Apr 19, 2018 12:17 AM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
IPL 2018 RR vs KKR updates: Uthappa, Rana and Karthik lead Knight Riders to 7-wicket win
Catch the latest updates as the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
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highlights
KKR beat RR with 7 wickets and 7 balls to spare.
WICKET! Robin Uthappa c Stokes b Gowtham 48 (36)
WICKET! Sunil Narine run out Unadkat/Buttler 35(25)
Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa put KKR on course
WICKET! Chris Lynn b Gowtham
Kolkata Knight Riders need 161 runs to win off 20 overs.
WICKET! Kulkarni (run out) Shubman Gill/S Mavi
WICKET! Gopal b Curran
WICKET! Gowtham c Mavi b Curran
WICKET! Ben Stokes c Nitish Rana b Piyush Chawla
WICKET! Tripathi c Andre Russell b Yadav
WICKET! D’Arcy Short b Nitish Rana 44 (43)
WICKET! Sanju Samson c Kuldeep Yadav b Shivam Mavi
WICKET! Ajinkya Rahane st Karthik b Rana
Here are the playing XIs:
TEAM CHANGES: Both teams have decided to go ahead with the same playing XI. No changes to the side.
TOSS: Dinesh Karthik won the toss and opted to bowl first.
The toss will happen at 19:30, as expected.
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday. Catch the latest updates and the score on Moneycontrol. That’s all from our side, for now. Thanks for joining us.
Dinesh Karthik: "It feels good to get two wins on the trot. Slowly things are falling in a good direction. It feels that the wrist spinners are a little harder to pick, and that the fast bowlers would come onto the bat. Which is why we bowled them at the start. The way Robin batted was fantastic, he set the tone for us, and it was good to see Nitish bat through for us. The only thing I would tell a player like that is be consistent through a long tournament like this, which I'm sure he's looking forward to doing."
Ajinkya Rahane: "I thought we were 15-20 short. Game 1 there was pretty good bounce. This wicket was on the slower side, it was keeping a bit low. But no complaints. I was batting well, and it was my responsibility to carry on from there. As I said, 15-20 runs short. I felt our intensity was a little bit down today."
Man of the match: Nitish Rana
Perfect catch of the match: Ben Stokes
Kolkata cruise to seven-wicket victory
Kolkata paced their chase superbly and cruised to a seven-wicket win at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday night.
Captain Dinesh Karthik brought up the win in the 19th over with a massive six off Ben Laughlin. He was unbeaten on 42 off 23 balls and his partner at the other end Nitish Rana returned unconquered on 35 off 27 balls.
Karthik and Rana made their move in the 17th over smashing a six each off Jaydev Unadkat and thereafter it was a walk in the park.
Kolkata finished on 163 for 3 in 18.5 overs, replying to Rajasthan’s 160-8 in 20 overs, notched their third win and helped them to the top of the eight-team standings.
KKR beat RR with 7 wickets and 7 balls to spare.
Laughlin starts his 4th over with a Yorker, but Rana still manages to grab a single of it. Rana and Karthik seem contend to pick up quick singles now.
Dinesh Karthik ends the night's proceedings with winning six just outside off.
KKR 163/3 after 18.5 overs.
Ben Stokes comes in to try and pick up some much needed wickets. Stokes starts well but gifts Karthik with a full toss in his 3rd delivery which the KKR skipper duly dispatches down the off side for a boundary. Quick single on the next ball brings up the 150 for KKR.
KKR require just 10 of the next 12 balls.
KKR 151/3 after 18 overs.
Unadkat is given the ball for his 3rd over. Good start by him conceding just 2 of his first 2 deliveries. However, Karthik is looking to end proceedings quickly as he pulls the short ball over the ropes for a Six!
Now Rana is looking to get into the act as he plays a beautiful lofted shot over long off for another Six. Big over for KKR as they score 16 of it.
KKR 142/3 after 17 overs.
KKR need just 35 from 24 balls. The stage is set for a nail biting finish as we begin the final 4 overs.
Rajasthan fight to check Kolkata's surge
A leap of brilliance from Ben Stokes at the long on fence cut short Robin Uthappa’s stay as Rajasthan Royals were fighting hard to deny Kolkata Knight Riders the runs in defence of their total of 160 runs.
Uthappa’s swipe off Krishnappa Gowtham was snapped by Stokes but the English all-rounder lost his balance and as he crossed over the line he threw the ball inside and caught it again. It was a big wicket for the hosts as Uthappa was having a go at their bowlers having stroked his way to a fluent 48 off 36 balls including six fours and two sixes.
However, the target of 161 was well within the reach of Kolkata, who were 121 for 3 after 15 overs, needing another 40 runs from the last five overs.
