KKR romp to seven-wicket win over Royals

After the wily spin attack of Kolkata Knight Riders restricted Rajasthan Royals to 160 for eight, the visitor raced to the target in 18.5 overs as Sunil Narine (35 off 25 balls) and Robin Uthappa (48 off 36 balls) put on 69 runs off 49 balls for the second wicket. 

The Kolkata team had lost Chris Lynn cheaply. With this win, Kolkata joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in the lead with six points. By the time Narine was run out, the Knights had put itself on the road to victory. 

Earlier, the trio of Piyush Chawla (1/18), Kuldeep Yadav (1/23) and part-timer Nitish Rana (2/11) conceded 52 runs in 10 overs, sharing four wickets amongst themselves. KKR’s lead-spinner Sunil Narine had an off-day as the West Indian went wicketless and leaked 48 runs in four overs. 

Pacer Tom Curran (2/19) chipped in with a couple of wickets towards the end. Royals, put in to bat, was not able to build on the start provided by captain Ajinkya Rahane (36 off 19) and D’Arcy Short (44 off 43) after the openers shared a 54-run stand off 41 balls. 

The highlight of Rahane’s knock was hitting Narine for four consecutive boundaries in his opening over. His innings ended when KKR skipper and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik effected a brilliant run-out after collecting the ball from in front of the stumps. Rahane’s opening partner Short ended up with his highest score in the tournament so far but it was not one of his fluent knocks. 

The Australian, used to playing on bouncy pitches back home, later said he is still getting used to the low bounce in his maiden IPL stint. The in-form Sanju Samson (7) getting out cheaply also hurt the home team which could never get a move-on with wickets falling at regular intervals. KKR began with the spin from both sides and Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav kept things tights, conceding nine runs in the first three overs. 

Rahane welcomed Narine in the next over hitting him for four consecutive boundaries as the over went for 18 runs. The following over from pacer Shivam Mavi too produced 13 runs, giving the innings a much-needed impetus. 

However, Royals did not get a big enough partnership thereafter as KKR spinners continued to control the innings. An 18-ball 24 from Jos Buttler in the death overs helped Royals get past the 150-run mark. 

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 160/8 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 36, D’Arcy Short 44, Nitish Rana 2/11) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 163/3 in 18.5 overs (Sunil Narine 35, Robin Uthappa 48, Dinesh Karthik 42*, Nitish Rana 35*)