Indian T20 League latest updates: All-round Russell stars as Kolkata beat Punjab by 28 runs

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MATCH REPORT

Kolkata made it two wins in two games in 2019 Indian T20 League on the back of a powerful batting display led by the young Nitish Rana, who scored 63 off 34 balls, and later by Andre Russell s belligerent 17-ball 48 that helped Kolkata post 218/4 at the Eden Gardens against Punjab on Wednesday. Click here to read more

Overs 20: Punjab finish on 190/4 and thus Kolkata win by 28 runs. David Miller finishes unbeaten on 59 alongside Mandeep Singh on 33. Kolkata's second straight at Eden Gardens and also of the season. In hindsight, that costly fielding error from Punjab has proved to be expensive.

Overs 19: Another big over for Punjab but not big enough under the scenario. 15 runs from it including a four to Mandeep and a six to Miller who meanwhile has completed his half-century. Punjab 177/4

Overs 18: Prasidh Krishna returns to bowl his final over. Two fours in it - one each to Miller and Mandeep. 10 runs from it. Punjab 162/4. Need 57 runs to win from the final two overs

Overs 17: A big over for Punjab. They will need such overs now. Mandeep Singh began the over by hitting Lockie Ferguson over long-off for a six. Miller then guided one to third man region for a four. 15 runs from it. Punjab 152/4

Overs 16: A good over from Piyush Chawla - a wicket and four runs in it. Punjab 137/4

Overs 15.2: OUT! Mayank Agarwal perishes in his attempt to up the scoring rate. A googly from Piyush Chawla as Agarwal goes for a slog sweep and is bowled. He scored 58 off 34. Punjab 134/4

Overs 15: Kolkata haven't been at their best in the field tonight - they have dropped another catch and this time the beneficiary is Mayank Agarwal. Rinku Singh ran to his left and made a valiant attempt, diving full length but failed to hold on. A difficult chance but chance nevertheless. Nine runs from the over. Punjab 133/3

Overs 14: Four doubles in Russell's third over, all to Agarwal. Punjab 124/3

Overs 13.3: FIFTY for Mayank Agarwal - his fourth in the league's history and first since 2015. Took just 28 deliveries to the milestone.

Overs 13: Another good over for Punjab. Legspinner Piyush Chawla leaks 10 runs from his first over including a six to Agarwal. Punjab 116/3

Overs 12: The over Punjab desperately needed! 19 runs from Narine's second over. Miller began the assault with a six and four off second and third delivery resp. Agarwal rounded off the over with back-to-back fours off the fifth and sixth delivery. Punjab 106/3

Overs 11: Killer Miller on the prowl. Uses the sweep and deposits one from Kuldeep Yadav into the stands for a six. Lockie Ferguson dropped a simple catch of Miller near the boundary, giving him a life on 15. 10 runs from the over. Punjab 87/3

Overs 10: Sunil Narine into the attack now. He starts well before Mayank Agarwal hits a four off the final delivery to move to 32 off 20. They need more of these now. Punjab 77/3

Overs 9: A welcome boundary for Punjab as David Miller sweeps one from Kuldeep Yadav for his first four. 9 runs from the over. Punjab 70/3

Overs 8: Another successful over from Russell - a wicket and six runs in it. Punjab 61/3

Overs 7.3: OUT! Wicket No. 2 for Andre Russell as Sarfaraz Khan gets a leading edge to be caught by Dinesh Karthik for a run-a-ball 13. Punjab in some trouble now at 60/3.

Overs 7: Dinesh Karthik brings in Kuldeep Yadav after the end of Powerplay. And the chinaman allows just four runs in his first over of the innings. Punjab 55/2

Overs 6: Some controversy here in the middle. Dinesh Karthik was in an animated conversation with the umpire. The problem was with the umpires handing four overthrows when Andre Russell failed to spot the ball when a throw came towards his side from the covers. He possibly was blinded by the lights and the ball rolled away past the boundary. Eight runs from the over. Punjab 51/2

Overs 5: End of a successful first over from Andre Russell - seven runs and a wicket. Punjab 43/2

Overs 4.2: OUT! That's a huge wicket for Kolkata. Chris Gayle has holed out for 20 off Andre Russell. A short delivery and Gayle splices it up over Russell's head. Praisdh Krishna runs in from mid-on and avoids a collision with a teammate to hold onto the catch. Punjab 37/2

