Hello and welcome to the HIGHLIGHTS of Match 18 of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
RR 134/4 after 18.5 overs: And Samson guides his side to a six-wicket win! KKR has been dashed to the bottom of the table!
An uncharacteristic innings from the skipper finishes off the chase with minimal pressure for Rajasthan. Its second win of the season and the camp will be lifted after a thoroughly dominating performance with the ball first-up to set up the win.
RR 129/4 after 18 overs: Prasidh concedes the boundary early in the over and that must well be it for RR. Miller has looked solid and he cashes in with another stifling boundary through mid-wicket.
RR 121/4 after 17 overs: Cummins tries the cutter to Miller who simply glides it beside the keeper to the boundary. Eases the nerves and the Aussie paceman can't find a probing deliver to knock off Miller.
Pat Cummins is back. Can he offer a twist with the ball tonight?
RR 113/4 after 16 overs: Prasidh hits the hard length and keeps Miller wound down but concedes a loose delivery outside off. Miller swiftly pounces on it and heaves it through mid-wicket for a boundary.
RR 104/4 after 15 overs: A looong over comes to an end finally. Mavi tails the ball into Miller first-up in the over and goes up for the appeal. The umpire takes a whole good minute before the encore has died down and shockingly raises his finger! Miller takes it up and survives. A near action-replay follows as Mavi hits the pads again and sends up the review, only to see the ball pitch outside-leg.
RR 101/4 after 14 overs: Krishna to Tewatia. OUT! Tewatia pulls and sends it straight to fine leg! Snapping bumper from Krishna probes Tewatia to go for it. Had no way out of it and RR loses its fourth just on the stroke of reaching the three-figure mark. Rahul Tewatia c sub (KL Nagarkoti) b Prasidh Krishna 5 (8b)
Prasidh Krishna up to bowl his first over!
RR 97/3 after 13 overs: Varun fends in the quicker ones to Tewatia while the sliders zip in to Samson. The duo have eased into singles and doubles with seven runs coming off it.
RR 90/3 after 12 overs: Samson and RR's cautious approach against Narine has kept him at bay. A couple of singles conceded in his final over as he finishes with figures of 4-0-20-4.
RR 85/3 after 11 overs: Chakravarthy to Dube. OUT! Dube heaves and gets a thick edge straight to Prasidh at short-third! Big wicket and will that create a turnaround here. Credit to Dube nevertheless. Came in at a tricky period and helped his skipper rally back things in RR's favour. Shivam Dube c Prasidh Krishna b Varun 22 (18b 2x4 1x6)
RR 80/2 after 10 overs: Another quiet over pushed in by Narine. No undue risks taken by Samson and Dube who are content with three singles at the moment.
RR 77/2 after 9 overs: A Sanju Samson Special! Cummins runs in full stead and he is dealt with absolute nonchalance by the RR skipper! A towering flick sails over the deep mid-wicket for six and Morgan's plan to rush Samson with pace has been foiled instantly.
RR 64/2 after 8 overs: A much better over from Narine. Narine concedes a free-hit but has it under control by darting in a quick yorker to Dube. KKR would want to break through quickly before the pair could narrow down the chase pretty quickly.
RR 59/2 after 7 overs: A fine over from Varun is spoilt by the last ball of the over. Dube rocks back and punches through the vacant covers and Nagarkoti lets the ball through his hands to the boundary. Poor fielding there from the substitute and the bowler is not pleased at all.
RR 50/2 after 6 overs: Dube gets going with an absolute monster of a hit over mid-wicket. Narine drifted in a fuller delivery and Dube sends his arm in a helicopter-like arc to raise it far into the stands. RR brings up 50 within the Powerplay in style despite losing its openers.
Sunil Narine into the attack
RR 41/2 after 5 overs: Mavi to Jaiswal. OUT! Slashed over point and straight to the fielder! Some amateur batting there from Jaiswal. A needless risk with the fielder out at square after absolutely walloping a cut over point the previous ball. Mavi has his man finally and Dube comes into join the RR captain.
