Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets to register their second victory of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, on Saturday, 24 April. This was the fourth consecutive defeat of KKR in the tournament. They now languish at the bottom of the points table.
Chris Morris returned figures of 4-23 as KKR were restricted to a paltry 133/9. There was a definite lack of intent throughout the innings as none of the batters could take control of things.
Shubman Gill once again faltered at the top. Skipper Eoin Morgan, their other out-of-form batsman, did not even trouble the scorers.
In response, Rajasthan got off to a decent start and kept their nose just ahead throughout the chase. Sanju Samson (42 not out off 41) held the fort from one end, while Shivam Dube (22 off 18) and David Miller (24 not out off 23) chipped in with handy contributions. Morris was adjudged Player of the Match.
Shubman, Nitish fails to provide an explosive start
It seemed like the ghost of the slow, stodgy Chepauk surface has still not loosened its grip over KKR batters as they struggled, once again, to get going in the Powerplay. On a surface that has historically been too prosaic for bowlers, Gill (11 off 19) and Nitish Rana (22 off 25) failed to assert themselves.
Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya started the attack and did well to contain the openers, conceding eight runs from the first two overs.
Rana brought the first four of the innings in the third over. It was one of the two boundaries KKR managed in the whole of the Powerplay. Gill looked like a man on a mission but devoid of plans. He kept playing dot balls, which kept accruing extra pressure on him, forcing him to run for a single that was never there. He found himself on the other side of the rope. Jos Buttler’s bare hand was as incisive as the one with gloves on. KKR could only manage 25 runs from the first six overs.
Downhill since Powerplay
Rahul Tripathi (36 in 26) was proactive from the start. He picked a four off the first ball he faced, while Rana launched the first six of the night, off Unadkat, in the same over. This was not the first time Tripathi and Rana produced a glimpse of a counterattack after a floundering start, and certainly not the first time one of them got dismissed as soon as they started to look more threatening. Rana walked back after edging one to Samson.
Sunil Narine, promoted up the order, got off the mark straightaway with a four, but could only add two more runs before being deceived by the change of pace from Unadkat. Yashasvi Jaiswal took a stunning catch after dropping one of Gill in the fourth over.
Morgan’s tragicomic dismissal happened when Tripathi’s straight drive crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end and changed the course of the ball towards Morris. Morgan, who had committed to a run, was sent back, but not in time.
A late cameo that never came
With the scoreboard flashing 62/4 after 11 overs, KKR needed herculean efforts from the rest of the batters to put up a competitive total. Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 24) arrested the collapse, albeit for a brief period, and added 33 runs before the former fell prey to Mustafizur Rahman.
Karthik kept finding the occasional boundary, but not regularly enough to trouble Rajasthan. Sakariya grabbed a stunning catch to dismiss him in the 18th over.
Morris bowled the last over of the innings. He offered a bit of width first up, which Cummins elevated over long-off for six. Morris, however, had the last laugh as he got the better of Cummins, and followed up with Shivam Mavi’s wicket to restrict KKR to 133/9.
The Royals starts off on a perfect note
Although Rajasthan lost two early wickets, they never let it affect their progression and amassed 50 runs in the Powerplay. Shivam Mavi might have got Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 off 17) out in the first over had Gill not dropped an easy chance at backward point.
Jaiswal then smashed back-to-back boundaries in a Pat Cummins over. It turned out to be an eventful over, for Buttler copped one on the face attempting a pull. The usual concussion tests had to be done.
Varun Chakravarthy drew the first blood for Kolkata after Buttler missed the darted-in delivery that hit straight on his front pad. Jaiswal’s innings came to an end in the fifth over when he sliced an easy catch to substitute fielder Kamlesh Nagarkoti at the sweeper cover.
Skipper Samson takes home
Samson (42 off 41) began with an exquisite drive off Varun. Then he curbed his aggression and dealt in singles and doubles, always keeping an eye on the asking rate. . He and Dube added 45 runs after Jaiswal’s dismissal. By the time Dube got out in the 11th over, Rajasthan needed just 49 runs in 9.1 overs.
Prasidh Krishna came on to attack as late as in the 14th over, and he got his first wicket when Rahul Tewatia top-edged a shortish delivery to Nagarkoti at fine-leg.
Mavi (4-0-19-1) did not give away too much and posed frequent questions. Miller survived two close calls in his last over. A review on the first ball saved Miller after the umpire raised his finger for the lbw appeal. Mavi once again pinned him on the front pad but the umpire was not convinced this time; Kolkata wasted a review.
Miller then picked up two boundaries in the next two overs to take the sting out of contest. Samson flicked Cummins towards square leg for a single to guide his team across the finishing line.
Brief Score:
Kolkata Knight Riders 133/9 in 20 overs (Rahul Tripathi 36; Chris Morris 4-23) lost to Rajasthan Royals 134/6 in 18.5 overs (Sanju Samson 42; Varun Chakravarthy 2-32) by 6 wickets with 7 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Chris Morris.