IPL 2019: Match 6, KKR vs KXIP – Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings

The Kolkata Knight Riders won the humdinger against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first game of the 2019 season of the IPL. Their home venue, the Eden Gardens, proved to be the lucky hunting ground for them. After a narrow shave in the first game, KKR was all set to host their second home game of the season – against the Kings XI Punjab. Both teams looked equally matched on paper with a win under their names this season.

One team was sure to get their first defeat in the season, and the Eden ensured that it stayed the lucky venue for the hosts. The Knight Riders beat the Kings in a high scoring game. Having won the toss, KXIP opted to bowl first. The move did not work at all as Sunil Narine blasted debutante Varun Chakravarthy for 25 runs in the second over of the things. This was just a precursor of what was about to perspire in the innings.

Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana hit timely fifties, and Andre Russell bludgeoned the KXIP bowlers with a 17-ball 47. Their combined efforts helped KKR post 218/4 in their 20 overs – the highest total of the season thus far. In the run chase, the eyes were glued to Chris Gayle. After Gayle’s early departure, the shoulders started to dip down. Albeit Mayank Agarwal and David Miller hit fifties to keep KXIP interested, chasing 218 was a little too much to overhaul. KXIP fell short by 28 runs.

Here are the KKR Player Ratings for the match:

Sunil Narine – 7/10

Sunil Narine set the tone for the game with a quickfire knock in the powerplay. The Caribbean star opened the innings for KKR and took an attack on newbie Varun Chakravarthy in the second over of the match, and milked 25 runs. Narine’s quick blitz lasted 9 deliveries in which he scored 24 runs with a four and 3 sixes. With the ball, he had a tough time though. He bowled two overs to concede 26 runs.

Chris Lynn – 2/10

Chris Lynn had yet another failure in this season. After having missed on scoring big in the first game of the season for his side, Lynn failed to get going in his second appearance this season as well. He got off to a decent start with a couple of boundaries to his name but perished in his attempt to be rather too extravagant with his shot play. All he could manage in the game was 10 runs.

Robin Uthappa – 8/10

Robin Uthappa came in to bat at number with the KKR run rate soaring high. He had to ensure that he does not let the momentum slip down, and at the same time, he needed to be sure about saving wickets for the side. The veteran operator did both the tasks with ease. He played the anchoring role in the innings to score an unbeaten 67 off 50 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. He stitched a match-winning 110 run stand for the third wicket with Nitish Rana.

Nitish Rana – 8/10

After being KKR’s main man in the previous game, Nitish Rana arrived at the crease riding high on confidence. Last game, he had opened the batting for his side. This time around, a new challenge beckoned his way. He was asked to bat at number four and the southpaw accepted it with glee. He continued his rich run of form with a quick 63 off mere 34 deliveries. He hit just two fours in his innings, but hammered 7 maximums. The way he tonked R Ashwin for sixes in the match was worth a praise.

Dinesh Karthik – 5/10

Owing to the stellar show of the KKR top order, Dinesh Karthik did not get to bat a lot in this game. He came in to bat in the final over with just 2 balls remaining. He faced a solitary delivery to hoick it over mid-on for a single. With the captaincy hat on, Karthik fared rather decently in the match, shuffling across the various bowling options he had.

Andre Russell – 9.5/10

Andre Russell teed off from where he had left in the previous game. He was on his attack mode yet again and clobbered as many as 5 sixes in the match. To go with the maximums, he hit three fours as well to finish with 17-ball 48. He was lucky to have gotten a second chance as he was bowled on a no ball. Later in the game, he proved to be the key striker with the ball as well. He finished with figures of 2/21, accounting for the wickets of in form batters Chris Gayle and Sarfaraz Khan.

Shubman Gill –  Not Assigned

Shubman Gill did not get a chance to bat in this game.

Piyush Chawla – 7/10

The way the Eden wicket played out in the match proved that there was nothing in for the spinners. Piyush Chawla emerged as the most impressive spin bowler in the match. The leggie finished with numbers of 1/26 in his 3 overs. He took the big wicket of a well-set Mayank Agarwal right after the second strategic timeout when Mayank was in the mode to change gears.

Kuldeep Yadav – 3/10

Kuldeep Yadav has been in prime form with the ball in recent times. But two matches down in IPL 2019, Kuldeep is yet to find his feet going well. The chinaman had a luckless run in the match today. He bowled his complete quota of four overs but failed to pick up any wicket. Also, he ended up conceding 32 runs at an economy of 8.

Lockie Ferguson – 5/10

Lockie Ferguson bowled two supremely fine overs in his first spell. He conceded just 12 runs and dismissed KL Rahul in his very first over. However, the Kiwi pacer failed to keep things tight in his second spell, that was towards the fag end of the innings. Mandeep Singh and David Miller hit a few shots off his bowling to spoil his figures that eventually read 1/42 in four overs.

Prasidh Krishna – 4/10

Prasidh Krishna bowled with good pace on the day. The Karnataka-lad clocked speeds around 145kmph in the match. He finished with figures of 0/42 in his four overs. The numbers certainly do not indicate the way he bowled in the match. He bowled beautifully in the 18th over. It was a crucial over in the context of the game, and he conceded just 10 runs.

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