Punjab Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders' batter Andre Russell said he backed his ability to clear the field as the big hitter went on a six-hitting spree to help rescue his team from a precarious position and lead them to victory in a IPL 2022 match against Punjab Kings here on Friday. Chasing a modest target after pacer Umesh Yadav had claimed 4/23 to restrict Punjab Kings to a paltry 137 all out after being asked to bat first, the Knight Riders were in trouble at 4-51 at one stage

Shahrukh Khan (24) and Smith's (25) power hitting down the order helped Punjab Kings chase down the imposing 205-run target with one over to spare. The 25-year-old Smith, who came in when things were starting to slow down, made his intent clear when the equation had come to 36 needed off 18 balls. The Jamaican was at 2 (3 balls), but in the next five legal deliveries Smith faced, he changed the course of the game.

In a high scoring thriller , the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday trounced the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 5 wickets. It was the third match of this season. The match witnessed 27 sixes and 200+ runs were  chased.

The 36-year old Dhawan, who last represented Delhi Capitals in the IPL, was bought for Rs 8.25 crore by Punjab Kings in the mega auction. On the other hand, Mayank has been named the captain of the Punjab based franchise. Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2022 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 27 at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

A total of 204 players were picked by the 10 franchise after shelling out a total of Rs 551.70 cr during the enthralling two day IPL 2022 mega auction with Ishan Kishan (Rs 15.25 cr), Deepak Chahar (Rs 14 cr) and Shreyas Iyer (Rs 12.25 cr) emerging as top-three earners, ahead of the exciting 15th season of cash-rich league.

"The youngsters have been doing really well for us -- Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh," said Rahul in the post-match interview. "They've really come through this season and in the last four or five games. They've matured a lot and are showing a lot of heart, which is great to see for me. Hopefully we can build on it," he added.

Punjab has managed to win just 14 of the 25 games played under Rahul's leadership so far. The team has finished sixth in the league stages in the last two IPL editions. Also, this season they are almost out of the playoff fight. They are currently placed fifth in the tally with 10 points.

Chasing 136, Mumbai were given a double jolt in the fourth over when Ravi Bishnoi took out Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav on successive deliveries. While Sharma miscued a slog-sweep to mid-on, Yadav failed to read the googly and was bowled through the gate.

"It's sort of become a pattern for us especially when we get to Dubai, it seems. The approach was clear, we needed to finish it in 19 overs. That was the approach, to not let it go till the end. But unfortunately, when you leave it to the last couple of balls, it becomes a lottery. Credit to [Kartik] Tyagi for the way he bowled," Kumble said after the match.

"Although many other countries are still being affected by the pandemic, the situation in India right now is particularly severe. I will do my part to bring awareness and financial assistance to this dire situation," the 25-year-old West Indian, who hasn't really had a memorable outing in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), said in a video on Twitter on Friday.