Picture Credit: Twitter
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just into its eighth game but the action it has produced so far is unmatchable by any league in the world. Every game is turning out to be a nail-biter. The Friday evening (01 April) saw Punjab Kings locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After being invited to bat first, Punjab were bowled out for 137.
However, the Mayank Agarwal-led team looked in no mood to give it away easily. The Kings from Punjab could be seen giving it their all in the field to defend the low total. In the process, Harpreet Brar held on to a really difficult catch of dangerous Venkatesh Iyer in the fourth over of the KKR innings.
On the third delivery of the over, Odean Smith bowled a length ball into the pitch. Seeing some width, Iyer's eyes lit up as he reached for the ball with full power. The southpaw also managed to hit it off the meat of the bat but failed to place it rightly. Iyer's hard slash at the ball sent it to the cover-point fielder Brar who showed great reflexes to hold on to the catch.
However, he had to juggle to complete the catch. With some great pace on the ball, it popped out after hitting Brar's palms. The all-rounder, however, was alert enough to keep an eye on the ball and grab it with one hand in the end.
Watch Brar's catch of Venkatesh Iyer here:
Punjab lose!
Despite this fielding effort and some good bowling by Rahul Chahar, Punjab lost the game. 138 was never a winning total but Punjab sensed a chance when they reduced KKR to 51/4 in seven overs. Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, and Nitish Rana were sent back early by Punjab bowlers. But Andre Russell was still there and Dre Russ proved why he was retained by the franchise. The all-rounder hit a quickfire half-century (70*off 31 balls) to seal the game for his team.