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Rinku Singh finished off in grand fashion once again for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they beat Punjab Kings by five wickets on Monday to keep their IPL play-off hopes alive. KKR skipper Nitish Rana's half-century and Andre Russell's big boost in the death overs of their chase of 180 helped Rinku finish off the game with a 10-ball-21 not out. This was a huge victory for them as they climbed to the 5th position on the IPL 2023 Points Table.
Read Also: IPL 2023 Stats
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings:
Varun Chakaravarthy once again brilliantly led KKR's bowling department by grabbing 3/26 to restrict PBKS to a below-par 179 for seven after the visitors opted to bat on a slow wicket. In reply, KKR's batting show was led by Rana's blistering effort when he promoted himself to No 3 and laid the foundation with a 38-ball 51 (6x4, 1x6). After Rana's dismissal, Russell went ballistic against Sam Curran smoking him for three sixes in four balls in a 20-run over to change the equation in favour of KKR who needed six off the last over.
Death over specialist Arshdeep Singh took it down the wire with four off the first four balls. There was more drama when Russell was ran out in the penultimate ball as a calm-headed Rinku Singh (21 not out; 10b) once again came to KKR's rescue sealing the win with a boundary off the last ball.
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Image - BCCI
KKR's win has added to the logjam in the fight for at least four of the qualification spots. They are the fifth team to be on 10 points, with RR leading that lineup on the basis of their net run rate. KKR are now fifth with a net run rate of -0.079. In Wednesday's clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, with 1 game in hand, each on 10 points too. Whoever wins the clash, will take the place of Lucknow Super Giants who are in the 3rd position in the IPL 2023 Points Table with 11 points after playing the same number of games. Second-placed Chennai Super Kings with 13 points and the table toppers, Gujarat Titans with 16 points are safe at least for the next two games.
IPL 2023 Points Table:
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarat Titans | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | +0.951 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 11 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | +0.409 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | +0.294 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +0.388 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.079 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.209 |
| Punjab Kings | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.441 |
| Mumbai Indians | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.454 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.472 |
| Delhi Capitals | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.529 |