There’s not much that separates the Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. Be it the head-to-head record: 13-11 in the Knight Riders’ favour, the points tally, with both teams having accumulated six points each, and the need to get back to winning ways.
When the bowlers were exercising authority, out walked Nitish Rana in a bid to rescue the innings, as he so often has in the past.
Half-centuries from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Rahul Tripathi (71) and Aiden Markram (68*) consigned Kolkata Knight Riders to their third loss of the season as they chased down 176 with seven wickets KKR vand 13 balls to spare.
Back fitter, the 30-year-old mystery spinner is working to add another variation - his eighth - to his repertoire.
On Friday (April 15), Kolkata Knight Riders return to the scene where they were completely outplayed by an all-round Delhi Capitals side last Sunday and will be fuelled by the scars to bounce back against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
An out-and-out right-arm quick, Sharma bowls a mean bouncer and impressed former Rajasthan captain Dishant Yagnik, who noted his fluent run-up and the pace he generates in his delivery stride.
A hard-hitting top-order batter who also bowls handy medium pace, Aman played a lot of his age-group cricket alongside Shreyas Iyer, his Kolkata Knight Riders skipper.
His figures so far have read 0/15, 1/12, 1/23, 0/26 and 2/21. In a squad that has had the likes of Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins enjoy the limelight, Narine has eschewed it, going about his grubby work operating from under the radar.
An all-round performance from the Delhi Capitals led by Kuldeep Yadav’s 4 for 35 ensured the Kolkata Knight Riders fell 44 runs short in their chase of 216 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Kolkata Knight Riders have wind in their sails heading into their first day game against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022.
Nobody quite saw the carnage that ensued, coming. Not even Daniel Sams, who bowled a fateful sixteenth over. Not even Shreyas Iyer and not least, Pat Cummins himself.
Pat Cummins blasted the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history with an unbeaten 15-ball 56 as he helped Kolkata Knight Riders romp home by 5 wickets and 24 balls to spare.
Kolkata Knight Riders are unbeaten at the venue, winning all six games they have played here. But it’s more to do with who they face off on Wednesday. Their opponents, Mumbai Indians, have held the upper hand by a significant margin: winning 22 out of their past 29 encounters.
Head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed Pat Cummins, who arrived last week, is available for selection for their next game against the Mumbai Indians and adds to a “few selection headaches”. McCullum believes the Australian Test captain would add an element of leadership for captain Shreyas Iyer to feed off. .
