A light-hearted off-field moment caught the attention of the Kolkata Knight Riders-Punjab Kings clash at the Eden Gardens on Monday, despite the final being played by rain. Soon after the match ended, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer’s sister Shrestha Iyer shared a hilarious Instagram reel that quickly went viral. In the clip, he joked in Punjabi, “Sade Punjabiyan da dil vada hota, lo de data ek point,” explaining that Punjab had generously “given” a point after the washout. On the field, however, it was a frustrating evening for both sides as persistent rain and a wet outfield prevented further play. The match was halted with KKR struggling at 25/2 in 3.4 overs, and despite multiple inspections and a revised cut-off time, conditions did not improve enough to resume. The combined point helped Punjab Kings continue their strong start to the season to climb to the top of the table with five points from three games. In contrast, KKR finally opened their account but remained under pressure with just one point from three matches. Earlier in the evening, the KKR captain made the decision. Ajinkya Rahane Batting first seemed to backfire almost immediately. With both frontline spinners unavailable – Sunil Narine through illness and Varun Chakraborty through injury – their bowling resources were already stretched. Punjab’s pace attack made full use of the cloudy conditions. Xavier Bartlett He struck twice in quick succession, removing Finn Allen and Cameron Greene in the same over to put KKR in early trouble. Arsdeep Singh had already set the tone with a probing opening over, making life difficult for the batsmen. Allen survived a few close calls but eventually edged one in an attempt to force momentum, while Green’s lean continued with another early takedown. With KKR reeling, Rahane and Angkresh Raghuvanshi began a cautious rebuild before rain interrupted proceedings. The weather worsened as strong winds and heavy rain battered the ground, even shaking the famous hanging press box at the Eden Gardens. Although there was a brief window when the covers came down and the outfield looked largely intact, the pitch and dampness near the boundary meant play could not resume. After multiple inspections by the umpires and officials, including Sourav Ganguly, the match was officially called off at 11 am. The abandoned fixture mirrored the encounter between the two sides at the same venue last season, which was also scrapped. For KKR, the concerns continue to be with both form and availability, while the Punjab Kings are moving with momentum – and, as Shrestha’s viral reel aptly put it, perhaps a “big-hearted” point.
