Twitter Reactions: Lynn, Narine and accurate bowling help KKR top points table
The visitors eventually won with 37 balls to spare.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) moved to the top of the points table in this edition’s Indian Premier League (IPL), toppling the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The franchise, captained by Dinesh Karthik, defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by eight wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. In the meantime, the Royals lost their fourth game and kept languishing in the bottom half of the table.
Smith steadies the ship
The pitch wasn’t an easy one for batting and after being put in to bat first, the Royals could only score 139 in their 20 overs. Their start wasn’t great as Prasidh Krishna struck first blood, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane for five in the second over. Then Jos Buttler and Steve Smith put their heads down and cobbled together a partnership of 72 runs, though they scored it in 64 balls, taking their own time.
Buttler wasn’t at his fluent best and could only score 37 runs from 34 deliveries with five boundaries and one over-boundary. The likes of Rahul Tripathi and Ben Stokes found the going tough. At the other end, Smith looked calm and composed. He notched a fifty in 44 balls and remained not out on 73 runs from 59 balls with seven fours and a six. Harry Gurney was the pick of the KKR bowlers with two wickets.
Lynn and Narine blaze away
Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine didn’t die wondering while chasing the target. The two attacking batsmen went hell for leather and put on 91 for the opening wicket in 51 balls to make a game a one-sided affair. The Royals’ fielding was also a tad below-par as Rahul Tripathi dropped a simple chance of Narine in the third over. The unlucky bowler was Dhawal Kulkarni, who even produced a chance in the next ball.
An inswinger from him smacked into the stumps of Lynn and the lights flashed as well, but the bails didn’t get dislodged. Kulkarni and Rahane showed displeasure by the development. Lynn got out after scoring 50 runs from 32 balls with six fours and three sixes. Narine raced away to a 25-ball 47 and helped KKR utilize the powerplay. The visitors eventually won with 37 balls to spare.
Here is how Twitter praised the Knight Riders
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