IPL 2024 KKR vs PBKS: Sloppy fielding heavily costs Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings took centre stage in the 42nd match of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League on April 26 at the Eden Gardens. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt came all guns blazing and put Punjab bowlers under the pump. Moreover, Punjab Kings did not take their chances which in turn made the situation worse. They dropped three catches within the first half of KKR's innings which cost them heaps of runs.

During the second ball of this over, Harshal Patel bowled a back-of-the-length delivery to Narine to which Narine dabbed it straight to backward point but Harpreet Brar failed to cling on to the catch. The second drop came in the sixth over it was the skipper Sam Curran who was the culprit. Phil Salt tried to drive Arshdeep Singh over the mid-off region but it went straight to Curran who spoons it. After two drops when one thought it could not be any worse, Kagiso Rabada dropped a sitter in the very next over on Rahul Chahar’s bowling. It was again Phil Salt who got another life.

Courtesy of three drop catches, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt just kept going after the bowling and were never under pressure. They knocked the wind out of every bowler that came in their way. As a result, both the batters went on to smash blistering half-centuries. They both clobbered 137 runs in 10 overs before Narine eventually was caught after scoring 71 off 32 balls. 

Punjab Kings have been poor in the ongoing IPL season and have won just two matches in eight matches. However, if PBKS fail to grab their chances, they could face an early exit from the competition.