IPL 2019: Match 43, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals – Lesser Known Stats

Dinesh Karthik finally arrived at the party for the Kolkata Knight Riders as he struck a brilliant unbeaten 50-ball 97 in their home fixture against the Rajasthan Royals. After Varun Aaron’s opening spell of 3-1-10-2 restricted the hosts to 49/3 in ten overs, Karthik took the attack to the RR bowlers. His innings powered KKR to 175/6 which wasn’t enough for their first win in six matches given the way the chase fared for both the teams. The 17-year-old Riyan Parag continued to impress one and all with his gusty 47 as RR completed the chase with four balls to spare.

Here are the lesser known stats recorded during Rajasthan’s first win in Kolkata in 11 years:

A tale of two teams at the Eden Gardens:

The Rajasthan Royals now have featured in as many as nine matches including eight against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. However, both the wins are separated by 11 years as RR’s last win at this venue was against KKR in the 2008 season by six wickets.

On the other hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered their 4th consecutive defeat in this IPL at their home venue in Kolkata. KKR never lost more than two in a succession at this venue prior to IPL 2019.

KKR’s wait continues:

The Kolkata Knight Riders were one of the reasons to kick start the IPL in grand style as the then opener Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 against RCB during the inaugural IPL game in 2008.

Into the 12th season, no other player has managed to score a century for KKR in the IPL. Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten 97 in the game against RR is now the 2nd highest individual score for a KKR player in the IPL only behind McCullum’s 158*.

Karthik stands behind Gilchrist:

Dinesh Karthik fell three runs short of his maiden Twenty20 century but record his highest score in this format of 97*. This is also the 2nd highest individual score in IPL history by a keeper-captain. During the 2011 edition of the IPL, the then Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist scored 106 against RCB and kept wickets later.

A first for KKR in this season:

One of the biggest issues for the Knight Riders this season has been their wayward bowling. KKR won four of their first five matches and lost six in a row since then. The early success in the season was due to their batting. In the game against the Royals, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla ended with the bowling figures of 3/20. Interestingly, this was the first 3-wicket haul by a KKR bowler in this edition of the IPL.

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