Twitter Reactions: KKR give RR a royal hiding by 37-run victory in Dubai

Kolkata Knight Riders put up a professional effort on the day to go past the Rajasthan Royals.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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2 Min Read

Pat Cummins
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Pat Cummins. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

With Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeating the Rajasthan Royals (RR), very early in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season, all the teams have lost and won at least one game. It was a brilliant show from KKR, especially bowlers, who didn’t give any respite to the opposition batsmen at any stage.

Earlier, after losing the toss, KKR lost their misfiring opener Sunil Narine early for the third consecutive time. Shubman Gill though looked composed once again and batted well. Nitish Rana then came out to bat at three and the left-hander once again couldn’t carry on after getting off to a start. He and Gill batted well for a 46-run partnership. But both fell early to leave the team at 89/3 in the 12th over of the innings.

Dinesh Karthik’s poor run continued in the tournament and it seemed as if they wouldn’t be able to post a decent total. But Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell stepped up to the task. The latter got out soon as well but his 14-ball 24 gave the momentum to the innings. Morgan then batted patiently and launched the attack while facing his England teammate Tom Curran.

His unbeaten 34 off 23 balls and small but crucial contributions from Pat Cummins and Kamlesh Nagarkoti took KKR to 174 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs. For RR, Jofra Archer was exceptional with the ball as he returned with the figures of 2/18.

RR collapse in the chase against KKR

The Royals’ batsmen had to adapt to the conditions well after enjoying a run-fest in Sharjah. But it didn’t happen as their batsmen played some ordinary strokes unnecessarily and in no time, match was out of their hands. Their skipper Steve Smith was the first to go thanks to Pat Cummins while Sanju Samson and Robin Uthappa also followed soon.

Jos Buttler seemed to be finding his groove back but young Shivam Mavi got the better of him. He bowled excellent lengths and also dismissed Samson earlier to end with 2/20 in his four overs. Kamlesh Nagarkoti struck off his first ball and then plucked Riyan Parag as well to leave RR reeling at 42/5 in the 8th over itself.

The game was gone long back for the Royals and they had to reduce the losing margin. Their last match’s hero Rahul Tewatia was there in the middle but he couldn’t do anything this time around. The southpaw lost his patience after scoring 14 runs and ended up losing his stumps to Varun Chakravarthy. Tom Curran batted patiently early on and then took the attack in the last couple of overs to remain unbeaten on 54 off 36 balls.

Eventually, the Royals ended on 137 runs for the loss of nine wickets and the margin of loss only reduced due to the 20-run penultimate over. For KKR, their young pacers Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were superb and the team will be brimming with confidence after consecutive wins. The Royals, however, would want to introspect and certainly, their net run-rate has also affected now.

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IPL 2024Kolkata Knight RidersRajasthan Royals