Last night, Kolkata Knight Riders lived upto the expectations of the jam-packed crowd at Eden Gardens of Kolkata, as they won the match beating Rajasthan Royals by 25 runs.
However, the victory didn’t come easy to the players of KKR, in most part of the game, Rajasthan Royals’ players were winning the game. It were the bowlers of Kolkata Knight Riders who played extremely well and kept on bowling the tight lines and lengths, which didn’t gave any opportunity to the players of Rajasthan Royals to come close to the target runs.
https://instagram.com/p/BjIcqAXloFL/?utm_source=ig_embed
The consistent tight bowling by the players of KKR broke the momentum of Rajasthan Royals and they ended up losing the match to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Earlier in the first innings, Kolkata Knight Riders had a dreadful start as Sunil Narine got dismissed after couple of balls. He scored 4 runs in 2 balls. Chris Lynn, on the other hand played a slow knock and scored 18 off 22 balls. Dinesh Karthik, the skipper of KKR maintained his calm and scored 52 runs in 38 balls, he was dismissed after he was caught out by Ajinkya Rahane. Shubman Gill scored 28 runs off 17 balls he played.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjIWI-tl-qO/?taken-by=kkriders
Andre Russell played an absolute wonderful innings and took the scores up with a storm. He remained unbeaten at the score of 49 runs that he made in 28 balls.
The players of Kolkata Knight Riders took away the match from Rajasthan Royals, who opened the match extremely well but somehow lost their way in the middle of it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjIV57YlboJ/?taken-by=kkriders
Andre Russell was named Man Of The Match last night, here’s what he said after the match:
“It feels very good. It has been a hectic road since the game against KXIP. Every game moving forward has been like a final. We know how important this was and it feels good to have contributed with the bat and the ball.
I think it is just a clear head. You get a short ball, you get a slower ball or a wide ball, you try to play a shot accordingly. It is about having a still base. I try to swing hard and believe in my ability. I have some good sticks as well.
I think it is good to take responsibilty as a senior player. I don’t mind smashing and finishing the innings off and then come and bowl the first over. It was a good game for all of us.
As I said, every game from here on is a final and we cannot take anything for granted. It is going to be a new game with a new ball and we will have to start on the front foot.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhnroA0BIr9/?taken-by=ajinkyarahane
The captain of Rajasthan Royals, Ajinkya Rahane said:
“Disappointed, especially given how we started, taking 4-5 wickets early. That partnership (between Karthik and Gill) and the dropped catch of Russell hurt us. When you get a start like that, you generally look to win the game.
I think KKR bowled really well. They know the conditions really well. It was gettable. They were 10-12 runs short. It’s important to finish the games and we didn’t have partnerships towards the end. When me and Sanju were batting, we were looking to play positively.
I told him during the second timeout that I will go after bowlers and that you bat through. But unfortunately he got out. I think overall we played good cricket. Our bowling unit fantastic this season. Need to improve in our batting and fielding.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi_RoOwBcW8/?taken-by=dk00019
The captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, Dinesh Karthik said:
“I think winning 4 games on the row feels good. Especially this one as we were under the pump. Credit to Shubman Gill. Absorbed all the pressure when he walked in. Before he got out, he played some lovely shots and eased the pressure off me.
In these games, it is about the attitude and the belief about how much you have got. In these kind of crunch games, it is never about the par score; it’s about how much pressure you can put on the other side. Touch wood, the bowlers have picked up their game.
We fielded well as well today, which was good to see. They (RR) always think out of the box. They kept a short leg and put pressure on the batsman.
They get the captain thinking. You need to hold your game and nerves. Every game is important from here on. Next game is important as there are two good teams which will be competing.”
Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
