IPL 2018: KKR beat Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets, inch closer to playoffs

Chasing 143, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets and improved their chances to make it to the playoffs.

In the 49th match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They also strengthened their position at number three in the VIVO IPL points table. Chris Lynn played a crucial knock for Kolkata and Dinesh Karthik took the inning to a favourable conclusion. Kuldeep Yadav clinched four wickets for KKR, including Jos Buttler and Ajinkya Rahane, he was instrumental in derailing Rajasthan's innings after they started well with the bat. The match was important considering a loss here meant a slip in the table and dim chances for the playoffs.

Earlier, KKR won the toss and opted to field. Rajasthan openers Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler had blown the bugle and Kolkata looked helpless. It was raining runs, Kolkata was desperate for a breakthrough. To Kolkata's rejoice, the moment finally came as Tripathi was back into the pavilion. Just as Kolkata found an inroad into the game, they removed captain Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson. From 63/1 in the fifth over to 96/5 in the 12th over, Rajasthan committed a debacle with the batting. Kolkata spinners inflicted major harm on Rajasthan, especially Kuldeep Yadav  who wreaked havoc with the ball, clinching 4 wickets in his spell.

Chasing the target of 143 runs, KKR batsmen Sunil Nairne smashed 21 runs in the first over but soon fell. Lynn stretched his arms after being silent for a while, he kept adding runs and Karthik accompanied him. Ish Sodhi kept the batsmen guessing with his deliveries. The run-a-ball approach was paying off for KKR. The batsmen changed gear and some boundaries were visible soon. Buttler fell a few runs short of his fifty but Karthi carried on. In the end, KKR sealed the victory at home.
 

IPL 2018 MATCH 49 KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS (KKR vs RR) SCOREBOARD

Kolkata Knight Riders innings update: Over by over

Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI for today's match: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Javon Searles, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

Over 1: Sunil Narine and Chirs Lynn to open for Kolkata Knight Riders, Krisnappa Gowtham to start for Rajasthan. First ball, Narine starts with a six. And here is a four. Narine steps out and hits a six over the head of Gowtham. Makes room and picks the gap on the off side, goes for four. Just one. Dot to end. KKR: 21-0

Over 2: Ben Stokes comes in. High in the air, Narine gone for 21. Lynn blocks. Mis-hit. Wicket maiden for Stokes. KKR: 21-1 

Over 3: Jofra Archer comes in, Two dots ball. One run. Six for Lynn. Uppercut by Lynn for four. KKR: 32-1

Over 4: Uthappa on strike, Stokes to bowl. Just one. In the air, just short. One run. Glanced by Uthappa for two. Stokes strike again, Uthappa hooks and his caught in the deep. Classic cover drive for four. RR: 40-2. 

Over 5: Jofra continues, brilliant bowling. He is giving no width. Exceptional bowling and fielding. A little width and it goes for four. Two runs for Rana. KKR: 46-2

Over 6: Stokes continues, slower one to Lynn. Mis field, just one. Another single. Single to Lynn. Dot ball. Single to end the over. KKR: 51-2

Over 7: Ish Sodhi comes, in the air, just short of him. Would have been an exceptional catch. Unlucky, just out of the reach of the fielder, four runs. KKR: 57-2

Over 8: Gowtham is back, one run. Another single. Six, Rana comes out of the crease. KKR: 68-2

Over 9: Sodhi continues, one run. Huge appeal for LBW turned down. Reviewed. Decision overturned. Rana is out. Dinesh Karthik comes to the crease. Dot ball. Double to end the over. KKR: 73-3

Over 10: Jaydev Unadkat comes to the attack, one run. One run. Good shot for four. Brilliant cover drive by Karthik. KKR: 80-3

Over 11: Sodhi continues, keeping it really tight for the batsmen. Another dot ball. Single to Karthik. In the air, doesn't carry. KKR: 83-3

Over 12: Unadkat continues, Well fielded. Pulled for four, good shot by Lynn. Single. Another single. KKR: 89-3

Over 13: Anureet Singh comes to the attack, Single to Karthik. Good shot for double. Single. Four. 10 runs from the over. KKR: 95-3

Over 14: Archer comes back, and is greeted with a cracking boundary for four. This time goes straight to the fielder. Single. Dot ball. TOp edge for four to Lynn. KKR: 109-3

Over 15: Sodhi comes back, hit for a four. KKR: 116-3

Over 16: Stokes continues, Lynn hits high in the air and Anureet takes it. Lynn goes for 45. Leg-by, one run. Reviewed. Not out. umpire's call. Andre Russell on strike. One run to Andre. KKR: 118-4

Over 17: Unadkat comes back, and there she goes for four. Single to Andre. Nice touch for four. Two dots. KKR: 129-4

Over 18: Archer comes back, single to Karthik. Brilliant four by Russell. One run. Edge, goes for four. SIX. KKR win by 6 wickets. 

