Kolkata Knight Riders are locking horns with Punjab Kings in the 53rd game of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. The game is being held at KKR’s fortress, Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Talking about the game, Punjab Kings’ captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to bat first. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Punjab Kings performed pretty well in fragments when it mattered the most.
Shikhar Dhawan was the pick of the batters for the visitors as he chipped in with a half-century. He top-scored for the Mohali-based franchise with 57 off 47 balls including nine fours and a six.
Varun Chakravarthy bowls yet another exceptional spell this season
Meanwhile, KKR’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy weaved the magic yet again this season. He ripped through the defense of Punjab Kings’ batting line-up and took crucial wickets when it mattered the most.
Sunil Narine had a bad day at the office as he bowled his full quota of four overs and gave away 29 runs and went wicketless at an economy of 7.20. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy registered 3/26 in his quota of four overs at an impressive economy of 6.50.
Currently, Varun Chakravarthy is the leading wicket-taker for Kolkata Knight Riders this season. Overall, he is the fifth-leading wicket-taker with a total of 17 wickets in eleven matches in IPL 2023.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings posted 179/7 in their quota of 20 overs and set up a competitive target for the hosts.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy
Punjab Kings’ playing XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
When Narine fails, Varun delivers!
— sagar guru (@cricketstuff12) May 8, 2023
Great bowler
— Sujan (@DeySdey4772) May 8, 2023
Varun and kuldeep should be india's spin pair in wc
— Vignesh PEREZ OUT❌️ (@ViniciusJrERA) May 8, 2023
— Jaikumar S (@Jaiharshan) May 8, 2023
Waah
— 𝓹𓃵 (@cricloverPrayas) May 8, 2023
Varun Chakravarthy in IPL 2023:
4-0-26-1
3.4-0-15-4
2-0-27-0
4-0-41-1
4-0-38-1
4-1-16-2
4-0-49-1
4-0-27-3
4-0-42-0
4-0-20-1
4-0-26-3The Best bowler for KKR in this IPL – Outstanding, Varun! pic.twitter.com/SOva1vf8Ui
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) May 8, 2023
Should be in wc squad👍
— HAMZA_56 (@HAMZARAJPUT77) May 8, 2023
Varun Chakravarthy with the instant impact with ball Turning on Eden Garden 💉
— KKR Bhakt 🇮🇳 ™ (@KKRSince2011) May 8, 2023
