Punjab Kings defeated Kolkata KNight Riders by 5 wickets in the 45th match of the IPL 2021 & have kept their qualification hopes alive. Punjab captain KL Rahul scored 67 runs off 55 balls, smashing 4 fours and 3 sixes. He was also adjudged the man of the match.

After winning the match and the man of the match award, skipper KL Rahul said, " I'll take the two points (heaves a huge sigh). We played it smartly. Realised it was a decent wicket and can't experiment too much. Went slightly defensive with the ball. Wasn't much spin. Wanted to make the batters hit to the bigger side. With the bat also we've given clear roles to players."

"These are things that kill me as a captain. Don't want to leave out the Indian boys. With a heavy heart had to leave Harpreet out. Had to see what would be our best XI with Chris leaving the bubble. Shahrukh has been batting brilliantly in the nets. Saw how strong he is in the first phase. He's asking a lot of questions and wanting to finish games. Today he played proper cricket shots, got a few boundaries and we all know he can hit the ball a long way. He can finish games, has done it for Tamil Nadu."

Brief Score:

Kolkata Knight Riders - 165/7 in 20 overs. (Iyer - 67(49), Arshdeep - 3/32)

Punjab Kings - 168/5 in 19.3 overs. (Rahul - 67(55), Mayank - 40(27), Varun - 2/24)
Full Scorecard