Ahmedabad: Disciplined bowling from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers, especially spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, helped restrict Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 123/9 in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Monday.
Narine took two wickets for 22 and Chakravarthy one for 24 as KKR got wickets at frequent intervals to derail the PBKS innings.
Opener Mayank Agarwal scored 31 off 34 balls while Chris Jordan chipped in with 30 off 18 deliveries towards the end of the innings to get PBKS past 100.
Agarwal had shared a 36-run partnership with skipper KL Rahul for the first wicket in 5.4 overs but three quick wickets — of Rahul (19), Chris Gayle (0) and Deepak Hooda (1) — set the Punjab franchise back, reducing them to 42/3 in 7.4 overs.
Soon Agarwal departed as spinners came into operation during the middle overs. When Nicholas Pooran (19) was dismissed as the sixth man and the score read 79, PBKS were in danger of getting bowled out for under 100. However, Jordan hit some lusty blows to take the team to their eventual score.
Brief scores: Punjab Kings 123/9 in 20 overs (M Agarwal 31, C Jordan 30, P Krishna 3/30, S Narine 2/22, V Chakravarthy 1/24) vs Kolkata Knight Riders.