Mumbai: A brilliant knock from Rinku Singh (42 n o, 23b, 6×4, 1×6) and an equally good contribution from Nitish Rana (48 n o, 37b, 3×4, 2×6) and their unbeaten 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in their IPL game played here Monday. Chasing 153 for victory, KKR finished on 158 for three with five balls to spare.
KKR, prior to this game had lost five matches in succession. To stay alive in this tournament they had to win this game and they did so with style. The loss of only three wickets will also help them increase their net run rate. However, their job is far from over. They will have to win all their remaining four games if they have to qualify for the play-off. However, this win will certainly give them a slight relief.
In the chase, KKR lost Aaron Finch (4) and Baba Indrajith (15) early. However, skipper Shreyas Iyer (34, 32b, 3×4, 1×6) steadied the ship with Rana. Then Rana and Rinku simply took the game away from the Royals.
Earlier skipper Sanju Samson (54, 49b, 7×4, 1×6) was the only batter to stand out as Royals posted 152 for five against KKR. A number of other batters like Jos Buttler (22), Riyan Parag (19) and Karun Nair (13) got starts, but failed to capitalise on those. Later on Shimron Hetmyer (27 n o, 13b, 1×4, 2×6) took Rajasthan past the 150-run mark.
Tim Southee (2/46) scalped two wickets but went for quite a few runs, while Umesh Yadav (1/24), Anukul Roy (1/28) and Shivam Mavi (1/33) accounted for one each.
Samson and Buttler put on 48 runs for the second wicket. It incidentally was the highest partnership in the RR innings.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 152 for 5 (Sanju Samson 54; Tim Southee 2/46) lost to KKR 158 for three in 19.1 overs (Nitish Rana 48 n o, Rinku Singh 42 n o) by seven wickets.