Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs in Dubai, on Wednesday to end their two-match winning streak. Chasing 175 to win, KKR restricted the Royals to 137 for 9 at the end of their 20 overs. This is KKR’s second successive win in IPL 2020 which helps them get up to the second position in the points table.
Shubman Gill once again lead charge for KKR
Royals skipper Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bowl first in Dubai. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, was happy batting first. Shubman Gill yet again anchored the KKR innings as he scored 47 off 34 balls. Sunil Narine played a brisk cameo before he was dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat. Nitish Rana, walked out to bat at his number three position.
With Gill, he added a quickfire 46 runs stand inside five overs to take KKR past 80 in the first 10 overs. He perished in the 10th over which brought Andre Russell to the crease at number four. He hit three sixes in his 14-ball 24 and looked good to get a big one in Dubai.
However, a mistimed shot got him caught in the point boundary. Eoin Morgan, yet again was unbeaten on 34 a Kolkata finished on 174/6 at the end of their 20 overs. The total looked a little below par at the halfway point.
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KKR bowlers were right on the money
Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers came out all guns blazing in the second half. Pat Cummins dismissed his countryman Steve Smith for just three to give KKR an early breakthrough. However, it was a night for the young KKR pacers to rise to the occasion.
Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti took four wickets between themselves in six overs to break the backbone of the Royals chase. While Mavi dismissed Jos Buttler (21) and Sanju Samson (8), Nagarkoti accounted for Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag’s wickets cheaply.
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A late surge from Tom Curran was not enough to see his side home. he scored an unbeaten 54 off just 36 balls which was too little too late for the Royals. Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Varun Chakravarty too kept up his good form from last game picking two wickets from his spell. Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav took two each.
What was the turning point in the game?
The match will also be remembered for some outstanding fielding from both sides. Sanju Samson first took a brilliant catch off-balanced to dismiss Pat Cummins. Next, it was Kamlesh Nagarkoti’s turn as he dived full-length to dismiss Jofra Archer.
Shivam Mavi was awarded the Man of the Match for his spell of 2 for 20, picking the key wickets of Buttler and Samson.
“When I started bowling, it was seaming. So I thought I’ll stick to normal lines and lengths. Before the game, we thought it would be flatter. So I just stuck to a length. Have played against these big stars before, but I knew it wasn’t coming onto the bat” said Mavi after his matchwinning performance.