RR 30/1 after 4 overs: Chakravarthy to Buttler. OUT! And there's a wicket straightaway! Buttler is trapped plumb in front. There's no mystery on that one as Chakravarthy slides one in. Buttler makes the mistake of moving back into the crease and the ball thuds into his pads. The umpire raises his finger instantly and Buttler does not opt for the review. In walks skipper Sanju Samson, who creams a delectable drive through the covers first ball. Chakravarthy is leaking runs as Jaiswal cuts and finds the fence off the final ball. Jos Buttler lbw b Varun 5 (7b 1x4)
Chakravarthy replaces Cummins
RR 17/0 after 3 overs: Jaiswal gets on top off the bounce and flicks it gorgeously to the mid-wicket fence. Pristine timing as he just uses Mavi's to redirect the ball.
RR 12/0 after 2 overs: OH! Cummins rams one into Buttler's helmet and he seems to be in some pain. All in good stead after a long break. Buttler blocks the final ball off Cummins. The over had two fine shots from Jaiswal, one to the on-side and one through point as Cummins fell off radar initially.
Pat Cummins up and running
RR 2/0 after 1 over: Fiery start from Mavi! He tails the ball in sharply to Buttler who manages to sneak in the single. Mavi then unleashes some cracking zippers to Jaiswal who is beaten thrice. Mavi snaps Jaiswal nearly off the last ball but Shubman Gill has dropped him at point! Gill returning a favour perhaps after Jaiswal dropped earlier tonight.
Back for the chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler walk out to the crease for RR. Shivam Mavi up with the ball for KKR
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Chris Morris gets his joint-best IPL figures - 4-0-23-4 - and that was just the tale from over 18-20. Morris, however, bagged the biggies Karthik, Russell and Cummins before adding another off the last ball. The pressure got to the fearsome trio as the KKR top-order crumbled once again to some poor batsmanship.
Sanju Samson's execution with his bowlers was spot-on as Mustafizur Rahman, Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya built pressure in the Powerplay. The results were soon to be seen as Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine and skipper Eoin Morgan fell in a haste. Rahul Tripathi put up some fight before the need to go for the biggies holed him out too. RR has done half the job in a clinical manner but the chase wouldn't come against Pat Cummins and Co.
KKR 133/8 after 20 overs: Morris to Cummins. OUT! A cracking pull but straight to Parag deep mid-wicket! Morris has three to his name! Mesmerising over from the Proteas paceman as five dot balls follow the six that Cummins hit first ball. Morris finishes on a high as Mavi's stumps are shattered as well. Brilliant finish for RR as it restricts KKR below 140 on a Wankhede belter.
KKR 127/7 after 19 overs: Excellent spell from Mustafizur. A wily cutter nearly gets Cummins as he sends it straight above. Three fielders converge but fail to get to the ball.
KKR 118/7 after 18 overs: Morris to Russell. OUT! Big Mo has DRE Russ for the fourth time in the IPL! Morris was rocketed into the stands with the full ball first-up into Russell. Morris does not stop as he pushes a searing, fuller delivery as Russell tries to smash it over long-on but fails. David Miller is no mug at long-on and completes a safe catch to send the big man on his way. Double delight for Morris as he gets Karthik as well. Karthik attempts to slog over cover and holes out to Sakariya. Excellent full-length jump from the youngster to complete the catch. KKR very well in tatters. Andre Russell c Miller b Morris 9 (7b 1x6), Dinesh Karthik c Sakariya b Morris 25 (24b 4x4)
KKR 110/5 after 17 overs: Young Sakariya oversteps and then concedes a boundary off the free-hit to Karthik. He then bowls to wides to Russell but keeps the Caribbean powerhouse in control with the slower-cutters.
