Shah Rukh Khan thanks Dinesh Karthik and his team for their brilliant performance against RR

The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata witnessed a spectacular and remarkable encounter last night between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2018 Eliminator. The Dinesh Karthik-led recorded a sensational win by 25 runs by making a resounding comeback in the last few overs of the game.

During the 62-run partnership between RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson, the visitors seemed to be cruising through easy victory, however, the KKR bowlers brought their side back into a winning position after scalping some crucial wickets. KKR franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan congratulated and thanked the whole unit for their magnificent performance last night.

Gowtham’s fine opening spell and Karthik’s calming knock

The Royals off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham bowled a terrific opening spell to scalp the prized wickets of Sunil Narine and Robin Uthappa to provide the early jitters in the KKR dugout. The home side looked in a nervy troublesome situation when they were reduced to 51-4 after 8 overs.

However, the KKR skipper played a composed knock of 52 runs off 38 balls to take his team towards a challenging total and Karthik was well supported by young Shubman Gill who joined his skipper in a 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket. In the end, big-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell contributed with an explosive cameo to help his side post 169 runs on the board.

RR top-order provides a splendid opening but the middle order fails to finish on a high

In the crucial run-chase in the deciding encounter, the two RR openers Rahane and Rahul Tripathi provided a steady start and following the latter’s dismissal, Samson held on the innings with his skipper. The duo added 62-runs for the second wicket, while during their partnership the required run-rate was also under their control.

However, the KKR bowlers made a fine comeback into the game by picking up the wickets of Rahane and Samson, which imposed serious pressure on the fidgety RR middle-order. The bowlers never allowed the Royals batters to recover and recorded a resounding win to advance through to face the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 2 on 25th May.

Thankx everyone for the joy u are bringing to all of us

The Bollywood actor Shah Rukh thanked KKR skipper Karthik and his whole team for their amazing performance in the must-win encounter, through his recent Twitter post. He also especially praised Under 19 batsman Shubman for his contribution under pressure during the partnership with the skipper.

Thx again @DineshKarthik & all u boys for the joy u r bringing to all of us. & especially happy to see @RealShubmanGill coming into his own. Also a pleasure to see Dada with the Dude at Eden. pic.twitter.com/8la7x2yMSq

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 24, 2018

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