Overs 4: After quietly watching his partner belt three fours in the previous over, Chris Gayle has some fun at the expense of Lockie Ferguson whom he strikes for a four to long-on and finishes the over with a six over the same region. 11 runs from the over. Punjab 36/1

Overs 3: Prasidh continues but new batsman Mayank Agarwal clatters him for three fours in the over. 13 runs from the over. Punjab 25/1

Overs 2: An excellent first over from Ferguson - a wicket and just one run from it. Punjab 12/1

Overs 1.4: OUT! KL Rahul with a poor shot as he chips one from Lockie Ferguson to mid-off to be caught for 1. Punjab 11/1

Over 1: Chris Gayle isn't going to waste any time tonight. He starts off with a six off the second-ball faced and then follows it with a four. 11 runs from Krishna's first over. Punjab 11/0

Prasidh Krishna with the new ball. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle will kickstart Punjab's chase.

Overs 20: Robin Uthappa finishes in style with a four to remain unbeaten on 67 as Kolkata post 218/4 in 20 overs. Nitish Rana scored 63 - his second straight fifty of the season. But it was Andre Russell's blitz towards the end that pushed the final total beyond the 200-run mark.

Overs 19.4: OUT! The big man has been dismissed but he has caused the damage. A short delivery from Andrew Tye and Andre Russell unleashes a powerfull pull but Mayank Agarwal keeps a cool head near the boundary to take a superb leaping catch. He scored 48 off 17. Kolkata 213/4

Overs 19: Andre Russell is blasting Punjab bowlers. Mohammed Shami had been creamed for three consecutive sixes before a four to deep extra cover by Russell. 25 runs from it. Kolkata 210/3

Overs 18: Night's most economical bowler has been taken to the cleaners by Andre Russell. That slip in the field is proving to be highly expensive for Punjab now. Andrew Tye, who had allowed just 7 runs in his first two overs, ends up being belted for 22 runs in his third. Russell clatters two sixes and as many fours off him to move to 25 off 11. Kolkata 185/3

Overs 16.6: Oh dear! Ravichandran Ashwin is livid. Mohammed Shami cleans up the dangerman Andre Russell but he survives as the umpire calls it a no ball because Punjab had only three fielders inside the circle. A free-hit follows but Russell can only manage 1. 10 runs from the over. Kolkata 163/3

Overs 16: With a four off the final delivery, Robin Uthappa brings up his 24th league fifty. He has struck four fours and two sixes so far. Kolkata 153/3

Overs 15: End of an excellent over from Varun Chakravarthy - a wicket and just one run from it. Kolkata 147/3

Overs 14.2: OUT! Varun Chakravarthy gets his maiden wicket after an expensive start to his league career. His first two over cost Punjab 34 runs and Ashwin punted on him to bowl the 15th over. He rewards the decision by getting rid of Nitish Rana who departs after hitting 63 off 34. Kolkata 146/3

Overs 14: Hardus Viljoen's third over has been quite expensive. Blame it on Rana who has been in sensational tonight. He started the over with a four to fine leg that brought up his fifty and followed that with a six and a four off consecutive deliveries. 20 runs from the over. Kolkata 146/2

Overs 13.1: FIFTY for Nitish Rana - a clever four from the left-hander as he guides one to fine leg to reach his second consecutive half-century of the season.

Overs 13: Ashwin turns to Mandeep Singh. Nothing changes. Uthappa greets with a four off the first delivery. Gives the strike to Rana who then goes bang-bang with two sixes. 18 runs from the over. Kolkata 126/2

Overs 12: Ashwin into his last over. And Rana continues to have fun at his expense - launching him for sixes over midwicket and then over long-on. Powerful hitting from Rana. 16 runs from the over. Ashwin has leaked 47 runs in four wicketless overs tonight. Kolkata 108/2

Overs 11: Hardus Viljoen continues. A tight over - just three runs in it. Kolkata 92/2

Overs 10: Ashwin continues and boundaries continue to flow. Rana launches the second delivery over long-on for a six and follows that with a single to bring up his 50-run partnership for the third wicket with Uthappa. 11 runs from the over. Kolkata 89/2

Overs 9: Andrew Tye is back. Does well, allows only five runs in his second over. Kolkata 78/2

