IPL KKR v RR Match Report: ‘Not a perfect game’ but a perfect result for KKR against RR

In the end, it turned out to be a very flat game. The moment powerplay overs got over during the Rajasthan batting, the game was literally over for the Royals who lost their big guns (Smith-Samson-Buttler) at the score of 39.

The chance of lightening striking twice was also gone with the departure of Rahul Tewatia in the 11th over (66 for 6). Even though, Tom Curran scored the highest score of the match (54 off 36 ball with 3 sixes), he was merely trying to minimise the damage being caused by the net run rate.

For KKR, the 37-run win has now propelled them to the second position (they were 7^th before the match) in the points table. “Wouldn't call it a perfect game. Lot of areas we need to improve,” said KKR captain Dinesh Karthik after the match. And, he was simply being forthright.

Everyone chipped in with the bat

Cricket is a team game but in IPL mostly individual brilliance tends to decide the result of the match. However, this was an odd match in many ways.

None of the Kolkata batsman stood out for a remarkable knock as none managed to get a fifty. However, Shubman Gill (47 off 34), Sunil Narine (15 off 14), Nitish Rana (22 off 17) gave a decent platform to Andre Russell who could play a lively cameo of 24 off 14 balls which included 3 sixes!

Karthik’s poor form continued but Eoin Moragn’s another solid innings (34 off 23 balls) in the middle ensured that Kolkata got enough to fight on this wicket.

KKR’s pace too hot to handle

If Pat Cummins bowled a superb spell once again (conceding just 13 runs in his 3 overs) in the beginning and got his Australian mate Smith’s wicket, India’s young pace duo of Shivam Mavi (4-20-2) and Kamlesh Nagarkoti(2-13-2) finally showed  the glimpses of their under 19 World cup partnership.

They bowled six overs together and grabbed 4 wickets of the Royals’ top-order. “The situation was a bit in our favour when I came to bowl. Just wanted to keep my plans simple and execute them,” said Nagarkoti after the match. Incidentally, Nagarkoti hails from Rajasthan but in IPL his loyalty is with KKR.

Curious decision at toss

Steven Smith’s decision of choosing to bat second was not very convincing to start with as no team in Dubai had successfully managed a chase in previous five games in Dubai.

“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,” explained Steve Smith later in his post-match presentation chat.

Royal’s defeat also broke the cycle of unbeaten run by a team in this season. After the end of 12^th match, now all the teams have been beaten, four teams have similar number of points (4) after playing three matches each. The huge margin of defeat has severely affected Royals’ net run rate which has now put them at the third place in the table.

(Vimal Kumar is a senior sports journalist who has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. Vimal is also the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide.)

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