IPL 2021: RR vs KKR - Who won yesterday’s match?

A good all-round show from Rajasthan Royals (RR) saw them get the better of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets in game 18 of IPL 2021.

After Chris Morris’ four-for restricted KKR to 133 for 9 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, RR captain Sanju Samson admirably curbed his attacking instincts and played a mature innings of 42 not out to take his team home.

RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal got an early reprieve in his team's chase of 134, as Shubman Gill dropped a sitter off Shivam Mavi at backward point in the first over of the innings. Jaiswal responded by cracking Pat Cummins for consecutive fours.

In the same over, Cummins struck Jos Buttler on the helmet when the batsman missed an attempted pull. Thankfully, Buttler did not suffer any serious injury but was back in the dugout soon thereafter. Varun Chakravarthy trapped Buttler (5) leg before with a quick and flat delivery which the batsman completely missed.

An unperturbed Samson came in and cracked two boundaries in the same over, as overpitched deliveries were dispatched through extra-cover and cover, respectively. Shivam Mavi, though, kept KKR in the game by having Jaiswal caught at deep point for 22 after the batsman had thumped a four over extra cover the previous delivery.

End of powerplay! 5⃣0⃣ runs for @rajasthanroyals 2⃣ wickets for @KKRiders #VIVOIPL #RRvKKRFollow the match 👉 https://t.co/oKLdD2Pi9R pic.twitter.com/9PRbPPaT9g

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2021

Samson and Shivam Dube (22) steadied the ship for RR, featuring in a third-wicket stand of 45. The highlight of the partnership was a six, which Samson walloped off Cummins over midwicket. The stand ended when Dube’s wild slog off Chakravarthy ended in the hands of short third man.

Rahul Tewatia was lucky when Gill, fielding on the midwicket boundary, flicked the ball away after taking the catch. Replays, though, indicated that he hadn’t crossed the ropes and could have held onto it in the first attempt. But it was that kind of a day for Gill.

Tewatia (5) couldn't capitalise on his good fortune, though, perishing to Prasidh Krishna, top-edging a bouncer to long leg.

David Miller was given out lbw to Shivam Mavi but used a review to overturn the decision successfully, as the ball had clearly pitched outside leg. There were no further hiccups, as Samson and Miller (24 not out) took RR past the finish line with seven balls to spare.

Chris Morris takes four as RR restrict KKR to 133 for 9

Chris Morris Pic: IPLT20.COM

Medium-pacer Chris Morris claimed 4 for 23 as Rajasthan Royals (RR) restricted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 133 for 9 in Mumbai. Sent into bat after losing the toss, KKR never got going in their innings, with only Rahul Tripathi (36) going past 30. He was culpable of running out his captain, though.

KKR’s innings got off to a slow start as Shubman Gill struggled to find his timing. He was even dropped in the fourth over, but his luck did not change. He was eventually out for 11 off 19 while pushing for a non-existent single; Jos Buttler ran in from mid-off and scored a direct hit to end Gill’s misery.

The impressive Chetan Sakariya dealt KKR another big blow when he had Nitish Rana (22) caught behind off a ball that got too big on the left-hander as he attempted a slash. Sunil Narine (6) also perished cheaply, top-edging a hook off Jaydev Unadkat. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had earlier dropped Gill, redeemed himself with a good catch, diving forward.

The 11th over began by Tripathi smashing a six off Morris to short fine leg. However, on the very next ball, disaster struck for KKR, as Tripathi was involved in the run-out of his captain Eoin Morgan. Tripathi drove the ball down the ground, and the ball deflected towards the bowler after hitting the non-striker's bat.

Both batsmen took a few steps thinking that a run was on, but by the time Morris had the ball in his hands and dislodged the bails at the bowler's end, Morgan was well out of his crease. The KKR captain returned to the dugout without facing a ball.

Uh-oh😯A mix-up in the middle and captain Morgan is out for a diamond duck! KKR have have lost 3 wickets in the last 3 overs. 👉 https://t.co/oKLdD36Tyr #VIVOIPL #RRvKKR pic.twitter.com/0be9eXPhWJ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2021

Tripathi hung around for a while but was eventually dismissed for 36. He tried to slog Mustafizur Rahman but only found Riyan Parag at deep midwicket.

Morris then took over, getting two wickets in the 18th over. After hitting a six, Andre Russell (9) holed out to long-on, while Dinesh Karthik (25) was caught by a leaping Chetan Sakariya at extra cover when he tried to clear the in-field.

Morris got two more scalps in the last over. Like Russell, Pat Cummins (10) also smashed a six off Morris before he was caught at deep midwicket. The RR pacer cleaned up Shivam Mavi (5) off the last ball of KKR’s innings to end with four wickets.

IPL 2021: RR vs KKR - Man of the Match

Chris Morris was the standout performer for RR with the ball. He kept things extremely tight and was rewarded with four wickets in the death others. Three of Morris’ four scalps were massive ones - Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins - as the trio could have plundered some quick runs for KKR.

Left-arm pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Jaydev Unadkat were also impressive for RR. Although they claimed only one wicket apiece, the two bowlers conceded only 22 and 25 runs respectively in their four overs.

When it was RR’s turn to bat, captain Sanju Samson scored a fluent 42 not out to ease his team home in what turned out to be a straight-forward chase.

For KKR, Rahul Tripathi top-scored with the bat with 36, while leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy claimed two wickets with the ball. Eventually, it was Chris Morris who was named the Man of the Match for his fabulous bowling at the death.