IPL 2021 Match 18: Rajasthan Royals register their 2nd win with an emphatic win over KKR
Rajasthan Royals produced a dominating performance to defeat
Kolkata Knight Riders easily in the 18th match of IPL 2021 played at
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and
decided to field first. It was a disciplined effort by RR new ball bowlers not
allowing Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana to score runs easily. Gill struggled a lot
with his timing putting pressure on Rana. A superb direct hit by Jos Buttler
ended the innings for Gill. At the end of the first six overs, KKR scored 25
for 1.
After the field restrictions, RR bowlers kept tight lines
and lengths to Rana and Rahul Tripathi. Kolkata Knight Riders made 45 for 1 at
the end of the first timeout. Chetan Sakaryia did the damage for RR getting rid
of Nitish Rana providing an easy catch to Sanju Samson. Sunil Narine was
promoted at number 4 but did not contribute many runs as Jaiswal took a superb
running catch.
Rahul Tripathi looked in decent touch putting some pressure
on RR bowlers. KKR went into more trouble as Eoin Morgan was run out in an
unfortunate manner. RR bowlers made life tough for KKR batsmen. At the end of
the second timeout, KKR looked in trouble at 84 for 4.
After the second timeout, KKR batsmen struggled to hit
boundaries and kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Tripathi’s innings
ended providing an easy catch to Parag at deep midwicket. Tripathi and Karthik
added 33 runs for the 5th wicket. Andre Russell smacked a brilliant
six before Chris Morris dismissed him as Miller took a good catch at long-on.
Chetan Sakaryia leaped above his head taking a lovely catch at extra-cover to
dismiss Dinesh Karthik. Despite being hit for a six by Cummins, Chris Morris
got wickets of Cummins and Shivam Mavi. At the end of the 20 overs, KKR posted a modest total of 133 for 9 in 20 overs.
Chasing a modest total of 134 runs to win, Jaiswal looked in
cracking touch putting pressure on KKR bowlers right from the word go while Jos
Buttler faced some tight bowling. Varun Chakravarthy provided the breakthrough
for KKR dismissing Buttler. RR captain Samson showed intent right from the word
go. Mavi got rid of dangerous Jaiswal trying to hit a big shot providing an
easy catch to substitute Nagarkoti. At the end of the first six overs, RR made
50 for 2.
Samson and Dube steadied the innings for RR hitting some
lovely boundaries keeping the scoreboard ticking. At the end of the first
timeout, RR scored 77 for 2.
Varun Chakravarthy provided another important breakthrough for
KKR getting the wicket of Dube trying to heave as Krishna took an easy catch.
Dube and Samson added 45 runs for the 3rd wicket. KKR bowlers put
some pressure on RR batsmen with tight bowling. Krishna struck for KKR getting
rid of Tewaita with a sharp bouncer providing an easy catch to Nagarkoti. Miller
was given out by the umpire but on review, it was overturned due to the ball
pitching outside leg. Few balls later, KKR decided to review the decision but
was retained. At the end of the second timeout, RR made 113 for 4.
After the timeout, David Miller and Sanju Samson kept RR
ahead hitting boundaries and rotating the strike. Samson hit the winning runs
with a single. Samson and Miller put on unbeaten 34 runs for the 5th
wicket.
Rajasthan Royals 134 for 4 in 18.5 overs (Sanju Samson 42*,
Miller 24*, Chakravarthy 2/32) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 133 for 9 in 20 overs
(Rahul Tripathi 36, Karthik 25, Morris 4/23) by six wickets.
For his 4 for 23 in 4 overs, Chris Morris was awarded the
man of the match. CSK will face RCB in tomorrow’s first match while SRH will
take on DC at Chennai.
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