Kolkata Knight Riders innings analysis after 14 overs

Chasing a modest target of 143 runs, Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders. Gowtham bowled the first over and conceded 21 runs as Narine smacked him all over the park for 2 sixes and 2 fours. Ben Stokes came to bowl the 2nd over and got the wicket of Narine of the 2nd ball. Stokes bowled the first wicket maiden of the match. To keep the pressure on KKR, Jofra Archer was asked to bowl the 3rd ball and gave away 1 run in first 3 balls before Chris Lynn unleashed his wrath on him as wacked him for a six and a four as Archer conceded 11 runs. Stokes continued from the other end and didn't allow KKR batsmen to score big runs as he took the wicket of Robin Uthappa. The KKR vice captain got perished while trying to play a full shot. After 4 KKR were 40 for 2

Jofra Archer bowled the 5th over and beaten Nitish Rana on most of the occasions as he conceded 6 runs in last 2 balls. Stokes came in to bowl his 3rd over and conceded only 5 runs as he didn't give KKR batsmen easy balls.

Ish Sodhi bowled the 7th over and Lynn struggled to nudge him around for even a single while Rana tried to play some shots but managed to score only one four. Gowtham came to bowl the 8th over and again went for over 10 runs as Rana the aggressor between the two KKR batsmen on crease hit a six off the 4th ball. Ish Sodhi got the wicket of Nitish Rana as he got deceived and DRS overturned the on-field decision. Dinesh Karthik came to the crease after the fall of the 3rd wicket. Jaydev Unadkat came in to bowl the 10th and bowled with good line & length as KKR batsmen were not able to pick the bowler's variation before KKR skipper Karthik showed his class by scoring a four. After 10 RR were 80/3

With only 63 runs to defend Sodhi bowled the 11th over and Karthik, Lynn didn't try to score any big shot and nudged him for a single and doubles as he conceded only 3 runs. Rajasthan Royals were pumped up and their ground fielding was brilliant as they choked easy singles but at this juncture when the equation was run and ball, Jaydev bowled a short ball which went for four and the balance again swing in KKR favours. After 12 overs KKR needed 54 runs in 48 balls. Anureet Singh gave away 10 runs in his first over as it seems invincible for Rajasthan Royals to make a comeback. In a desperate need of a wicket, Jofra Archer was asked to bowl the 14th over but Lynn had some other plans for him as he slapped the first ball for four to avoid any undue pressure on KKR. After hitting the first ball for four KKR batsmen took singles before a top edge went for four over the keeper's head. 

Rajasthan Royals innings update: Over by over

Rajasthan Royals playing XI for today's match: Jos Buttler(w), Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh

Over 1: Jason Roy and Rahul Tripathi to open for Rajasthan Royals. Shivam Mavi to start it for Kolkata Knight Riders. Leading edge, very lucky for Rahul. Good ball, inside edge, did not go onto the stumps. Very good ball. Right onto the body of Rahul. Brilliant over by Shivam Mavi, just two runs from it. RR: 2-0.

Over 2: Prasidh Krishna comes to the attack. Single to Butler. Rahul hits that one over the cover boundary for six. He made room for himself. That is a cracking shot for four. On the back foot, punched through point. Leading edge and goes for four on the third man boundary. Amazing straight drive for four. 19 runs from the over. RR: 21-0

Over 3: Mavi continues, Butler gives himself some room, edges it over the slip for four. This time he scoops over the fine leg boundary for six. What an amazing shot. Butler goes square of the wicket and wacks it for four. Pulled on the leg side, goes for four again. Brilliant scoop once again, wonderful six. Huge over. Makes room, hit a four. 28 runs from the over. RR: 49-0

Over 4: Tripathi, DOT ball followed by a four in the cow corner region. Another DOT ball. A quick single taken off the 4th ball. WIDE. DOT ball. butler hit the last ball of the over for 4 to end the over. RR: 59-0

Over 5: Andre Russell comes to the attack, outside the off stump, Tripathi lets it go. Pushed down the leg for a double. Inside edge, Tripathi gets one. Good bouncer to Bulter, on his body,  just one to him. Bouncer, Tripathi tries to put it away, gets his glove and Karthik takes a simple catch. He goes for 27. Ajinkya Rahane comes to the crease, just one. RR: 63-1

