WHAT THEY SAID
Shivam Mavi, Man of the Match:
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.
Dinesh Karthik: Wouldn't call it a perfect game. Lot of areas we need to improve. The way Gill batted, Mavi bowled, Russell batted. Also the youngsters going after the high catches. Archer bowled really well. Wasn't that easy a wicket to bat on. Couple of guys made it look better than it was.
Kamlesh Nagarkoti:
The situation was a bit in our favour when I came to bowl. Just wanted to keep my plans simple and execute them. I want to thank my family, the KKR support staff and everyone else who have stood by me. Many people like my family, Dravid Sir, Abhishek
bhaiyya . It’s a nice experience to learn from Pat Cummins who is a really good bowler. I try to execute what I learn from him.
Steve Smith:
Didn't quite go to plan. That happens in T20 cricket sometimes, we have a few areas to improve on, and keep moving forward. KKR like to chase, so we planned to put their death bowling under pressure but obviously couldn't do that as we lost too many wickets upfront. Few of us still thought we were playing in Sharjah. Disappointing tonight but we need to keep moving forward.
HIGHLIGHTS
RR 137/9 after 20 overs: Rajasthan Royals perishes by 37 runs even as Rajpoot slams a maximum and Curran hits a four off the last over. This is RR's first loss this season.
RR 126/9 after 19 overs:
Curran welcomes Narine with a clobbering for a maximum! He follows it up with two sixes later in the over to get to his fifty. A little too late but that would help RR in the long run with a better NRR. 20 runs off that over.
RR 106/9 after 18 overs:
OUT! Jaydev Unadkat departs as Kamlesh Nagarkoti takes a comfortable catch. But wait, Unadkat seems to be arguing about something. It is being suspected that the ball touches the spidercam wire. Now, if that has happened it will be deemed a dead ball. The review videos are inconclusive and the on-field umpires stick to their decision. Kuldeep gets his first wicket.
RR 103/8 after 17 overs: Varun Chakravarthy ends with figures of 4-0-25-2. Quite the economical show from the mystery spinner. It has been 16 balls since the last boundary was hit.
RR 97/8 after 16 overs:
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is only bowling his first over. He ends up conceding six runs. The spinners have done the good job of checking the run flow of RR tonight.
RR 90/8 after 15 overs: Nagarkoti is everywhere... He now takes a wonderful catch darting in from long-on to lap it up at long-off as Chakravarthy ends up pocketing his third wicket for the night. Crazy! Jofra Archer goes after showing some promise, dispatching Chakravarthy for a maximum towards the empty stands at long-off.
RR 81/7 after 14 overs:
Spinners working in tandem is working wonders for the Knights. Singles and doubles isn't going to hurt the KKR players. Narine continues to bowl back of a length and the turn is only helping him to keep things tight. Shreyas Gopal perishes! There is a bit of glove on that before the ball went on to crash against the pads and loop over to Karthik. The on-field umpire signals 'Not Out', but a review changes things.
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RR 77/6 after 13 overs: Chakravarthy is back into the attack and he bowls a decent over yet again. Only four off it.
RR 73/6 after 12 overs:
The hint of turn has made DK go for Narine. The spinner concedes six after Curran hits it towards the sweeper cover area.
RR 67/6 after 11 overs:
Varun Chakravarthy has been handed the ball. And no, no more sixes tonight for Tewatia! Sharjah's hero perishes as he looks to go downtown. There is a bit of turn away from the left-hander and it beats the Haryana batsman to make a mess of the woodwork.
RR 61/5 after 10 overs: A flat six from Tewatia over backward square leg after Nagarkoti bowls it short. First of many?
RR 50/5 after 9 overs:
Curran and Tewatia resorting to singles and doubles. They cannot afford to experiment now that the top order is already back in the pavilion. Can Tewatia repeat what he did a few days ago? Mavi finishes with 4-0-20-2. Time for the strategic timeout.
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RR 43/5 after 8 overs:
Kamlesh Nagarkoti breaks free and how! He has bagged his first IPL wicket after spending the longest time away from the pitch due to an injury. The first ball of his first over was pulled by Uthappa to deep backward square leg where Mavi pouches it all too comfortably. With that dismissal, walks out Rahul Tewatia. Can he start off from where he left off last day? Only time will tell, but my, oh, my, Nagarkoti has just bagged his second wicket. Gill dives forward to pull off a magnificent catch even as the ball continued to die down on him. Two wickets and two runs from that over. Brilliant!
