IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings: Umesh Yadav's pace, Andre Russell's power too hot for Punjab Kings

KKR flex muscles, beat Punjab by six wickets with 33 balls leftFormer India national coach Ravi Shastri believes the IPL will provide national selectors a good opportunity to see how some youngsters lead their sides. AS IT HAPPENEDKolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer definitely falls in that watchlist and the Mumbai player displayed his game-reading quality well in his side's six-wicket victory against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. Shreyas won the important toss and put the rivals in, keeping the dew factor later on in mind. He got good support from KKR's two old warhorses - Umesh Yadav with the ball and Andre Russell (70 off 31; 2x4, 8x6) with the bat, who brought the side back to winning ways with 33 balls to spare.

Yadav struck in the first over for the third time in a row in this IPL, claiming his 50th wicket in the Powerplay by trapping Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal in front. However, Shreyas deciding to bring Yadav back for his second spell at a time when Punjab were under pressure actually tilted the balance of the match in KKR's favour. Umesh responded well by picking up Liam Livingstone, who was looking dangerous, caught at long off by Tim Southee. Shreyas, who did not keep his main weapon for the death overs, was happy to see Umesh pick up two more wickets, those of Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar, in his last over and the 15th of the innings, to finish with 4/23. KKR's bowlers never allowed the Punjab batters to settle down, picking up wickets at regular intervals to eventually bowl out Punjab for 137 with 10 balls remaining in their innings.

However, Punjab did put up a fight, reducing KKR to 51 for four by the seventh over till Russell walked in and decided to take things