IPL 2018, RR vs KKR: 3 RR players who flopped against KKR 

Rajasthan Royals clashed against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday night at the iconic Eden Gardens. Put into bat first, Rajasthan Royals got off to a cracking start by scoring at more than 12 runs per over within the powerplay.

However, Kuldeep Yadav changed the course of the match post the power-play by picking up 4-20 in his quota of 4 overs. At one stage Rajasthan were 7-107 but a cameo at the end by Jaydev Unadkat (26 of 18) ensured Rajasthan Royals reached a total of 142 before being bowled out in the 19th over.

In reply, KKR started the innings with a bang by scoring 21 runs of the first over, thanks to some lusty hitting by their star opener Sunil Narine. Chris Lynn held up an end and played the sheet anchor role in KKR’s innings.

He along with skipper Dinesh Karthik added 48 runs for the 4th wicket before Lynn was dismissed in the 16th over. KKR cruised home with 2 overs to spare and for his superlative effort with the ball, Kuldeep Yadav was awarded Man of the Match.

With this win, KKR are one step closer to cementing their place in the playoffs, whereas Rajasthan Royals need to win their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore and also expect the others results to go their way due to negative run rate.

In a game that had everything, let us look at 3 players who flopped from Rajasthan Royals side.

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#3 Jofra Archer

In the first innings, Rajasthan Royals were tottering at 7-107 with more than 6 overs to spare. Jaydev Unadkat took the attack to the opposition with his aggressive stroke-play. He along with Ish Sodhi added 21 runs for the 8th wicket and Rajasthan Royals had a chance of reaching 160.

Ish Sodhi was dismissed on the third ball of the 17th over caught by the wicket-keeper. Out walked Jofra Archer and all he needed to do was to hand over the strike to Jaydev Unadkat who was batting well. But the West Indian offered no application as he slogged one straight into the hands of the long leg fielder. This dismissal dented the hopes of Rajasthan Royals of reaching the score of 150, despite having more than 2 overs to spare and finally, they were bundled out for 142 in the 19th over.

Even with the ball, Archer didn’t bowl to a particular plan. He bowled short and half volleys to which the KKR batsman obliged. He conceded 6 boundaries and 2 maximums in his 4 over spell and his bowling figures read 4-0-43-0.

#2 Ajinkya Rahane

Rajasthan Royals got off to a blazing start thanks to Jos Butler and Rahul Tripathy, who threw caution to the wind by scoring at more than 12 runs per over within the power-play. By the end of 3 overs, Rajasthan Royals were 49/0 with a run rate of 16.33. Unfortunately, Rahul Tripathy was dismissed on the 5th ball of the 5th over, trying to hook one off the bowling of Andre Russell that caught the edge and carried to the wicket-keeper. Out walked Rahane to the crease to accompany a well-settled Jos Butler.

Rahane negotiated Sunil Narine’s over (6th over) without any hassle and when everyone expected him to play a captain’s innings, he played an ugly reverse sweep that completely missed the bat to crash into the stumps of the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav. For a class player, this was an unusual way of getting dismissed and this triggered a major collapse for Rajasthan Royals. Kuldeep Yadav got into his groove and he picked up 4 wickets and Rajasthan had to end up with a below par total.

Rahane’s dismissal not only let him down but also his team and this could impact their chance of qualifying into the playoffs since this was an important game for them to win.

#1 Krishnappa Gowtham

Krishnappa Gowtham who became a star overnight with his big hitting strokeplay and match winning knocks had a terrible day at the office today.

Gautham walked in to bat when his team was in deep trouble at 5-96 in 11.1 overs. He struggled to face Kuldeep Yadav’s googly in the 12th over but somehow managed to negotiate it. Shivam Mavi was brought into the attack in the 13th over and he dismissed Gowtham on the last ball of the over with a snorter.

He couldn’t tackle one that climbed on him and caught his glove on its way to the wicket-keeper. His poor technique against short balls resulted in his dismissal and Rajasthan sunk further in their innings.

To make amends, Gowtham was given the ball to bowl the first over of KKR’s innings. Sunil Narine smashed him for 20 runs of the first four balls, that included 2 gigantic sixes and 2 boundaries. Gowtham offered no variation and pitched up deliveries right into the hitting range of Sunil Narine. This poor over completely shifted the momentum towards KKR. He was the most expensive bowler of the innings and his bowling figures read 2-0-32-0.