IPL 2018, Eliminator, KKR vs RR: 5 talking points

Kolkata Knight Riders made home advantage count as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by 30 runs in the Eliminator at the Eden Gardens tonight to book a clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 2 to be played, yet again in Kolkata, on Friday.

The winner of the contest will take on Chennai Super Kings in the final of IPL 2018 which will be played on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

KKR had a terrible start after being sent into bat, being reduced to 24/3 within the first four overs but they recovered to post a total of 169 on the board, thanks to knocks from skipper Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell.

Royals started off quick in the run-chase but lost their way in the middle overs and were simply unable to get the big shots required at the death to chase down the target and were left 25 runs short of the target after playing out their full quota of 20 overs.

Here are the five major talking points from tonight's contest.

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#5 Early blows jolt KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders had home advantage to count upon heading into the eliminator against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens tonight, but they had a very start to the match's proceedings after losing the toss and being put into bat.

Krishnappa Gowtham struck twice inside the powerplay overs dismissing Sunil Narine and then Robin Uthappa while Jofra Archer accounted for Nitish Rana as the home side were reduced to 24/3 within the first four overs of the game.

It was a bold move by the Royals team management to open the bowling with Gowtham considering Narine's success against spinners early on but the move paid off and along with Archer's good start from the other end, KKR were very much on the back foot having lost three crucial wickets early on.

#4 Dinesh Karthik leads the recovery for KKR

The KKR skipper scored a brilliant half-century that revived his side's chances tonight after a poor start

There were a few eyebrows raised when Dinesh Karthik was named as KKR skipper for the 2018 IPL and the 32-year-old had a tough start to the campaign with a few questions marks raised about his calls as skipper.

Slowly but surely, Karthik has grown into the role, especially with the bat, playing a calm and composed role in the middle order helping his side tackle the middle overs as well as going for the attack towards the death overs.

Tonight was a perfect example of the same, with Karthik coming to the rescue yet again with his side in deep trouble at 24/3 within the first four overs.

Along with Chris Lynn, Karthik ensured that the regular fall of wickets was arrested and build a decent partnership with the Australian before getting a move on the run-rate once the former departed.

Shubham Gill's cameo helped Karthik get into his stride no doubt but the skipper carried on with his good start to score 52 off 38 balls at a time when KKR were in real danger of folding up for a low total.

#3 Andre Russell's late blitz

Russell remained unbeaten on 49 off just 25 balls

Andre Russell had had a hit and miss IPL 2018 with inconsistency being a real issue for the hard-hitting West Indian all-rounder. But tonight Russell proved exactly why it would be foolish to count him off for any T20 game.

Russell had to bide his time, coming into bat in the 15th over of the KKR innings and played second fiddle to skipper Dinesh Karthik early on before unleashing into his usual self towards the latter overs.

Russell struck five huge sixes, scoring an unbeaten 49 off just 25 balls as his knock helped KKR make a late surge to put 169 runs on the board.

Along with Karthik's rescue act, Russell's knock played a huge part in helping KKR secure the win tonight.

#2 Spinners turn the game around for KKR

Chawla picked up the key wickets of Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson tonight

With the triumvirate of Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine in their ranks, KKR has arguably the best spin bowling trio in the IPL and playing on their home turf at the Eden Gardens tonight, they made sure to make home advantage count.

Rajasthan Royals had made a good start in the powerplay overs and looked in total control at one stage before the KKR spinners put a stranglehold on the Royals scoring rate.

Ajinkya Rahane had already faced plenty of flak for his failure to adapt to the T20 format and made the same mistake yet again tonight. Sanju Samson, who is usually an aggressive player, was also guilty along with his skipper of letting the required run-rate go out of reach while building their partnership.

The Royals' batsmen were at fault no doubt, but one also needs to appreciate the manner in which the KKR spinners were able to exert that pressure on the scoreboard with their miserly bowling.

Narine went for 25 runs in his first two overs but came back strongly in his final two overs while Kuldeep conceded just 18 runs in his 4 overs while also picking up the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane.

It was Chawla though who made the most telling contribution picking up the crucial wickets of Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson.

#1 Royals bottles it at the death

Heinrich Klaasen struggled big time tonight scoring a run-a-ball 18 when his side needed much more

Royals looked well and truly on top when skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi gave the side a brilliant start in the powerplay overs.

The latter's dismissal brought Sanju Samson into the crease and he joined Rahane in building a solid partnership for Royals with the knowledge that they were lacking in the batting department with the absence of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in their line-up.

But the duo was guilty of being too cautious in their approach as their 62-run partnership which took nine overs meant that the asking rate was a lot higher than what they would have desired when Rahane was dismissed right after the strategic timeout in the 15th over of the Royals innings.

That dismissal brought Heinrich Klaasen out into the middle but to state that the South African wicketkeeper-batsman struggled tonight would be an understatement.

He had a good outing in the crucial final league game against RCB no doubt, but tonight, he looked totally out of sorts and was helpless in getting the big shots that the situation demanded.

The Royals decision to send in Stuart Binny ahead of Krishnappa Gowtham was terrible, to say the least, and the team management has to take the blame for that terrible call. Not stating that Gowtham would have won it for Royals, but it would have no doubt made better sense considering his exploits with the bat this IPL.