Over 6: Narine continues, just one. Two dot balls. Swing and a miss. Another dot ball. Swept for four. RR: 68-1

Over 7: Russell continues, two runs. Rahane makes some room and hits a cracking shot, but very well saved. Single for Rahane. Dot to finish the over. RR: 74-1

Over 8: Kuldeep Yadav comes to the attack. Rahane tries to reverse sweep and is clean bowled. There was no need to play such a shot. He goes for 11. Sanju Samson comes to the crease. Single to end the over. RR: 79-2

Over 9: Prasidh is back, just one for him. Good shot, no run. Single. Nicely placed for four by Samson. Dot ball, there was never a run there. Just six form it. RR: 85-2

Over 10: Yadav continues, no run. Butler reverse sweeps, and he is caught. Unnecessary shot. He goes for 39. Ben Stokes is the new man in. Samson hits a four. RR: 94-3

Over 11: Narine comes back, Two run to Stokes, one run to Stokes. Sanju swings and misses. LBW appeal. Reviewed. Brilliant review. Decision overturned. Samson goes for 12. Huge wicket for KKR. Stuart Binny comes to the crease. RR: 96-4

Over 12: Kuldeep Yadav comes back, Binny is Stumped. He had no clue about the turn. He goes for one. Gowtham cones to the crease, single to him. Brilliant ball. Single to Gowtham. RR: 100-5

Over 13: Mavi continues, Dot balls. Single to Stokes. Good shot just for one. Single to Stokes. Gowtham tries to avoid the bouncer, gets his glove and easy catch for Karthik. Gowtham goes for 3. RR: 103-6

Over 14: Jaydev Unadkat is the new man in. Kuldeep continues, Single to Unadkat. Stokes plays it back to Kuldeep, easy catch. Soft dismissal. He scored 11 runs. RR: 107-7

Over 15: Mavi continues, Dot ball. Brilliant shot for four by Unadkat. Brilliantly hooked for six. Quick single. RR: 118-7

Over 16: Narine continues, Dot ball. Nicely placed by Unadkat for four. Just one. Dot ball. Unadkat hits a four. RR: 128-7

Over 17: Prasidh continues, Swing and a miss. Ish Sodhi is out. Jofra Archer comes in and hits a four. RR: 134-9

Over 18: High in the air. Dropped. Three runs from the over. RR: 137-9

Over 19: Prasidh continues, single taken. Full toss, failed to put away. Another single. And again, full toss not dispatched to boundary. Brilliant Yorker, clean bowled. RR 142-all out.

Rajasthan Royals innings analysis after end of innings

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and asked Rajasthan Royals to bat first. Rahul Tripathi and Jos Butler opened the innings while Shivam Mavi, who is returning after injury bowled the first and nearly got the wicket of Tripathi off the first ball but Nitish Rana dropped the catch standing at first slip. Mavi bowled an excellent over with pace & bounce and conceded only 2 runs. Another youngster Prasidh Krishna came to bowl the 2nd over and Tripathi welcomed him with a six over cover followed by a four in the backward point region. The run feast for Tripathi was continued as an outside edge went for a four followed by a classic straight drive for four. Prasidh gave away 19 runs in his 1st over. Mavi continued from the other end and it looked as if Butler is continuing from where he left another day against Mumbai Indians and hit a boundary off the first ball followed by a scoop shot for six. The swashbuckling Butler muscled the next two balls for four followed by another scoop for six and ended the over with a four in the backward region to collect 28 runs in Mavi's first over. After 3 overs RR were 49/0

After horrific bowling by the young pacers in first 3 over, Dinesh Karthik moved to Sunil Narine and he bowled well in patches as RR batsmen were able to score 10 runs. Andre Russell bowled the 5th over and conceded only 4 runs in first 4 balls before getting the wicket of Rahul Tripathi wicket of a bouncer. Ajinkya Rahane came to the crease after the wicket of Tripathi (27 runs off 15 balls) as Russell completed his successful over. Narine continued from the other end and bowled brilliantly to give only 1 run in first 5 balls but Rahane placed the last ball for a boundary to end the over. After 6 RR were 68/1

Andre Russell bowled the 7th over and conceded only 6 runs as Rahane and Butler looked to score in singles and doubles. Kuldeep Yadav came to bowl the 8th over and got the wicket of Rahane as the RR captain tried to be innovative but got bowled while trying to reverse sweep. Sanju Samson came in after Rahane (11 runs off 12 balls) wicket and Kuldeep Yadav completed his first over successfully conceding only 5 runs. Prasidh Krishna came to bowl the 9th over after getting hit for 19 runs in his first over. Despite being hit for a boundary Prasidh gave away only 6 runs in his 2nd over as he bowled with great line and length.

