IPL 2021: KKR restrict Punjab Kings to 123/9

For Punjab, opener Mayank Agarwal top-scored with a painstaking 31 off 34 balls but Chris Jordan's 30 off 18 balls took them past the 120-run mark.

Ahmedabad: A superlative bowling effort by Kolkata Knight Riders found Punjab Kings gasping for breath as they managed a platry 123 for 9 in an IPL encounter here on Monday.

After suffering four defeats on the trot in Chennai and Mumbai, the bottom-placed KKR's campaign finally got some boost as the bowling unit led by Pat Cummins fired in unison.

Youngster Shivam Mavi (1/13) started it all, tying things down with the new ball, bowling 15 dot balls in his four overs on the trot, before Cummins (2/31) and Prasidh Krishna (3/30) tightened the noose sharing five wickets between them at the death.

The pace troika removed the top three KL Rahul (19), Chris Gayle (0) and Deepak Hooda (1) in space of 12 balls for six runs to leave PBKS in a disarray in the first 10 overs.

On a pitch where the ball stayed low and gripped a bit, the Punjab batsmen failed to apply themselves with Sunil Narine (2/22) and Varun Chakravarthy (1/24) further denting their progress during the middle overs as well as back-end.

Prasidh has the best figures as he ended Chris Jordan's 18-ball 30 cameo which took the total past 120-run mark.

Mavi capped a fine opening spell of four overs dismissing Chris Gayle for a golden duck with the 'Universe Boss' taking a bottom edge.

Bowling with the new ball, the youngster was superb in the Powerplay, conceding just nine runs from his three overs, never allowing the two renowned Punjab openers, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul, to express themselves.

The pressure was evident on Rahul when he perished after trying to break free against Cummins in the final over of Powerplay.

The dangerous Deepak Hooda (1) got out courtesy a stunning low catch by Eoin Morgan as Punjab had a terrible start losing three wickets in 12 balls for six runs.

Amid ruins, opener Mayank Agarwal scored a painstaking 31 off 34 balls which also halted the team's momentum.

At that point, Morgan pressed in Narine to great effect as the Trinidadian dismissed Agarwal and Moises Henriques in successive overs to push them behind further.