Punjab Kings’ costliest recruit Sam Curran dismissed the dangerous Andre Russell at the nick of time to ensure a seven-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders via Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-hit afternoon encounter of Indian Premier League, here on Saturday.

Chasing a target of 192, Kolkata was left stranded at 146 for 7 after 16 overs when heavy downpour played spoilsport. The DLS par score at that time was 153.

Had Kolkata not lost Russell (35 off 19 balls), who was looking to walk away with the game and then Venkatesh Iyer to Arshdeep Singh in the next over, the par score would have been lower before heavens opened up.

The two wickets in the 15th and 16th over proved to be decisive as Kolkata needed 46 off 24 balls at that stage with Shardul Thakur (8 not out) and Sunil Narine (7 not out) at the crease.

Kolkata needed 62 from 32 balls when Curran dismissed an on-song Russell and Arshdeep removed the ‘Impact Substitute’ Venkatesh Iyer (34) which proved to be turning point. Russell was holed out at deep mid-wicket and Iyer was snapped at point.

The burly West Indian Russell had ignited Kolkata’s hopes of a turnaround with three fours and two sixes, while Iyer made the first real impact in his 28 ball knock that had three fours and a six.

Kolkata had a poor start as it was reduced to 29/3 inside the first five overs but a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket between Iyer and skipper Nitish Rana (24) brought it back in contest. Then a 50-run partnership between Iyer and Russell put it on course for a possible chase.

But Kolkata just did not have enough firepower in it on the day and Arshdeep’s brilliant figures of 3/19 in 3 overs was a game-changer for the ‘Red Devils’.

Arshdeep bowled an eventful second over, striking on the first ball to have Mandeep Singh (2) caught at deep mid-wicket by Curran. After Anukul Roy hit him for a four, the India pacer had the left-handed batter caught at short mid-wicket.

Earlier in the first half, Bhanuka Rajapaksa slammed a quickfire 50 to guide Punjab Kings to a challenging 191 for five.

Rajapaksa added 86 runs for the second wicket with captain Shikhar Dhawan (40) to lay a strong platform, with Sam Curran (26 not out) providing late flurry on a batting friendly wicket.

Punjab dominated the first half of the innings with aggressive batting and looked primed to cross 200, but Kolkata managed to pull things back in control with regular wickets after a sturdy 86-run association between Rajapaksa and Dhawan.

BRIEF SCORES: Punjab Kings 191/5 in 20 overs (B Rajapaksa 50, S Dhawan 40) bt Kolkata Knight Riders 146/7 in 16 overs (A Russell 35, Arshdeep Singh 3/19). Punjab won by 7 runs on DLS method