RR 41/3 after 7 overs:
A soft dismissal, that! Buttler was drawn in to play that shot, as Mavi delivers it short and a bit wide of off. It takes the edge to lob down to Varun Chakravarthy at short third man. Can Riyan Parag initiate the rescue act?
RR 39/2 after 6 overs: Oh, so close! Uthappa heaves a sigh of relief. He gets a leading edge which just fails to carry to Shubman Gill at backward point. Another good over; only three runs coming from it.
RR 36/2 after 5 overs: Mavi joins the party! Executes the perfect bouncer to get rid of man-in-form Sanju Samson. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman goes for a mighty pull, looking to clear the ropes, and ends up miscuing it to Narine at mid-wicket. What can ex-KKR batsman Robin Uthappa offer here? There is a missed opportunity after Gill fails to get the woodwork with a direct throw. Buttler seemed a good yard short. The Englishman, however, hits a boundary to ease the pressure off a bit.
RR 30/1 after 4 overs: Pat Cummins is back into the attack. Jos Buttler, who is know for his 360 degree, switch hits and ramp shots, utilises all of Cummins' pace to scoop it behind craftily for a six.
RR 21/1 after 3 overs:
Sanju Samson opens the scoring in style, hitting a boundary off a length ball aimed at his pads by Shivam Mavi. Six runs off that over.
RR 15/1 after 2 overs:
Pace introduced and it will be Pat Cummins, who'll bowl the second. Steve Smith living his life on the edge. First a loud and confident appeal, which the umpire isn't interested in. Seemed like it got a feather, though. This is followed by the Australia batsman skying it quiet high and the ball landing just ahead of an onrushing Dre Russ. But then it happens! Steps back to get himself some room and an edge carries to DK.
RR 12/0 after 1 over:
Sunil Narine, who used to bowl much quicker through the air until some ago, is getting the ball to turn. That might cause trouble for the opening batters. But Jos Buttler just doesn't care, does he? He shimmies down the track to see the fourth delivery disappear over wide long-on.
Sunil Narine to bowl to Jos Buttler. Interesting call, that! Steve Smith is at the non-striker's end.
SECOND INNINGS
KKR, which had gotten off to a confident start, struggled to get the big shots, especially with Jofra Archer breathing fire tonight. RR will be a happy unit, but I have got a feeling this won't be that easy a chase as it seems. We will be back with the live coverage of the second innings shortly.
KKR 174/6 after 20 overs:
An outstanding effort by Steve Smith at the ropes saves a couple of runs. However, Morgan gets one out of the park off the third delivery, beating mid-wicket. Three wides in a row! That's poor bowling from Curran. But the Englishman comes back well to bowl two back-to-back yorkers.
KKR 158/6 after 19 overs:
Kamlesh Nagarkoti to face Rajpoot. Off the third delivery, Nagarkoti slams it clear of the infield for a four.
KKR 149/6 after 18 overs: Cummins goes! A slower bouncer from Curran and the Aussie all-rounder, looking to pull it over the deep backward square boundary, mistimes. Sanju Samson takes a fine catch with a wonderful leaping effort but he lands on his head. Is that a serious injury? Doesn't seam like it. He's all smiles after Parag goes to check in on him.
KKR 141/5 after 17 overs: Jofra Archer's last over goes for 14 runs after Cummins hits him for a four and Morgan slams the last ball for a six. The England batsman would consider himself lucky that Curran lets it slip over the rope. Archer isn't happy.
KKR 127/5 after 16 overs:
Tom Curran is back to bowl his second over. Morgan and Cummins deal in singles and doubles. A wicket here would read, "Game Over" for KKR.
KKR 120/5 after 15 overs:
Ankit Rajpoot gets rid of Dre Russ - bowls quite near the wide line and forces the Jamaican big-hitter to play it away from his body. Not in complete control of the shot, Russell miscued it straight to the man stationed at deep backward point. Morgan, meanwhile, has been hit on the helmet. The team physio is out and there will be a concussion test before the England limited-overs captain can carry on. Pat Cummins is the new man in. Morgan, meanwhile, is good too go after a helmet change and strategic timeout.
KKR 108/4 after 14 overs:
Not a welcome sight for Shahrukh Khan, KKR's co-owner, who has just made it to the Dubai International Stadium. Skipper Dinesh Karthik walks after edging Jofra Archer to the keeper. Two runs from that over.
