IPL 10, Match 41, KKR v RPS - Rising Pune Supergiant Player Ratings

The Rising Pune Supergiant continued their merry run in this season of the IPL. They beat the heavyweight lineup of the Kolkata Knight Riders at the away venue of Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Going into the game, the Knight Riders were the firm favorites to dictate terms in the match. However, a scintillating bowling effort and some fine batting from opener Rahul Tripathi set the stage for the Supergiant win in the match.

Earlier in the game, the Rising Pune Supergiant won the toss and opted to bowl first. Jaydev Unadkat struck first blood by dismissing Sunil Narine for a duck in the very first over. Skipper Gautam Gambhir looked good for his 24 before walking back to the pavilion. Later in the innings, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav and Colin de Grandhomme hit crucial 30s to ensure that the Kolkata Knight Riders posted a decent total of 155/8 in their stipulated 20 overs.

In the run chase, RPS lost Ajinkya Rahane cheaply and the middle order did not do anything good either. Only three batsmen got into the double digits in the match. However, it was one man who stood firm for the major part of the match. Rahul Tripathi scored a brilliant 93 off just 52 balls to help the team win by 4 wickets.

Here are the Rising Pune Supergiant Player Ratings for the KKR v RPS encounter:

Rahul Tripathi – 10/10

Hard-hitting young Pune batsman Rahul Tripathi has been the star find of the season for sure. The young lad scored a majestic 93 to singlehandedly win the game for the Rising Pune Supergiant. Such was his dominance in the run chase that the second highest score in the RPS innings was just 14. Tripathi took the attack right from the word go and did not let any bowler settle in the attack.

With as many as 7 sixes to his name in the knock, Tripathi kept the run flow in check. He looked in ominous touch as he middled the balls to perfection on the day. His superlative knock earned him the Man of the Match award. The simplicity that he showed in the post-match presentation won a million hearts too. He was unlucky to have missed out on a well-deserved ton in the match.

Ajinkya Rahane – 1/10

Ajinkya Rahane was the senior opener going into the game. The Indian batsman failed to make an impact in the match and perished after getting a little start to his name. Rahane has been struggling with his form in the recent times.

He has got a couple of starts in the season but is yet to find his consistency with the bat. Rahane hit two boundaries during his stay at the crease that yielded 11 runs off 9 deliveries. Being the senior batsman, he should have shouldered more responsibility in the run chase.

Steve Smith – 2/10

RPS skipper Steve Smith had a dismal time with the bat in the run chase. Smith came in to bat in the second over of the match after Ajinkya Rahane was sent packing by Umesh Yadav. Smith started things off in fine fashion when he clobbered English pacer Chris Woakes for a nonchalant straight drive that went for a six over long on.

However, the English pacer had the last laugh on the day. Woakes managed to get through the defenses of Steve Smith to send him back to the pavilion with a score of just 9.

Manoj Tiwary – 2/10

When the tournament was in the early stages, the RPS think tank wondered at what position do they bat veteran batsman Manoj Tiwary. Tiwary was sent at number 6 or 7 and was expected to play the role of the finisher. In the last few matches, the team management has been promoting him to number 4 in the batting line up.

This happened after the Bengal lad hit a few lovely cameos for his side this season. However, the last two matches for Tiwary at number 4 has been far from being impressive. He got a duck in the previous game and could manage only 8 runs on the day against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Ben Stokes – 6/10

English all-rounder Ben Stokes is a key member of the Rising Pune Supergiant lineup. He had won the match for the team in the previous game with a thunderous unbeaten ton to his name. The all-rounder failed to continue with the same form in this game though.

After having started off with a boundary, Stokes ended up throwing his wicket away with only 14 runs to his name on the day. Earlier in the match, he bowled a decent spell with the ball. In the four overs that he bowled, he gave away only 24 runs and returned with a solitary wicket of Nathan Coulter-Nile.

MS Dhoni – 4/10

Former RPS skipper MS Dhoni has been one of the key players in the lineup. His inputs on the field are invaluable to any team. Dhoni was seen marshaling the troops really well on the day and assisted Steve Smith with his captaincy. Also, he showed some brilliant efforts with his gloves too.

In the batting, he arrived at a time when the team needed a handful of runs to get. However, at the same time, Rahul Tripathi was inches away from his ton too. Dhoni, in his attempt to save runs for Tripathi, ended up playing an uncharacteristic slow knock. He eventually was dismissed on 5.

Dan Christian – 5/10

Australian all-rounder Dan Christian was at the crease at the time of finishing the knock for the second consecutive game. He remained unbeaten on 9 when the RPS score eased past the target mark. Christian has been settling in the role of the finisher in the recent times for the Supergiant.

Earlier in the game, he was quite impressive with the ball too. He gave away 23 runs in the 3 overs that he bowled. He dismissed the well-set batsman Manish Pandey on 37 to break the backbone of the KKR innings.

Washington Sundar – 7/10

Washington Sundar has been the quiet performer for the RPS this season. Sundar, who is primarily a batsman, has emerged as the first choice off-spinner for the Supergiant this season. The team is very confident in his abilities and skipper Steve Smith has shown a lot of faith in him.

Sundar was given the new ball to bowl in the powerplay. The 17-year-old responded in fine fashion by returning with impressive figures on the day. He bagged 2 wickets in the match in the 2 overs that he bowled. He returned with figures of 2/18. Sundar dismissed Gautam Gambhir and Sheldon Jackson in his spell.

Imran Tahir – 4/10

Imran Tahir has arguably been the most successful bowler for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the tournament. He continued to feature in the wicket-taking list in the match. Tahir trapped Yusuf Pathan lbw on 4 in the middle overs to ensure that the big hitting batsman does not take the game away on the day.

Tahir was slightly expensive on the day though. He gave 36 runs in his spell of 4 overs to finish with 1/36 in front of his name in the scorecard.

Shardul Thakur – 3/10

Young Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur was not given his complete quota of four over in the match today. In the three overs that he got to bowl, Thakur bowled with pace and aggression to keep the opposition batsmen in check. He did not give away any free runs on the day. Thakur returned with figures of 0/21 in the three overs that he bowled today.

Jaydev Unadkat – 6/10

Jaydev Unadkat continued to impress with his bowling in the tournament. Unadkat got the first breakthrough for his team in the very first over of the match. He started off with a maiden wicket to his name to put the opposition on the backfoot straightaway.

Later in the game, he was introduced in the bowling attack in the death overs. He responded with a wicket again. He got the wicket of Colin de Grandhomme, who was looking threatening on 36 off 19 deliveries. Unadkat finished with figures of 2/28 in his 4 overs.