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Rinku Singh stepped up once again as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) prevailed over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a last-ball thriller at the Eden Gardens on Monday, May 8.
Despite losing three wickets inside the powerplay, PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan held one end tightly, playing a composed knock of 57 runs off 47 balls. While at one point it looked like the visitors will struggle to cross the 150-run mark, fireworks from Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar propeled Punjab to 179/7.
In response, KKR always had the required run rate within their grip. Nitish Rana scored a well-compiled half-century before Andre Russell displayed his pyrotechnics. He smashed three sixes in the 19th over off Sam Curran to bring the equation down to six runs off the last over.
However, the story was not yet over. Arshdeep Singh bowled an excellent over to take the game to the final delivery. However, Rinku whipped a friendly full-toss to the fine leg to take the Knight Riders home in front of a jam-packed Eden Gardens crowd.
There were a lot of incredible moments during the high-intense clash. On that note, let's take a look at three instances that created a buzz among fans during the KKR vs PBKS tie.
#1 Rinku Singh's winning shot for KKR
Rinku Singh has been at the heart of KKR ever since he smacked five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal to chase down 29 runs in the final over against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
The youngster proved that it wasn't a fluke by keeping his calm and finishing off the game against Punjab. With two runs required off the final ball of the match, Rinku steered it to the fine leg boundary to help his side earn two crucial points.
The humble boy from Aligarh is slowly getting his due for all the hard work and making a mark for himself on the biggest stage.
#2 Andre Russell's three sixes in 19th over
KKR were down and out of the run chase up and until the 19th over when Russell unleashed his big-hitting skills. With 26 runs required off the final 12 balls, the stage was set for the giant West Indian hitter to showcase his skills.
And Russell didn't disappoint. He took the costliest cricketer at the IPL 2023 auction, Sam Curran, to the cleaners, bringing the equation down to six runs off the final over.
The KKR all-rounder smacked 42 off just 23 balls, including three sixes and as many fours, striking at a rate of 182.61 before getting run out.
#3 Nitish Rana getting his counterpart Shikhar Dhawan out
After losing three wickets within the powerplay, it was all on skipper Shikhar Dhawan to steady the ship for PBKS. The southpaw played an anchor role with contribution of 57 off 47 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.
Just when it looked like Dhawan would change gears, KKR skipper Nitish Rana introduced himself into the attack and got the better of his counterpart. Rana deceived Dhawan on the flight, who only managed to give an easy catch to Vaibhav Arora at long-on.
