Sunil Narine and Marco Jansen (Photo source: X/Star Sports)
After an underwhelming display with the bat in the first innings, Punjab Kings (PBKS) found a moment of hope through an early burst of bowling brilliance, first from Marco Jansen, then Xavier Bartlett after being bundled out for just 111 in their IPL 2025 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Mullanpur.
Chasing a target of 112, KKR began their innings with the explosive Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock at the top. Narine stepped out and smashed Marco Jansen for a four over the covers in the fifth ball of the opening over. But Jansen had the last laugh, as in the very next delivery, he pulled his length back and angled it in from over the wicket. Narine went for a big shot across the line, but the movement off the seam beat his bat and dislodged the off bail. KKR was 7 for 1 in the very first over.
Before KKR could recover from that blow, Bartlett struck in the following over. On just his second ball, he dismissed the dangerous De Kock for two. A fuller delivery on the pads tempted the South African into a big shot, but all he managed was a top-edge to deep backward square leg, where Suryansh Shedge completed the catch to perfection. Suddenly, KKR were two down inside two overs.
Also Read – WATCH: Varun Chakravarthy bamboozles Inglis, Maxwell in PBKS vs KKR IPL 2025 clash
Despite the double-blow, the defending champions didn’t panic. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane partnered with young Angkrish Raghuvanshi to steady the innings. By the end of the sixth over, KKR had moved to 55/2 with a required run rate of just over four an over.
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