On another note, Jofra Archer has just bowled the fasted delivery of the tournament - 152.1 kph!
KKR 106/3 after 13 overs:
Gopal to bowl out. Can he take the big wicket of Pollard this over? No, he doesn't. There was a chance after Russell misfired one and it fell just short of Tewatia in the deep. The big man, on the other hand, is just getting started. Two huge maximums and there is a ball change that follows. How many ball changes are we going to see today?
KKR 90/3 after 12 overs: That's a big wicket! Shubman Gill has to walk after he gets a leading edge off a slower delivery of Archer - 140kmph. It balloons up and Archer finishes it himself, taking a comfortable catch. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik has walked in to take charge of things himself. Only a run and wicket off this over. How good is that?
KKR 89/2 after 11 overs:
Surprise! Surprise! Andre Russell has been promoted up the order so that he can face the maximum number of balls possible. Gill starts things off with a boundary but Gopal recovers well to allow only three runs off the remaining deliveries.
KKR 82/2 after 10 overs: Well, last night's hero Rahul Tewatia is here to bowl his first over. Rana slices his third ball to the deep backward point region for a boundary. Well... well... well... Tewatia bounces back yet again to send Rana home for the night. The batsman, looking to go for the big shot, has played it straight into the hands of Parag at wide long-off.
KKR 76/1 after 9 overs: Shubman Gill heaves a sigh of relief after he misfires Gopal's fourth delivery and it lands in no man's land. With Steve Smith rushing towards it, one would have thought this might be taken but Gill is safe. He hits two boundaries in that over as well.
KKR 66/1 after 8 overs: Riyan Parag has been welcomed with a huge maximum. Nitish Rana gets some space to work on and bludgeons it over long off. The big boundaries in Dubai doesn't help Parag's cause as the batsmen run three off the next delivery as Rana gets an outside edge rolling over to the third man area. 14 runs come from that over.
KKR 52/1 after 7 overs:
Shubman Gill is yet to be dismissed by a spinner in the IPL. Will Shreyas Gopal break the streak? No. At least, not for now. He tries out a number of variations from giving the ball more air time to flatter and fuller ones. More or less a decent over, until Gill powers the last ball to the ropes near deep mid-wicket.
KKR 42/1 after 6 overs: The last over of the powerplay will be bowled by Tom Curran. He starts off with a wide down leg but comes back well to keep it down to only a run off the next four balls. Nitish Rana, who just replaced Narine at the crease, however, has worked the next one off towards the point region for a boundary.
KKR 36/1 after 5 overs:
Jaydev Unadkat is a relieved man after he manages to get rid of Sunil Narine with a slower delivery but only after the Trinidadian hits him for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries. Rolls his fingers around this one, Narine swings and misses. Bowled! That is Unadkat's first wicket in IPL 2020.
KKR 25/0 after 4 overs:
Not a good start to the over for RR after Rajpoot sends down a wide. Narine frees his arms to slam a boundary off the first legitimate delivery. Two balls and a single later, Shubman joins in on the fun and hammers this one through mid-wicket. There is an appeal off the last delivery for an LBW but it falls on deaf ears.
KKR 14/0 after 3 overs:
Not again! Robin Uthappa has put another sitter down. Sunil Narine mistimed a slower delivery from Jaydev Unadkat and skied it really, really high. Uthappa did get under it in time at mid-on but alas! Even Narine looked surprised.
KKR 10/0 after 2 overs:
Ankit Rajpoot to bowl. He had had a decent show in the previous match. What can he do today? Shubman Gill takes him for a ride in the very second ball of the over. Delivered around the line of off but Shubman Gill is quick to pick the length early and muscle it over long-on for a SIX.
KKR 1/0 after 1 over:
Jofra Archer keeping it between 147-150 kmph! And with the deliveries hitting the deck this hard, KKR obviously wouldn't be wanting to take undue risks. Perfect line. Perfect length.
Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine to open the batting. Jofra Archer to have a go with the new ball.
- JUST IN: KKR co-owner Shahrukh Khan will be attending the match today. Hopefully, that should be enough to lift the boys' spirits!
FIRST INNINGS
- PLAYING XI: Both teams are unchanged from their last contests.