Laughlin comes back for his third over. KKR look comfortably placed with Rana and Karthik keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Good over by Laughlin giving away just the 5 runs.
KKR 126/3 after 16 overs.
Karthik slams it on the leg side, but it yields no results. The duo — Rana and Karthik — are running well between the wickets, which is keeping the pressure off. However, Unadkat keeps calm and does not concede too many runs.
KKR 121/3 after 15 overs.
Kolkata march on despite Narine's exit
Sloppy running between the wickets cost Sunil Narine his wicket but Kolkata were inching closer to victory. At the halfway mark of their innings, they were 87 for 2, needing another 74 in the next 60 balls.
Narine dashed for a non-existent run after his reverse sweep off spinner Shreyas Gopal hit the pads and rolled over to short third man and did not show any urgency to get back to his crease. By that time fielder Jaydev Unadkat had fired in the throw for wicketkeeper Jos Buttler to whip off the bails with Narine well short of the crease. The left-hander, however, had played his part scoring 35 off 25 balls including five fours and a six.
At the other end, Robin Uthappa was going strong as he clouted a six in the same over and was batting on 46 off 29 balls with Nitish Rana giving him company.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik, with his quick running, keeps the scoreboard ticking.
Knight Riders need 45 runs to win off 36 balls.
KKR 116/3 after 14 overs.
Rana starts the over with a boundary. Robin Uthappa, playing on 48, hits the ball flat and straight to Ben Stokes in the deep. Stokes makes no mistake while taking the stunning catch. Robin misses his half-century. Good running gives Kolkata few more runs. Gowtham finishes his spell for the night.
KKR 110/3 after 13 overs.
WICKET! Robin Uthappa c Stokes b Gowtham 48 (36)
Rana strikes a boundary off the first ball as Laughlin continues. But the Aussie does well to prevent runs from leaking further, in the over.
KKR 97/2 after 12 overs.
Gowtham comes in to bowl his third over and gives away just three of the over. Uthappa is closing in on his half-century.
KKR now need 71 off 54 balls.
KKR 90/2 after 11 overs.
Stokes returns for his second over. Misfield by Unadkat gifts Uthappa a boundary of the 2nd delivery. 10 runs of the over.
KKR 87/2 after 10 overs.
Gopal begins his 2nd over. KKR seem well placed so far, with the batsmen pacing their innings well. Narine goes for the reverse sweep and begins running without looking towards Uthappa who doesn’t leave his crease, good throw by Unadkat doesn’t give him a chance to return to safety.
Nitish Rana steps out for KKR. Uthappa ends the over with a Six!
KKR 77/2 after 9 overs.
WICKET! Sunil Narine run out Unadkat/Buttler 35(25)
Ben Stokes is called into the attack. Big shout for a LBW on his first delivery but the umpire isn’t interested. Narine gets lucky of the 3rd delivery, big leading edge takes the ball to the boundary in the third man region. Good over by Stokes, just the 6 runs of it.
KKR 68/1 after 8 overs.
Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa put KKR on course
Kolkata Knight Riders overcame the loss of an early wicket and were cruising along at 53-1 after the Powerplay.
After the first three overs, Kolkata were 15 for one but in the next three they raked up 38 runs.
Opener Sunil Narine began the run charge with three successive fours off pacer Dhaval Kulkarni and then Robin Uthappa emulated him in the next over bowled by left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat. Uthappa smacked three fours off four balls and was on 25 off 16 balls.
Narine, who hit a six of pacer Ben Laughlin off the last ball of the sixth over to bring up the 50-run partnership with Uthappa, was on 28 off 18 balls.
Chris Lynn’s dismissal was about how not to bat on this wicket. The Australian played across trying to play the cut shot and was bowled. The lesson: play straight against the spinners.
Rahane introduces Gopal into the attack. RR require wickets to take away the momentum from KKR. Uthappa goes for the big one, after 2 dot balls he pulls the next one over the ropes for a six. Narine picks up a couple of the last ball. 9 off the over.
KKR 62/1 after 7 overs.
Laughlin begins his first over. Uthappa beats his first delivery down short fine leg for a four. Narine dispatches his last delivery down deep extra cover for a big one, gets his first six of the innings. Another good over for KKR.
KKR 53/1 after 6 overs.
Unadkat brought into the attack. Uthappa welcomes him with a boundary of just his second delivery, pull shot over mid wicket. Unadkat recovers well with a good length delivery. Uthappa stands his ground and dispatches the next one down the ground for a boundary. Another boundary! Uthappa cuts the ball for another four. 13 runs of the over.
KKR 40/1 after 5 overs.