KKR defeat PBKS in last-ball IPL thriller

Kolkata: Skipper Nitish Rana scored a half-century (51 off 38 balls), while West Indian middle-order batter Andre Russell (42) and Rinku Singh (21 not out) played some fine strokes at the back end as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Punjab Kings by five wickets in a last-ball IPL thriller here on Monday.

Chasing 180 for victory, KKR scored 182/5, with Russell playing a pivotal role in the game, hitting three sixes in Sam Curran’s 19th overs to bring his team closer to the target.

Rinku then scored a four off the last ball of the innings to signal KKR’s victory.

Earlier, KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy grabbed three wickets for 26 runs but Punjab Kings still managed a fighting 179/7 with skipper Shikhar Dhawan scoring a half century.

Dhawan (57 off 47 balls) was also involved in a 53-run partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma (21) and laid the foundation for later-order batters to set a competitive total.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings: 179 for 7 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 57; Varun Chakravarthy 3/26, Harshit Rana 2/33).

Kolkata Knight Riders: 182 for 5 in 20 overs (Jason Roy 38, Nitish Rana 51, Andre Russell 42, Rinku Singh 21 not out; Rahul Chahar 2/23, Nathan Ellis 1/29).