Punjab skipper Curran joins unwanted company of bowlers during win against Kolkata

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 27 (ANI): England and Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Sam Curran joined the company of Indian quicks Mohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Australia’s Pat Cummins, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada to have conceded 50 runs or more on six or more occasions during his spell against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday.

Curran joined this unwanted list during his side’s IPL game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens.

During the game, Curran was taken to cleaners by the KKR openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt and the team’s feared middle-order as he gave away 60 runs and took just one wicket of Salt. His economy rate was 15.

This was the sixth instance when Curran conceded 50 runs or more in his IPL spell. Mohit has registered this unwanted feat to his name seven times, the most by a bowler in the tournament’s history. Bhuvneshwar, Shami, Cummins and Rabada have delivered such expensive spells six times each.

Curran also recorded the fifth most-expensive figures by a PBKS bowler in IPL history. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb ur Rahman’s figures of 0/66 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) back in 2019 still remain the most expensive for the franchise.

Though Curran has taken 12 wickets in nine games at an average of 22.58 and a strike rate of 14, his economy rate of 9.67 is slightly on the higher side. His best bowling figures are 3/28 so far. He has also contributed 152 runs in eight innings with the bat at an average of 19.00 and a strike rate of just above 116, with a knock of 63 as his soltary fifty.

Coming to the match, Punjab sent Kolkata to bat first after winning the toss. Following this, Sunil Narine (71 in 32 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) and Philip Salt (75 in 37 balls, with six sixes) delighted the Eden Gardens crowd with an exhilarating batting display and obliterated Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowlers to power KKR to 261/6 in 20 overs.

Arshdeep Singh led the PBKS bowling unit after he picked up two wickets. During the run chase, Jonny Bairstow (108), Prabhsimran Singh (54 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes) and Shashank Singh (68* in 28 balls, with two fours and eight sixes) played an unbeaten knock to chase down the massive target with eight balls to spare and script history.

Narine was the only wicket-taker for the KKR. Bairstow took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

Out of eight matches, KKR has registered five victories, collecting 10 points in the IPL 2024 standings, staying at the number 2 position. Meanwhile, Punjab holds the eighth place with six points after winning three of nine games.