Venkatesh's 67 not enough as Rahul keeps Punjab in hunt
In the end, it was a tale of two captains.
KL Rahul led the charge brilliantly from the front, helping Punjab Kings cross the finishing line with a composed 55-ball 67 and keeping his team's playoff berth alive with a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on Friday.
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Trouble, however, is intensifying for Eoin Morgan. Not only KKR saw their new-found momentum in the second phase of the IPL receive an unexpected jolt at a crucial juncture of their campaign, their captain now looks to be burdened with more questions than answers. It was another flop show from Morgan, who was dismissed by Mohammad Shami for 2 and failed to provide his team the spark after Venkatesh Iyer (67) and Rahul Tripathi (34) set up a good platform for others to flourish on.
Thus, having managed just 44 runs in their last five overs, during which they also lost four wickets, KKR returned to the dressing room thinking they might have fallen short of 15-20 runs short of adding to the total of 165 for 7 as brilliant bowling by Shami (1/23) and Arshdeep Singh (3/32) at the death overs kept Punjab's flagging hopes alive.
Rahul gave that hope the definite shape, holding the innings together at one end and watch Mayank Agarwal (40), Aiden Markram (18) and Shahrukh Khan (22 no) come up with necessary contributions to keep them afloat in the competition.
KKR, Punjab and Mumbai Indians are all on 10 points each and from now onwards the fight for the fourth playoff berth has become as complicated as it can get.
KKR's strategy of going into the match with no fifth bowler, giving Iyer and Nitish Rana - whose late cameo of 18-ball 31 gave KKR total a semblance of fight - the additional responsibility of rolling their arms over, could be the potential Achilles' heel. The duo conceded 37 overs in 3.3 overs and otherwise reliable Sunil Narine also failed to check the run-flow in middle overs as Punjab did the needful with Shahrukh sealing the deal with a six off Iyer with three balls to spare.
It was true that Rahul and Shahrukh got the rub of the green, surviving a few dropped catches, but once they positioned themselves with just 35 runs needed off the last 4 overs, Punjab - beginning life without Chris Gayle who decided to leave the camp owing to bio-bubble fatigue were facing just a mound - and not a mountain - to climb.
1/8:Leading from the front
<p>KL Rahul steered Punjab Kings to a nail-biting five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, keeping their hopes alive for a playoff place. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
2/8:KKR restricted
<p>KKR looked set for a big total with Venkatesh Iyer smashing 67 off 49 balls but Punjab restricted them to 165/7 with Eoin Morgan out for two. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
3/8:Decision backfires
<p>Kolkata scored only 44 off the last five overs, as the decision to go with an extra batsman instead of a fifth bowler began to backfire. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
4/8:Good start by Punjab
<p>Punjab openers made a good start before Mayank Agarwal departed for 40, caught at cover by Morgan off Varun Chakravarthy. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
5/8:Commanding knock
<p>Nicholas Pooran fell for 12, Aiden Markram for 18 and Deepak Hooda for three but Rahul held his nerve with a commanding 67 off 55 balls. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
6/8:Fine effort, but...
<p>Rahul looked out with 10 balls left but Rahul Tripathi, taking what appeared to be a spectacular diving catch, was adjudged by the third umpire to have grounded the ball. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
7/8:Rahul falls
<p>Rahul was finally caught a few balls later with Venkatesh Iyer having him caught by Shivam Mavi. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
8/8:Punjab win
<p>With four needed off four, Shahrukh Khan heaved the ball to the fence where Tripathi fumbled it over the rope. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>Earlier, Iyer's classy 67 and his 68-run second-wicket partnership with Tripathi (34) helped KKR reach 165 for 7 on a pitch which seemed slow and demanded application and adjustments with the pace of the ball from the batsmen.
But the team lacked sparks towards the later part of the innings and Morgan's horrendous form with the bat proved to be just the sticking point of a disappointing night for the Knights.
