Ahead of IPL 2024, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) held their second intra-squad practice match at Eden Gardens on Tuesday (March 19th), with Team Purple emerging victorious by a narrow margin in a thrilling finish. England cricketer Phil Salt - who scored his second consecutive fifty in the practice game - along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh made notable contributions in the game to warm up nicely ahead of the premier domestic T20 competition.   Manish Pandey, uncapped Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy and Angkrish Raghuvanshi also did well in the practice game where captain Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Sunil Narine were some of the notable absentees. Iyer, though, did some fielding in the game. Mitchell Starc Shines with Early Wickets for Team Gold Team Gold, batting first, got off to a shaky start after Mitchell Starc - the most expensive player in IPL Auction history (Rs 24.75 crore) scalped opener Gurbaz for a duck in the very first over. Venkatesh Iyer, the other opener, followed soon after, dismissed by Andre Russell. Manish Pandey, batting at number four, tried to revive the innings with some boundaries but was eventually caught by Starc.   KKR Practice Game: Team Gold Recovers Before Late Stumble Despite the early setbacks, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Manish Pandey steadied the ship for Team Gold. They were able to build a decent partnership before Angkrish was dismissed by Harshit Rana in the 30s. Gurbaz, who came in for a second stint, provided some impetus with a quickfire 34 off 18 balls, including a four and a six. However, Team Gold lost wickets at regular intervals in the later overs, eventually finishing with a total of 188 runs in their allotted overs. KKR Team Purple Chases Down Target in Dramatic Fashion Chasing a modest target of 189, Team Purple also lost their openers early, with Venkatesh Iyer departing after a single boundary. However, Sheldon Jackson (23 runs) and Phil Salt (50 runs) brought some momentum back with some audacious strokeplay. Salt, in particular, impressed with his aggressive batting, scoring his second consecutive fifty in the intra-squad matches. Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh Provide Late Heroics Phil Salt emerged as the standout performer for Team Purple, displaying resilience and skill as he notched up yet another impressive fifty. However, his dismissal in the 16th over brought Team Gold back into the game, with six wickets down and the required run rate mounting.   After the dismissals of Iyer, Bharat and Salt, the onus fell on Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh to take Team Purple home. The duo displayed some sensible batting, chipping away at the required run rate. In a thrilling climax, Ramandeep's decisive six off the penultimate ball sealed a dramatic victory for Team Purple, chasing down the target with just one ball to spare. As the Kolkata Knight Riders gear up for the upcoming season, this intra-squad encounter serves as a valuable opportunity for players to fine-tune their skills and build momentum for the challenges ahead. KKR fans will be eagerly waiting to see how these players perform in the real competition. KKR Intrasquad Match 2 Playing 11s Team Gold: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Player 1, Player 2. Team Purple: Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (wk), KS Bharat, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mitchell Starc, Sakib Hussain, Player 1. Avinash Sharma Mykhel source: mykhel.com