Kuldeep came in to bowl the 10th over and got the big wicket of Jos Butler who gets caught at backward point region while trying to play a cheeky reverse sweep. Ben Stokes came to the crease after the wicket of Butler (39 runs off 22 balls) who failed to make history by hitting 6 consecutive 50s in IPL. Kuldeep conceded 7 runs in his 2nd over and gave the much-needed breakthrough to KKR. To choke the run flow Dinesh Karthik asked the mystery spinner Narine to bowl the 11th over and got the wicket of Sanju Samson, a big blow to Rajasthan. Dinesh took DRS two overturn on-field umpire decision of not out and it was overturned. Kuldeep Yadav came to bowl the 12th over and got Stuart Binny stumped. Gowtham replaced Binny in the middle as Kuldeep conceded 5 runs in his 2nd over. After getting a flying start Rajasthan Royals lost 3 wickets in last 3 over which changes the whole complexion of the game, a brilliant come back by Kolkata Knight Riders led by Kuldeep Yadav who took 3 off the 5 wickets fallen.

Shivam Mavi bowled the 13th over and bowled brilliantly as he gave away only 3 runs and got the wicket of Gowtham. Kuldeep Yadav came to bowl the 14th over and got the wicket of Ben Stokes as he took his 4th wicket and Stokes horrific in IPL 2018 continued. With two tailenders Jaydev Unadkat and Ish Sodhi on the crease and 7 wickets down it seems Rajasthan Royals would not be able to play the full 20 overs. But Unadkat had something else in his armour as he hit Mavi for a six and a four in the 15th over. Narine bowled the 16th over and conceded 8 runs as Unadkat hit 2 boundaries in the over.

Prasidh Krishna bowled the 17th over and got the wicket of Ish Sodhi as inside edge onto the boot went up in air resulted in his wicket. Andre Russell came to bowl the 18th over and got the wicket of Jofra and he nearly took the 10th wicket but Krishna drops a sitter. Russell conceded 3 runs in his 3rd over. Prasidh bowled the penultimate over and Rajasthan Royal's tailenders were only managed to score 5 single before Unadkat got clean bowled off the last ball. After the openers, Unadkat was the third highest scorer for Rajasthan Royals were all out inside 20 overs.

 
Here are a few things to know about the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals (KKR vs RR) match to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
 
What Jacques Kallis said ahead of today’s IPL match (KKR vs RR): Kolkata Knight Riders may not have been consistent so far in this year's IPL but chief coach Jacques Kallis believes it's a matter of playing two good games which can seal a playoff berth for them. The Dinesh Karthik-led side lost two back-to-back matches to Mumbai Indians but revived their campaign by posting this season's highest total of 245/6 in an away match against Kings XI Punjab. The win means KKR's fate is hanging in balance with two more rounds left in the round-robin league. "Destiny is still in our hands. If we play two good games of cricket, we are through to the playoffs and that's what we are interested in. It's about taking one game at a time and play well tomorrow," Kallis told reporters on the eve of their match against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens.
 
We have the confidence to beat KKR, says Rajasthan Royals pacer Kulkarni: Rajasthan Royals pacer Dhawal Kulkarni expressed confidence that his team can beat Kolkata Knight Riders riding on the momentum of registering three back-to-back victories in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018). Royals kept alive their play-off hopes by beating defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets with two overs to spare on Sunday night. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side will face two-time champions KKR at the Edens Gardens in today’s IPL match. "All the games are crucial for us. Maybe, in the next game we've got a good chance to beat Kolkata Knight Riders. With the momentum that we've got, I'm sure we'll be able to do that," said Kulkarni.
 
Ajinkya Rahane fined Rs 1.2 million for slow over-rate: Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane has been penalised Rs 1.2 million for maintaining a slow over-rate during his side's Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Rajasthan Royals thumped the defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets, thanks to England batsman Jos Buttler (unbeaten at 94) for his fifth consecutive half-century in IPL 2018. It should be noted that it was Rahane's first breach of the IPL Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offenses this season. "As it was his team's first offense of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offenses, Rahane was fined Rs 1.2 million," the IPL release said.
 
Here is how KXIP and RCB compare head to head in IPL matches played so far:
 
Overall:

Matches – 17, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 8, Rajasthan Royals won – 9
 
At the Eden Gardens:

Matches – 6, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5, Rajasthan Royals won – 1