The Rajasthan Royals were ruthless as they returned to winning ways against Kolkata Knight Riders, defeating them by 6 wickets in Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. The most expensive player at the 2021 IPL Auction, Chris Morris ran through the KKR side with a four-wicket haul from which they could not recover.
Morris dismissed Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Pat Cummins and Shivam Mavi before Sanju Samson guided the Royals over the line with David Miller for company. The Royals had lost three out of four before this game.
Asked to bat first, the Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a bad start as Shubman Gill struggled to find his timing and Nitish Rana felt the pressure.
Gill was the first to depart, run out trying to steal a quick single by a sharp piece of fielding from Jos Buttler for 11 of 19 deliveries.
Rana joined by Rahul Tripathi and the duo threatened to have an impact but stuttered. The opener was the next to fall with young Chetan Sakariya having him caught behind for 22 off 25 deliveries.
Sunil Narine, asked to add some impetuous in the batting, managed one boundary in his 7 ball knock off 6. The southpaw was dismissed by an excellent catch from Yashashvi Jaiswal as he looked to clobber Jaydev Unadkat over midwicket.
Eoin Morgan and Tripathi could not decide on a run a few deliveries later leading to the captain walking back for 0 having faced as many deliveries. Midway through the innings, KKR were 61/4 with quite a task on hand for the lower order, who batted brilliantly in their previous game against Chennai Super Kings.
Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik dragged KKR to 94/5 before the number 3 batter, looking to cut free yet again, was caught nonchalantly by Riyan Parag off a slower one from Mustafizur Rahman. Rajasthan for the major part of the innings had been able to stifle the KKR’s batting but had Andre Russell and Karthik to deal with in the final phase four-odd overs.
Russell (9) and Karthik (25) got a hit each but neither could get going as they would have wanted with Chris Morris accounting for them in the space of three deliveries in the 18th over. Both dismissed looking to break free and both caught brilliantly by David Miller and Chetan Sakariya, leaving KKR reeling at 118/7.
Mustafizur bowled a 9-run over after that as KKR continued to look for the big hits, failing more often than not.
In the final over, Pat Cummins hammered Morris for a six to start it off before Parag caught the next one out of thin air in the deep, leaving KKR at 133/8. Morris rounded off the innings with another wicket, finishing with 4 to his name as KKR failed to add any more runs to their total.
KKR’s bad day at work continued to haunt them as Yashasvi Jaiswal started off the chase with a few glorious hits. Jos Buttler, who copped a blow to the head, though could not keep the youngster company, falling to Varun Chakravarthy for 5.
Jaiswal and Sanju Samson kept the KKR bowlers at bay and ensured the scoreboard kept moving, at good pace.
Jaiswal, who was playing with great elegance, smashed 5 fours during his knock of 22 before Shivam Mavi had him caught in the deep.
Samson, unlike most days, took his time as the others attacked around him, trying to ensure that he could take the team over the line.
Samson and Shivam Dube put on 45 runs in just under 6 overs, taking the Royals ever closer to a win. Dube, who scored 22 and hit a couple of boundaries to go with a 6, was the third to depart and Chakravarthy’s second of the evening.
Samson continued to be solid at his end while Rahul Tewatia added 5 more, before Prasidh Krishna had his number with a short, sharp bouncer. The Royals were 100/4 with David Miller and Samson lining up the finish.
Miller survived a couple of appeals while Samson kept chipping away at his end. Eoin Morgan rung in the bowling changes, but the Royals batters found the gaps with relative ease of the pacers.
Samson hit the winning runs off Cummins in the 19th over with seven deliveries to go. Samson remained unbeaten on 42 while Miller had 24 to his name.
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