Kolkata Knight Riders :
Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (w/c), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Rajasthan Royals :
Jos Buttler (w), Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat
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TOSS UPDATE: Rajasthan Royals win toss, Kolkata Knight Riders asked to bat.
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PITCH REPORT by Simon Doull and Michael Slater: We have the same pitch that was used two nights ago with a day in between. Rolled in grass, very firm underneath and we know that batting was really starting to work here. It is hard for the bowlers. This particular ground, the spinners are really starting to take control. They have taken more wickets and bowled less than the quick bowlers, they are really starting to play a role. Biggest ground we have got. We have a great illustration of what happens in Sharjah that does not happen here. And that's what brings the spinners in play. I am batting first here. All five games have been won by the team batting first.
- Who will the coin flip favour: Steve Smith or Dinesh Karthik? Which side will bat first? Who will feature in KKR/RR's Playing XI? Get all your questions answered in about 10 minutes from now!
- The team buses are in! Which side are you cheering for tonight?
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Poll time, folks!
MATCH PREVIEW
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium looked too small and the bowling of Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab too easy for the batsmen of Rajasthan Royals. On Wednesday, it will be interesting to find out if the bigger boundaries at Dubai or the bowlers from Kolkata Knight Riders could have any impact on them.
The Royals is indeed on a roll, having gotten off to a spectacular start. It has won both of its matches, chasing in excess of 200. And Sunday's win against Punjab was historic, being the highest run-chase in IPL's history.
The Riders, though, is unlikely to be intimidated. It too is coming into its third game after winning its last. And its batting too boasts some of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the game.
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It promises to be an interesting match and would be particularly interesting to see what Steve Smith does after winning the toss. All the five games – including the two that went to the Super Over – played here saw the team batting first win.
The Royals' confidence in chasing big totals is not misplaced. When a team has Jos Buttler's explosive power and Smith's brisk yet assured style of pushing the score at the top of the order, followed by Sanju Samson's brilliance and form, no total looks beyond reach. If it seems so at times, there are the likes of the newly unearthed danger man Rahul Tewatia, Robin Uthappa and Jofra Archer.
Archer also spearheads the Royals bowling, which has room to improve. Even playing six bowlers in the last game didn't stop the flow of runs off the bats of Mayank Agarwal and K.L. Rahul. The team will be desperately want leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal to recapture the sparkling form he showed last year.
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He will be up against a quality batting line-up featuring Shubman Gill, fresh from his match-winning 70 not out (62b) against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Eoin Morgan, captain Dinesh Karthik and one of the most feared batsman in the format, Andre Russell.
The Riders' bowlers would not mind a repeat of its show against Hyderabad, when it restricted the side to 142. Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, however, may find the in-form Royals batsmen a little harder to contain.
(written by P.K. Ajith Kumar)
TOP FIVE PLAYERS THAT YOU MUST HAVE IN YOUR FANTASY XI
1. Sanju Samson (RR) - 81 points
2. Steve Smith (RR) - 48.5 points
3. Jofra Archer (RR) - 46.5 points
4. Rahul Tewatia (RR) - 44.5 points
5. Pat Cummins (KKR) - 39 points
#STATATTACK
- Highest run-getter: KL Rahul (222)
- Highest wicket-taker: Kagiso Rabada and Mohammad Shami (7)
- Highest individual score: KL Rahul (132*)
- Best bowling figures: Rashid Khan (3/14)
- Best economy: Washington Sundar (4.57)
- Most fours: KL Rahul (23)
- Most sixes: Sanju Samson (16)
- Fastest ball: Anrich Nortje (148.92 kmph)
- Fastest fifty: Sanju Samson (19 balls)
- Fastest century: Mayank Agarwal (45 balls)
PREDICTED XI
KKR Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c/wk), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
RR Probable XI: Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat
Overall head-to-head
The two teams have faced each other 20 times in the IPL so far, and their head-to-head win/loss record is tied 10-10.
Last season, both the sides won the away game against each other. Kolkata thumped Rajasthan by eight wickets with 37 balls to spare in Jaipur, and the Royals edged past the Knight Riders by three wickets with four balls remaining at the Eden Gardens.
IPL 2020 Points Table
WHERE TO WATCH IPL 2020 - RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS LIVE?
The Indian Premier League match Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders will be broadcast live on
the
Star Sports Network. Live streaming will also be available on the
Hotstar app or website exclusively for VIP and Premium users. The live commentary of the game is also available on
sportstar.thehindu.com
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