Twitter Reactions: Kolkata Knight Riders overcome Royals hurdle to inch closer to playoffs

The Kolkata Knight Riders registered a very comfortable win over the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens. With the win, they have now inched closer to securing their berth in the playoffs. On the other hand, the defeat for the Royals have put their chances of qualifying for the playoffs in some serious jeopardy. The hosts were too good in all the departments to eventually overhaul the target in the game after a brief scare in the middle overs.

Earlier in the game, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik had won the toss and opted to bowl first. He was certainly taken aback by the onslaught that the Rajasthan Royals openers came up with. Rahul Tripathi opened with in-form batter Jos Buttler. The two batsmen added a quick 63-run stand for the first wicket in just 29 deliveries.

The partnership was broken in the fifth over when Andre Russell dismissed Rahul Tripathi on 27 that came off 15 deliveries. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (11) and Sanju Samson (12) failed to continue the momentum in the middle order. Also, Buttler, who had hit five consecutive fifties in the competition in the lead up to the game, failed to reach the milestone on the day.

Buttler, however, ended up top scoring for his side with 39 to his name in 22 deliveries. The innings saw a sudden slump with Kuldeep Yadav bagging four wickets in the middle overs. The Rajasthan Royals were eventually bundled out for 142 in 19 overs after Jaydev Unadkat added some late 26 runs to the team total. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/20 to his name.

In the run chase, the Kolkata Knight Riders got the start they needed with Sunil Narine hitting 21 off just 7 deliveries at the top. Ben Stokes then bowled a maiden over and dismissed Narine. He backed it up with another wicket of Robin Uthappa. Nitish Rana and Chris Lynn then steadied the ship for the hosts. While Rana scored a 17-ball 21, Lynn finished with a hard fought 45 off 42 deliveries.

The onus was on the KKR skipper to see his side through after a decent start. Dinesh Karthik lived up to the expectations and remained unbeaten on 41 that came off just 31 deliveries with five fours and a six to his name. He ensured that his side got over the line with 6 wickets in hand.

Here is how the Twitterati reacted to the match:

Totally agree with that call @GraemeSmith49 and the #SelectDugout about Australian coaches in the @IPL being bias to their players from their country @StarSportsIndia #shotsfired

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) May 15, 2018

#KKR tweakers coming to the fore today, especially #Kuldeep ,always been their strength, arguably the best spin attack in this #IPL2018 #KKRvRR #BadriBytes

— subramani badrinath (@s_badrinath) May 15, 2018

Narine loves spin early in his innings. Took apart Badree, Washington Sundar…….

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 15, 2018

Rajasthan Royals and Shahid Afridi are similar. They did something great in their first year and disappointed the fans for rest of the years.

— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) May 15, 2018

Dinesh Karthik in successful run-chases in IPL 2018:

35*(29), 42*(23), 23(10), 45*(18), 41*(31)(today)#KKRvRR #IPL11

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 15, 2018

How many times will Rahane say Definitely in this post match – 4 already and going strong#KKRvRR

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) May 15, 2018

Easily done by KKR. The thing with them is they do well when the going is easy, amazingly well in fact. But they crumble under pressure. Only if they can rectify that… #IPL2018

— Manya (@CSKian716) May 15, 2018

Whenever Karthik has scored 20-plus runs against RR in an IPL match, his team has won eight out of 10 matches. (80%)#KKRvRR

— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) May 15, 2018

So, Sunday is a must-win game for #RR. Even after that, it will have to depend on other facts to book a playoff berth. #RRvKKR

— Shayan Acharya (@ShayanAcharya) May 15, 2018

Well played @DineshKarthik captains innings. @imkuldeep18 and Sunil opened the game and DK and Lynn closed it on @rajasthanroyals Well played @KKRiders play offs are a whiff away. #KKRvRR

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) May 15, 2018

Wonderful spell to pick 4 wickets, well bowled @imkuldeep18, Congratulations @KKRiders #KKRvRR

— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) May 15, 2018

Dinesh Karthik such an exceptional wicket-keeper batsman. He knows the game very well. The best option for India after MS Dhoni. #IPL #IPL2018

— Shahid (@cricket_worm) May 15, 2018

Much needed 2 points for @KKRiders today. Have made their case stronger with this win but the battle is still on for the rest of the teams in contention. #KKRvRR #IPL2018

— R P Singh (@rpsingh) May 15, 2018

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