KKR 98/5 after 16 overs: Mustafizur to Tripathi. OUT! High into the sky and Riyan Parag gobbles it with an extremely cool catch! This is a brilliant for Rajasthan in the field. However, Fizz dishes a short ball which is smashed to the mid-wicket fence by Karthik with disdain. Rahul Tripathi c Parag b Mustafizur Rahman 36 (26b 1x4 2x6)
KKR 94/4 after 15 overs: Sakariya makes good use of his variations and Karthik gets the sole boundary clipped through backward-square leg. Rajasthan keeping the batsmen tight even as Russell is yet to come out with five overs to go.
KKR 84/4 after 14 overs: Karthik whacks Tewatia for a boundary with a sweep. The leggie gets back his line and forces the batsmen to rotate strike as the runs have been hard to come by for KKR tonight.
KKR 76/4 after 13 overs: Fine over from Dube. Just his second of the tournament. He hits the right length and has forced Karthik and Tripathi to deal in singles.
Shivam Dube into the attack.
KKR 71/4 after 12 overs: Tripathi goes for a massive lofted drive over the stands off Tewatia and attempts to build on. Karthik has come into join him and the two batsmen have an uphill task to lift the KKR innings.
KKR 62/4 after 11 overs: Morris to Tripathi. OUT! MORGAN IS RUN OUT! What a bizarre end for the KKR captain. Morris drills in the ball to Tripathi who smashes it straight back at the bowlers'. Unfortunate for KKR, the ball hits Morgan's bat as he walks out towards the striker's end and a certain mix-up between the pair meant that Morris had enough time to snaffle a run out! Misery for KKR as the captain goes back without facing a ball. Eoin Morgan run out (Morris) 0 (0b)
KKR 55/3 after 10 overs: Unadkat to Narine. High into the night sky and an excellent diving catch from Jaiswal sends him back! Excellent piece of cricket from Rajasthan all-round. Unadkat uses the deft off-cutter that hits the deck and climbs onto Narine who attempts the hook. The ball takes the edge and flies straight up. Jaiswal who dropped Shubman Gill early in the innings, redeems himself with a stunning catch. Sunil Narine c Jaiswal b Unadkat 6 (7b 1x4)
KKR 51/2 after 9 overs: Sakariya to Rana. OUT! Edged and Gone! The pressure got to Rana and some incisive bowling from Sakariya. Short and tight to the left-hander from Sakariya and Rana did not get enough room to slash through point. KKR has sent in Sunil Narine at No.4 and there's only one intention to that. Narine goes for the slog over long-off first ball and gets it to the boundary. Nitish Rana c †Samson b Sakariya 22 (25b 1x4 1x6)
KKR 45/1 after 8 overs: Tewatia keeps the ball on the money as Rana and Tripathi finds to break free. They settle for some good running between the boundary to sneak in eight runs from the over.
Rahul Tewatia into the attack
KKR 37/1 after 7 overs: KKR steps on the gas. New man Tripathi rushes down to send a length delivery from Unadkat to the boundary over him. Rana then gets into the act with a cracking pull for six over deep mid-wicket as Unadkat errs in length for the first time tonight.
KKR 25/1 after 6 overs: Mustafizur to Gill. OUT! Run out! Jos the Boss, you beauty! He sends the KKR opener on his way with a cracking piece of fielding from Jos Buttler. Gill, anxious to exchange the strikes, nudges it to Buttler at cover, who steams in and parries it to the stumps with a classic under-arm release. The ball hits bang on the stumps and Gill's full-length dive was not enough to save him. Shubman Gill run out (Buttler) 11 (19b 1x4)
KKR 23/0 after 5 overs: Fine start for Morris. Just the two runs of the over as he hits the deck hard and unsettles Gill with the shorter stuff. On a flying deck, this is a below-par start in the Powerplay for KKR.
Chris Morris into the attack
KKR 21/0 after 4 overs: Gill attempts to break the shackles with a wristy flick through mid-wicket for a four. The Fizz comes back with a couple of off-cutters and gets Gill to go for the aggressive shot and induce a thick-edge. Yashasvi Jaiswal runs in from sweeper cover and drops it! Well, well..will that turn out to be costly for Rajasthan?
