IPL 10, Match 27, KKR v RCB - Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings

The Kolkata Knight Riders showed exemplary bowling on the day against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB were bundled out for a paltry 49 in their run chase of 131 and that in itself explains how the match turned out to be. Coming into the game, RCB were tipped to give some stern competition to the Knight Riders after being bolstered by the return of AB de Villiers in the setup.

Kolkata Knight Riders totally outplayed the opposition and got back to the top two of the points charts in the tournament. This was the first instance when a team bundled out for a score less than fifty in the IPL history. RCB, after having scored the lowest total ever, have only dwindled their chances in the tournament. Talking about the match, RCB made a good comeback after KKR openers went brutal against them.

It was Sunil Narine’s exploits in the powerplay that propelled the Kolkata Knight Riders to a score in excess of 50 in the powerplay. However, post his departure after scoring 34 off 17 balls, the team saw a sudden collapse of wickets. All they could manage on the day was 131. During the run chase, the KKR pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme picked up 3 wickets each to see the opposition crashing on 49 and losing by 82 runs.

Here are the Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings from the KKR v RCB encounter:

Gautam Gambhir – 6/10

Kolkata Knight Riders opener Gautam Gambhir had a bad day at work with the bat. He was dismissed for 14 that came off 11 deliveries in the match. Gambhir had opened with Sunil Narine and saw Narine go great guns with the bat. He needed to stay at the crease.

But, he ended up throwing it away in the 4th over of the match. However, the veteran southpaw covered up for it with his captaincy skills. He was very attacking with his field placements. He had multiple slip fielders in line and had the short leg position fielders in the field too.

Sunil Narine – 8/10

When Sunil Narine came in to open the innings, little did he know that he would end up being the highest scorer in the match on the day. He came out to open with Gambhir and started his onslaught right from the word go. The out and out approach from him saw him plunder a quick 34 off just 17 balls on the day.

He hit 6 fours and a six during his stay at the crease. Undoubtedly, he was the best batsman on the day. Later in the game, his services were not required in the bowling department. The pace quartet was good enough to settle the deal for KKR on the night.

Robin Uthappa – 4/10

Robin Uthappa took a very good catch to send AB de Villiers back to the pavilion. It was a very high catch and Uthappa judged it to perfection to complete the dismissal. Earlier in the game, Uthappa had a very tough time with the bat. His inconsistency with the bat continued and perished for a low score yet again. This was his second consecutive low score in the tournament and that would be bothering him for sure. He scored just 11 on the day.

Manish Pandey – 3/10

Manish Pandey had an off day with the bat. He was sent packing after having scored just 15 off 16 balls. The team wanted him to stay till the end especially after the big names of Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa had walked back to the pavilion in the middle order. Pandey took three good catches in the outfield though. He took a juggling catch off the bowling of Nathan Coulter-Nile to send Virat Kohli packing for a duck.

Suryakumar Yadav – 2/10

Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run with the bat continued. He failed to make the most out of the opportunity that he got on the day. The KKR camp was in deep trouble with 84/4 in the scoreline. Yadav had the ideal stage to get back to form and ensure a decent score came his way today. However, his poor form overshadowed all responsibilities. He was dismissed for 15 that came off 19 balls with just 1 four to his name.

Yusuf Pathan – 2/10

Yusuf Pathan came in to bat at number 5 and had the responsibility to rebuild the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders. Pathan had been performing well in the previous games and hence he had the opportunity to back those with another good score. However, Pathan lost his cool and tried to go for an attacking shot too early in his innings. He stepped down to Yuzvendra Chahal when he was batting on 8. He completed missed the delivery and was stumped by Kedar Jadhav.

Colin de Grandhomme – 9/10

Colin de Grandhomme had a very dismal start to the match today. He was dismissed for a duck when he had come in to bat at a crunch time with the team needing his services. He failed to deliver with the bat but covered up for that with his stunning show with the ball.

He ran through the RCB middle order to finish things up for Kolkata Knight Riders on the day. He dismissed Pawan Negi for just 2. He then managed to get Tymal Mills caught by Kuldeep Yadav on 2. Lastly, he took the last wicket of Yuzvendra Chahal to cap off the excellent day for him with the ball. He bagged 3/4 in the 1.4 overs that he bowled.

Chris Woakes – 9/10

English speedster Chris Woakes had been bowling with precision in the tournament but had failed to get his due rewards. On the day against RCB, the new recruit of Kolkata Knight Riders – Chris Woakes – used the friendly conditions to the best use to ensure he got among the wickets too.

He dismissed the big man Chris Gayle for just 7. He then dismissed Stuart Binny for 8 later in the game. To complete his triple for the match, he trapped Samuel Badree lbw on a duck. He returned with figures of 3/6 in the two overs that he bowled today.

Umesh Yadav – 9/10

Umesh Yadav gave very good support to Nathan Coulter-Nile with the ball on the day. He shared the new ball with the Aussie pacer and created opportunities for his bowling partner in the game. Albeit he got only one wicket on the night, he was far more impressive than that.

In the 3 overs that he bowled, he gave away only 15 runs and choked up the run flow from one end and that helped Coulter-Nile chip in with wickets. He got the wicket of Mandeep Singh as he dismissed him on 1. He returned with figures of 1/15 in the match.

Nathan Coulter-Nile – 9/10

Australian speedster Nathan Coulter-Nile was the star of the show yet again. The RCB batting crashed like ten pins and it was this pacer who brought about the downfall. Bowling with the new ball, Coulter-Nile bowled with sheer pace and aggression to set RCB on the backfoot. He dismissed the main man from the opposition – Virat Kohli – for a golden duck in the very first over of the match.

He then accounted for the dismissal of another big name from the RCB batting lineup. A fiery bouncer from him saw AB de Villiers mistime one in the air to get dismissed on 8. He followed it up with the wicket of Kedar Jadhav to complete his triple for the day. He finished with figures of 3/21 in his 3 overs to win the Player of the Match on the day.

Kuldeep Yadav – 2/10

Kuldeep Yadav had very little role to play on the day. He did not get a chance to bowl in the match since the KKR pacers ruled the roost in the game. All that the chinaman had to do in the game was spend time at the ground doing the fielding business. Earlier in the game, he came out to bat at number 11 for Kolkata Knight Riders in the last overs of the innings. He perished after scoring 4 off 7 balls in the match.