Overs 8: Kolkata are getting at least one boundary per over now. This time, it comes from the bat of Nitish Rana, who scored a half-century in the previous match. The left-hander lifts one from Ashwin over long-off for his first six. 11 runs from the over. Kolkata 73/2

Overs 7: Ashwin brings in Varun after the end of Powerplay. He continues to leak runs - a short delivery to start with and Uthappa latches onto it, cutting it away for a four. He offers another gift which Uthappa gleefully accepts, cutting it way for his second boundary. The debutant adjusts well, allowing just one off his final three deliveries. Kolkata 62/2

Overs 6: Robin Uthappa gets underneath one to send one soaring over the midwicket region for his second six of the night. 9 runs from the over. Kolkata 53/2

Captain Ravi Ashwin to bowl the final over of Powerplay

Overs 5: Double bowling change from Punjab - last season's purple cap holder Andrew Tye into the attack now. A good first over from the Australian pacer - two runs from it. Kolkata 44/2

Overs 4: Robin Uthappa ends the over with a six over backward point region. A wicket and eight runs from Viljoen's first over. Kolkata 42/2

Overs 3.3: OUT! Hardus Viljoen takes a big wicket in his first over on debut! Sunil Narine was looking to continue the blistering attack he had launched earlier against another debutant Varun Chakravarhty. Narine went for a pull shot, got a top-edge and wicketkeeper KL Rahul called it and completed a decent catch. He scored 24 off 9. Kolkata 36/2

Overs 3: End of a successful over from Shami - he had a chance to take another off the very next delivery after removing Lynn as Narine drilled one back to him but he failed to hold on to a tough catch. Eight runs and a wicket in the over. Kolkata 34/1

Over 2.4: OUT! A brilliant catch from David Miller as Chris Lynn top-edges one high into the night sky on 10. Mohammed Shami gets the first breakthrough for Punjab. Lynn scored 10 off 10. He had struck two fours off the first three deliveries of the over before playing one shot too many to lose his wicket. Kolkata 34/1

Over 2: Debutant Varun Chakravarthy has been taken apart by Sunil Narine in his first over. After being given the strike off the first delivery, he welcomes Varun with a six over long-off and the unleashes a full blooded shot to the left of the bowler who just gets a hand to it as the pair takes a couple. Off the third, he pulls to long-on for a four before finishing off the over with successive sixes. 25 runs from the over! Kolkata 26/0

Over 1: A good start from Shami who allows just one single off his first six deliveries. A single to Chris Lynn off the fifth delivery opens Kolkata's account. Sunil Narine, who is playing in his 100th Indian t20 league match today, plays on towards the on-side, looks to steal a quick single but rightly sent back by Lynn. Kolkata 1/0

Mohammed Shami with the new ball. Here we go...

7:57 pm: Andre Russell rings the ceremonial bell to set the ball rolling. Punjab players in a huddle as the two umpires walk towards the middle. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine are the two Kolkata openers.

Kolkata XI: Chris Lynn, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (captain), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna

Punjab XI: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Ravichandran Ashwin (captain), Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Andrew Tye

TOSS REPORT: Punjab opt to bowl first vs unchanged Kolkata

TEAM CHANGES: While Kolkata are unchanged, Punjab have rung in several changes - Sam Curran has been benched and in his place Hardus Viljoen. David Miller also comes into the playing XI and the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy will make his league debut.

7:32 pm: Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin wins the coin toss, opt to field against Kolkata at the Eden Gardens.

Hello everyone and welcome to CricketCountry's coverage of Game 6 of the Indian T20 League in which two-time winners Kolkata take on Punjab at Eden Gardens. Both the teams began their season with a victory. While Kolkata rode an Andre Russell's blitzkrieg to get the better of Hyderabad on Sunday, Punjab registered their win in controversial circumstances as they beat Rajasthan in Jaipur on Monday night.

Despite a win in the first game, Kolkata will like to get their fielding and bowling in top shape. They will also want Chris Lynn to come good and Sunil Narine to be fit, to bowl and to open the innings, scoring some quick runs at the top. Kolkata will also need to make sure that Kuldeep, who happens to be their premier bowler, completes his quota of overs. The left-arm chinaman bowled only two overs in the first over. Click here to read more

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