Twitter Reactions: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royals at Eden, set up next date with Sunrisers

The Kolkata Knight Riders have set up a Qualifier 2 date with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They beat the Rajasthan Royals in the all important Eliminator at the Eden Gardens. During the game, the Knight Riders found themselves playing the catching game for a major part of the proceedings. It was the final 10 overs of the game that changed the fortunes of the two sides.

In the run chase, the Royals failed to get an anchor post the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson. At the same time, the KKR bowlers stepped up to play the perfect strangle on the inexperienced middle order to seal the fate of the game.

Earlier in the game, the Kolkata Knight Riders were asked to bat first after the Royals’ skipper Ajinkya Rahane had won the toss. The Rajasthan Royals bowlers had a brilliant start to the game. K Gowtham struck twice in the powerplay to dismiss Sunil Narine and Robin Uthappa in quick succession. Soon, Jofra Archer joined the celebrations and dismissed Nitish Rana.

Next, Shreyas Gopal got the wicket of Chris Lynn and the KKR lineup slumped to 51/4. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik then found some support from Shubman Gill as the innings found stability. While Gill scored a handy 17-ball 28, Karthik played the main man role with a brilliant 38-ball 52.

Karthik’s innings was studded with four boundaries and a couple of sixes. The innings needed a final flourish and Andre Russell proved to be the right man for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Russell hammered a quick unbeaten 49 off 25 deliveries with five maximums to propel the KKR total to 169/7 in 20 overs.

In the run chase, the Rajasthan Royals got off to a flying start with their openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi, adding 47 runs for the first wicket. Tripathi perished after a good start and Rahane found another able partner in Sanju Samson. Samson and Rahane took the innings forward but failed to give the pace that the chase needed.

Rahane missed out on his fifty and scored 46 off 41 deliveries and Samson was dismissed right after scoring his fifty that came off 38 balls. After the dismissal of the set batsmen, the innings failed to get the final touch that they needed. The ask seemed to be a little too much for the fragile lower middle order of the Royals. The Royals eventually could manage 144/4 in their 20 overs to lost the game by 25 runs.

Here is how the cricket world reacted to the Eliminator of IPL 2018:

Even i will blame @ajinkyarahane88 for this loss! Just because you are a mumbaikar, doesnt mean that you should not care about #RR !

— Sheffali Chugh (@Sheffalee) May 23, 2018

One can still figure out why ABD retired, but how RR could not keep pace with RRR is baffling. #IPL2018

— Manya (@CSKian716) May 23, 2018

People : Why don't you tell Rahane when to take Strategic Time Out?

Shane Warne : pic.twitter.com/Y7xGudzTyc

— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) May 23, 2018

Rajasthan Royals has given the match to KKR in a platter! What was the logic of sending Stuart Binny before Gowtham! #KKRvRR

— Manoj Mehra (@ManojMehra2610) May 23, 2018

Binny came, Binny went. Nothing different, business as usual for him. #CaptaincyFail #KKRvsRR

— Ankush Gupta (@ankushgupta) May 23, 2018

RT if you do not remember even a single match winning inning from Sir Stuart Binny in 11 seasons of IPL.

— Ojas. (@Ojasism) May 23, 2018

Imagine sending Binny over Gowtham who has the highest strike rate this IPL… and RR needed sixes bs. #RajasthanRoyals

— N A H I A N (@Nahiaaaaan) May 23, 2018

This @rajasthanroyals fixed themselves to lose this match by sending Legendary Stuart Binny 😂🤣#KKRvDD

— Yokesh (@ImYokEsH) May 23, 2018

Fun Fact: Lord Stuart Binny Was Sent Above Krishnappa Gowtham. 😂😂😂

Kahaan Se Laate Hain Itna Over Confidence.🙏😬 #KKRvRR #KKRvsRR #RRvKKR

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) May 23, 2018

Binny? When You have JOFRA ARCHER.. 😂 Who the Hell is deciding this batting order!

— Himanshu (@HimanJadduboy) May 23, 2018

Q-1: CSK needed 43 runs from the last 3 overs with 3 wickets in hand.

Result: CSK won by 2 wickets.

Eliminator: RR needed 43 runs from the last 3 overs with 7 wickets in hand.

Result: RR lost by 25 runs.

Difference: Experience#KKRvRR

— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) May 23, 2018

Well played @KKRiders @DineshKarthik keeping nerve under pressure and closing out the game. Fair result. Better team won. @rajasthanroyals middle order let them down.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) May 23, 2018

Ajinkya Rahane to Jos Buttler. #KKRvRR pic.twitter.com/UWVT5xpcHt

— SAGAR (@sagarcasm) May 23, 2018

Congratulations on the win @DineshKarthik & @KKRiders. Well Played @Russell12A , @imkuldeep18 , Piyush & young Prasidh Krishna #KKRvsRR

— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) May 23, 2018

Just In : "The boys were still in a state of shock that how our team #RR qualified for the Playoffs. Till the time everyone would realize that it was a reality and not a dream, the game already slipped out of the hands."

– Ajinkya Rahane #KKRvRR (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/Bu5WxSExzY

— TIMES HOW (@TiimesHow) May 23, 2018

This has been pathetic from Rajasthan, exemplified by a captain whose batting is a liability. The days of strike rates below 120 are long in the past. #IPL2018 #KKRvRR

— Dileep Premachandran (@SpiceBoxofEarth) May 23, 2018

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