Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in a cracker of a contest on 18 April. The high-scoring match saw RR defend a total of 217 just by the skin of their teeth.
RR won the game by 7 runs, with two balls to spare, as KKR were bowled out for 210. Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal played a major part in the victory, with Chahal taking the first hat-trick, as well as the first five-wicket haul of the season.
Rajasthan were in a dominant position from the start of the fixture. After KKR won the toss and elected to field first, the RR innings was helmed by Jos Buttler. Buttler slammed his second century of the season. Supported ably by Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, the wicketkeeper-batter took RR to the highest total of the season- 217.
When it was time for KKR to bat, the team failed to be a match for Rajasthan’s bowling attack. Aaron Finch (58) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (85) did manage to bring the team close to the target. However, the Knight Riders stumbled before the lethal bowling attack of Yuzvendra Chahal.
In the 16th over, Chahal scalped the wickets of Venkatesh Iyer on the first ball itself. He followed it up with a hat-trick, picking up Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins in the last three deliveries. With this over, KKR were left tottering at 180/8.
Despite a last-moment effort from Umesh Yadav to score some runs, Kolkata Knight Riders were bowled out in the final over of the match.
Twitter was in awe of RR’s victory, with many hailing Jos Buttler and Chahal in particular. Here is how people reacted:
RR player Riyan Parag stated that his team lived up to its motto of “win from anywhere”.
Irfan Pathan stated that RR were really playing like Royals in this edition of the IPL.
Jimmy Neesham praised Jos Buttler’s innings.
Even KKR congratulated RR on their win.
Kris Srikkanth was amazed by KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer’s innings.
Here are some more reactions:
Rajasthan Royals will next face Delhi Capitals on 22 April, while Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against table topper Gujarat Titans.
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