attack. Irfan Pathan had suggested this in the pre-game discussion. Eight runs came off the over.

PBKS 51/2 in 5 overs

Rajapaksa is on fire today! He tucked the first ball that was down the leg side towards fine leg for a boundary. He then smashed Shivam Mavi for back-to-back sixes, both towards long-on. This has been a superb counterpunch from the Sri Lankan batter. Mavi changed his angle and dished out a slower ball outside off, but Rajapaksa's approach remained the same as he dispatched it high and over deep mid-wicket for a third consecutive six. But it is Mavi who has the last laugh as he dismisses him in the fifth ball of the over.

PBKS 43/2 in 3.5 overs

Rajapaksa got the second ball from Umesh in the thrid over sneak between backward point and short third man for a boundary while Dhawan shimmied down the track in the fourth ball to hit a six over the bowler's head. 14 runs came off the over.

PBKS 21/1 in 3 overs

It is a massive strike from KKR as Punjab lose their captain Mayank. It was Umesh's 50th wicket in the powerplay in his IPL career.

Most wickets in powerplay

Sandeep Sharma: 53

Zaheer Khan: 52

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 51

Umesh Yadav: 50

PBKS 2/1 in 1 over 

Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal make their way out to the middle. Umesh Yadav to open KKR's attack.

“When we sat down at the auction, we had a strategy to put together a squad, we're really happy with the way we have put the squad together. Sort of put the playing XI at the auction itself more or less and then we started putting the younger lot. There's some exciting talent in the squad and we waited for the overseas players to come in, one-by-one they are all coming in. In a couple of days we'll have the full squad. Good to have some quality players coming in. We are not looking that far (playoffs) ahead, one game at a time.”

Speaking to Star Sports, the former India all-rounder feels that Kolkata can stop Shikhar Dhawan early on by “surprising him with a yorker” or bringing in Varun Chakravarthy early on, who has dismissed him twice in IPL already in 27 balls for 28 runs.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa(w), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer(c), Sam Billings(w), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy

Rabada in for Sandeep Sharma. "I thought he (Sandeep) bowled well last game but he unfortunately misses out as we had to get KG back in," said Mayank.

“We need to start well, assess the conditions early and bat well. We're just looking to play with the right attitude and right energy, if we do that, the results will take care of themselves.”

Shivam Mavi in for Sheldon Jackson. This means Sam Billings will be the wicketkeeper. Iyer said that KKR are looking to strengthen their bowling and hence the change.

"We're going to bowl first. The reason is obviously the swimming pool (of dew) that's visible in the evenings. As I said last game, it's about giving it your all to defend no matter what score you have on the board. All the players are dedicated and focused to perform their roles for the last two games. We can't complain (about having three games in a week), we're all professionals."

Kolkata Knight Riders wins the toss and opts to bowl at the Wankhede Stadium against Punjab Kings

“We saw the positive nature and the belief in this group in the last game defending a small total. You just have to adapt. All the venues have different attributes. Dew is a massive factor and the side that deals with it the best has a massive advantage. Training with the wet ball and getting as close to match situation as possible is key. Shreyas Iyer has been brilliant so far. It is early stages and he is young, energetic and has a lot of ideas. It is a dream to do what we do and I want to do it for as long as possible. Tremendous to be part of a league such as this.”

“Games are coming thick and fast here, already the third game in Wankhede and the truth is it has not been easy to bat on. The first pitch had some spongy bounce and it was not easy for batters to get on top of the bounce. Pitch number 2 had a nice tinge of grass, there was a little bit of swing and lateral movement, all of that was making it difficult for the batters. This (today's pitch), I am not going to say it is a belter. But it is a very good looking pitch and there will be good balance between bat and ball. There is little grass and it is harder for the ball to get stuck into the surface. I still think it is going to move around, we will get some movement but it is not going to be as tricky in the powerplay.”

If Narine scores 34 runs, he will reach the milestone of 1000 runs in IPL and will subsequently join compatriot Dwayne Bravo and CSK captain Ravindra Jadeja in the elusive list of cricketers who have scored 1000 runs and picked 100 wickets in their IPL career, Jadeja has scored 2429 runs and picked 127 wickets in the tournament while Bravo has scored 1538 runs and picked 171 wickets. Narine has picked 144 wickets in 136 IPL games and has presently a tally of 966 runs.

Sunil Narine and Nitish Rana enjoy facing Sandeep, having scored at a rate of 205.26 and 177.50 against the pacer in IPL without being dismissed once. On the other hand, Sandeep, IPL's leading wicket-taker in the powerplay, has dismissed Shreyas Iyer thrice in 56 balls for less than a run-a-ball rate. He has also dismissed Rahane twice in 77 balls for 71 runs, but is yet to bowl to Venkatesh Iyer.