Mustafizur Rahman replaces Chetan Sakariya
KKR 14/0 after 3 overs: Rana aces a deft cut between short-third and backward-point. Unadkat gets back to keep it tight as he follows a stump-to-stump length, choking the batsmen down.
KKR 8/0 after 2 overs: Sakariya follows his senior Saurashtra teammate Unadkat with a tight line to the KKR openers. They have bowled well with a field in mind, forcing Gill and Rana to tread on singles.
Chetan Sakariya into the attack
KKR 3/0 after 1 over: A fine start from Unadkat. He gets a hint of shape away from Rana who gets off the mark with a couple of shots through point. Unadkat keeps it simple against Gill as he pushes the ball in to the young right-hander who offers a solid block.
Game On! In walk the Rajasthan brigade as Kolkata openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill stride down to the middle. Jaydev Unadkat up with the new ball.
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07:25PM: Five minutes away from the start. Rajasthan has brought Unadkat back into the XI as the side continues with its three left-arm pace attack besides Chris Morris. A big break for youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal in the place of an out-of-form Manan Vohra. RR will hope its bowling is on track against a menacing KKR batting line-up in the next hour or so.
Rajasthan XI: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat , Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
Kolkata XI: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Toss: Rajasthan wins the Toss and elects to Bowl first
TOSS TIME!
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6:40PM:
RR
lost the most wickets in Powerplay in IPL 2020 and so far have lost the most in IPL 2021 as well. The captain Samson has been a pale shadow of himself since his dashing 119 against Punjab in the first match. A rejuvenated Sanju will be the key for Rajasthan's top-order in the absence of Ben Stokes for the rest of the season.
6:28PM:
Right, is this the night for Samson and Co. to snap their misfortunes? They have an opponent who has won just one of its nine encounters ever at Wankhede.
6:15PM: 45 minutes away from the Toss. Seems like Lockie Ferguson is in the mood. Will Bazz McCullum and Eoin Morgan unchain the speedster tonight?
Numbers Game
H2H - RR vs KKR: (23 MATCHES - RR 10 | KKR 12 | NR 1)
Top Performers in the fixture in IPL history
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MATCH PREVIEW -
Streaks of brilliance and heaps of glaring mistakes - the brief summary of the starts of Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders do not show up in good reading for their fans.
With a win apiece from their four opening encounters have put Sanju Samson and Eoin Morgan on the spot early on in the season. Rajasthan's results have also resulted with a mix of ill-fortune. The side has lost two of its premier players in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and a like-to-like replacement is nowhere in the offing. Reports have suggested South African batsman Rassie van der Dussen is on his way to India to join the Royals as a replacement for Stokes or Livingstone who left after suffering from bio-bubble fatigue.
The trouble, however, does not end there for the Royals. After suffering a drubbing at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in a 10-wicket loss, Rajasthan will have worries aplenty in its batting as well as bowling departments. The top-order, including skipper Sanju Samson have misfired after a positive start in the first game. RR's middle-order comprising youngsters Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia and Chris Morris have salvaged a few cameos to carry the side to targets that are just about par. However, the Royals will hope that its top-order stars Jos Buttler and Samson pick up form pretty soon.
The Knights, on the other hand, came pretty close to its second win in a thriller against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. The lower middle-order trio of Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins waltzed the CSK bowlers - saving the side from shambles. Morgan's men would be content with the balance in the squad, however, the results have not been their best companion yet this season.
Captains Speak
Squads:
DETAILS:
When: Saturday, April 24, 2021
AT WHAT TIME DOES TODAY'S IPL 2021 RR vs KKR START?
The IPL 2021's 18th match between Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders begins at 7:30 PM IST at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
WHERE TO WATCH IPL MATCH RR vs KKR LIVE?
IPL 2021 will be shown Live on Star Sports channels - Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD. It will be streamed live on Hotstar.
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