Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came out hard on Rajasthan Royals (RR) with the help of their fast bowling department comprising of Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Pat Cummins as they blow up RR’s top-order and made the RR succumb to their first defeat of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Chasing 175, RR got off to a worst possible start as Cummins got the first scalp as he saw the back of his Australian teammates Steve Smith with a brilliant delivery in his very first over.
All eyes were on Sanju Samson but Shivam Mavi sent back of both Samson and a dangerous-looking Jos Buttler. Nagarkoti came in as first change and he took just six balls to stamp his authority on the game as he dismissed both Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag to leave RR reeling at 5-43 in 8 overs.
Rahul Tewatia failed to emulate his last game heroics Varun Chakravarthy dismissed followed by the dismissal of Jofra Archer owing to a brilliant flying catch by Kamlesh Nagarkoti. In the end, Tom Curran’s maiden IPL 50 wasn’t enough for the Royals as they eventually went down by 37 runs.
WATCH – Kamlesh Nagarkoti Took A Flying Catch To Dismiss Jofra Archer
Batting first, KKR’s fiery opener, Sunil Narine failed against as he was dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat after playing some fiery shots. After his dismissal, Nitish Rana played some delightful strokes during his innings, forming a great foil to Shubman Gill, who played some classy strokes during his 34-ball 47. The duo stitched a 46-run-stand for the 2nd wicket before Rana being dismissed by Shreyas Gopal.
KKR promoted Andre Russell to the No.4 spot and Smith immediately turned to RR pacer, Archer and, the move worked brilliantly as the fast bowler claimed both Gill and Dinesh Karthik [1] in quick succession. Russell smashed three sixes off Gopal and Ankit Rajpoot during his 14-ball 24 but for once, before getting caught at deep-point while trying to nail a wide yorker from the fast bowler for a six.
WATCH – Sanju Samon Takes A Blinder To Dismiss Pat Cummins
But Eoin Morgan displayed why he is one of the great modern-day cricketers as his calm-and-collected knock, backed by contributions from Pat Cummins and Kamlesh Nagarkoti helped KKR to score 54 runs in the last 5 overs, eventually ending with 6-174 in 20 overs.
Match Summary:
Kolkata Knight Riders – 174/6 in 20 overs (S Gill: 47, E Morgan: 34*; J Archer: 2/18) defeated Rajasthan Royals – 137/9 in 20 overs (T Curran: 54*; K Nagarkoti: 2/13, S Mavi: 2/20) by 37 runs
Here’ how Twitter reacted to KKR’s stunning win over RR:
An excellent victory this for @KKRiders. A huge confidence booster! The batsmen did well to post a target of 175 and then the bowlers and fielders did exceptionally well to clinch this emphatic win! Super performance all-round!#InsideOut #KKRvRR #KKRvsRR #IPL2020
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) September 30, 2020
Most emphatic from @KKRiders First Russell in early. Second Cummins to start. Third Shivam and Kamlesh abd Varun. Now just Morgan ahead of DK and let the skipper finish. Most boxes ticked tonight for them. And Gill is the class act at the top.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 30, 2020
Not a bad day for young Nagarkoti! 2 wickets, a crisp boundary at the end and a seriously good catch. Hopefully he will continue to repay the extraordinary faith that @KKRiders have had in him
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 30, 2020
Rahul Dravid was damn right about the fielding of Nagarkoti – he is one of the best in India. https://t.co/56EVIxadkf pic.twitter.com/PrtT4Ppi5j
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 30, 2020
#KKR invested in Mavi and Nagarkoti despite their injuries. Few franchises would have carried two injured unproven bowlers. Now its their turn to pay them back in this season.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) September 30, 2020
Disappointing to see #RR’s top order collapse, how wonderful to see #KKR’s young pace bowlers Mavi and Nagarkoti succeed!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 30, 2020
Unlike most franchises that go for an Indian-heavy batting core (Delhi Capitals rebuild for example), #KKR have an Indian bowling core. Mavi, Krishna, Nagarkoti and Kuldeep isn’t too old either.
It’s a different long term strategy and it’s marvellous! #IPL2020 #RRvKKR
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) September 30, 2020
