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Kolkata Knight Riders

about 2 years ago

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as Rajasthan Royals beat the Men in Purple & Gold by 6 wickets on Saturday.

Put in to bat first, none of the KKR top and middle order batsmen could make a mark as KKR were restricted to 133-9 in 20 overs. Rahul Tripathi top-scored with a 26-ball 36.

Shubman Gill's (11) lack of runs continued to be a concern at the top. The flamboyant opener failed to capitalise on a lifeline that he had received in the fourth over when Mustafizur Rahman popped one out. Both Gill and Skipper Eoin Morgan (0) fell to unfortunate run-outs that hurt the team badly.

Andre Russell, who looked in fine form in the last match, couldn't replicate his performance in this match as Chris Morris sent him back for 9 runs. Dinesh Karthik, even though scored 25 off 24 balls, he didn’t look comfortable throughout the innings.

Rajasthan bowlers were impressive as they mixed it up with the slower deliveries beautifully to choke the run flow. Even when the KKR players went for the big shots, they failed to time it well due to the variable pace. Morris starred for the Royals with a mighty 4-23 in his four overs.

The KKR bowlers tried their best to thwart their opposition in their run chase but the total was too low to be defended on a Wankhede pitch that has aided the batsmen throughout.

Shivam Mavi (1-19), playing his first game this season, was impressive with his economic spells. Varun Chakravarthy picked up two vital wickets of Jos Buttler and Shivam Dube as well. But overall, KKR failed to get the regular breakthroughs to put any pressure on their opponents.

For Rajasthan, Skipper Sanju Samson anchored their innings with an unbeaten 42 and guided them home with 7 balls to spare.

KKR next play Punjab Kings on April 26 in Ahmedabad.