This match was the perfect example of how things have gone for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the season as they lost by a huge margin of 86 runs. On the other hand, it will be safe to say that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have secured the playoffs spot finishing the league stage with seven wins from 14 games. Now, even a coin toss can end Mumbai Indians (MI) campaign as the only way they will be able to qualify for playoffs is by batting first and then beating their opponent Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by an unreal margin of 171 runs.
Monumental collapse
To chase a target of 175, RR needed a solid opening stand to build a foundation for other batters to come. However, except Tewatia, all other batters looked like sitting ducks. Opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was cleaned up by KKR spinner Shakib-al- Hasan for a duck trying to play a reverse sweep. Sanju Samson came to the crease but walked back to the dugout with just one run to his name after handing his wicket on a platter. The bad start triggered a collapse of epic proportions as Royals lost their seven wickets for just 35 runs and it looked like we may see them breaking Royal Challengers Bangalore’s record for the lowest total (49). Tewatia seemed like he was batting on a different pitch. Tewatia’s two big sixes provided some entertainment in an otherwise dull run chase. The southpaw scored 44 runs from 36 balls. KKR were able to bundle out RR for a score of 85 and won the game by 86 runs.
Samson’s flop show
RR skipper Sanju Samson was way off the mark in a must-win encounter against KKR to keep themselves alive for playoffs. First, when KKR was batting, Samson made a few captaincy mistakes. On a pitch where KKR spinners did well, Samson only gave one over to Tewatia and Glenn Phillips after they were hit for a few boundaries in their respective first over. Samson was sloppy behind the wicket as well giving a few extras. The Kerala batsman succumbed to the pressure with the bat as well playing a flick shot straight to short mid-wicket fielder.
Ferguson, the gun
KKR express fast bowler Lockie Ferguson returned to KKR side with a bang after an injury. Ferguson took three wickets and conceded just 18 runs in his four overs. Apart from being economical, Ferguson showcased raw pace as well bowling in high 140s regularly. Ferguson’s pace and variation was too much to handle even for Liam Livingstone. The English batter returned to the side only to register another single-digit score.
KKR batters did their job
Coming to bat in a must-win game, both openers Shubhman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer played maturely and built a solid partnership of 79 runs in 10.4 overs. It seemed that both the players will go on to get to a big score but Iyer was bowled by Tewatia for 38 trying to hit him for a reverse sweep. KKR made a change in their batting order and promoted Nitish Rana at 3 to maintain the left-hand-right-hand combination but it didn’t work for the team as Rana lost his wicket after scoring 12 runs. Gill scored his second half-century on the trot before Chris Morris got his wicket which was also his first wicket in the second phase of IPL. Once again, Rahul Tripathi contributed the total with a 21-run cameo. In the death overs, Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan helped KKR finish with a flourish and post 171/4 on a wicket that kept low.
