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Buttler’s ton, Chahal’s hat-trick helps RR defeat KKR by 7 runs

“Ashwin’s ball stood out as well. McCoy does not talk much and is calm, his ability to bowl well under pressure was commendable,” said Sanju Samson…reports Asian Lite News

Jos Buttler’s 103-run knock, his second of the season, and Yuzvendra Chahal’s five-wicket haul which also included a hat-trick powered Rajasthan Royals to a thrilling seven-run win against Kolkata Knight Riders here at the Brabourne Stadium.

“Chahal and Buttler’s performances were there for the world to see, ” said Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson in the Post-match presentation ceremony.

Ravichandran Ashwin took only one wicket but he got the prized scalp of dangerous Andre Russell leg before wicket for a golden duck. Obed McCoy bowled the final over of the match with KKR needing 11 runs with two wickets in hand but the left-arm pacer dismissed Sheldon Jackson and Umesh Yadav to guide Rajasthan to the fourth win of the season.

“Ashwin’s ball stood out as well. McCoy does not talk much and is calm, his ability to bowl well under pressure was commendable,” said Sanju Samson.

The match was a cliff-hanger where the pendulum tilted from one team to another as Kolkata Knight Riders were sailing through at one stage reaching the triple-figure mark in just 8.3 overs with Shreyas Iyer and Aaron Finch batting at the crease. But wickets from Chahal, Ashwin and Prasidh Krishna brought Sanju Samson led Rajasthan Royals back in the game.

“It was very tense and interesting. It was important to be calm and believe in ourselves. Halfway, I thought it was chaseable. They played very well and did not give chances. But the wickets helped,” said Sanju Samson.

This is Rajasthan Royals’ fourth win of the season in six matches taking them to the second spot in the points table. They will now take on Delhi Capitals in their next match on Friday in Pune. (ANI)

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Morgan blasts lack of intent

Saturday’s loss is the fourth loss in five matches for KKR this season and it has put them at the bottom of the points table…reports Asian Lite News

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan criticised his batsmen for not showing intent after his team lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by six wickets in an Indian Premier League match on Saturday.

Saturday’s loss is the fourth loss in five matches for KKR this season and it has put them at the bottom of the points table.

“The batting let us down. We lacked a lot of intent throughout the whole innings. We were behind the game right from the start. Didn’t put the bowlers under enough pressure,” said Morgan who himself is struggling for runs and was run out without facing a ball on Saturday.

“We were probably 40 runs short which is a lot in a T20 game. The wicket today wasn’t as good as it has been here at the Wankhede. That was a challenge in itself. Every time we tried taking an attacking option, we lost a wicket. It left us a lot to do at the back-end, which we didn’t obviously do,” he added and admitted that RR adapted to the pitch much better.

He said he wants KKR batsmen to play freely and with a clear mind.

“Clearer the mind, the easier it is. We want guys to play free-flowing cricket. It wasn’t there today unfortunately.”

KKR head coach Brendon McCullum too said that his team’s batsmen lacked intent.

“They have to play with more intent with the bat at the start,” said McCullum.

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RR roar back to form

The win, secured with seven balls to spare, put RR in sixth place in the points table while KKR were pushed to the bottom….reports Asian Lite News

Chris Morris’s four-wicket haul and a composed innings from skipper Sanju Samson (42 not out off 41 balls) helped Rajasthan Royals (RR) seal a six-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

The win, secured with seven balls to spare, put RR in sixth place in the points table while KKR were pushed to the bottom.

Morris’s haul, in which he picked power-hitters Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Dinesh Karthik, helped RR restrict KKR to 133/9 in 20 overs.

RR then chased it with the help of an unbeaten 34-run partnership for fifth wicket between Samson and David Miller (24 off 23 balls).

Though RR opener Jos Buttler failed again, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who came in for Manan Vohra, and Shivam Dube chipped in with identical scores of 22.

Russell, Cummins and Karthik had played explosive innings in the last match against Chennai Super Kings to take their side to 202 from 31/5. But on Saturday, they just couldn’t get going. All three of them were caught while trying to hit the South African over the boundary.

Morris, who was bought for Rs 16.25 crore ahead of this season by RR to become the most expensive player in IPL history, returned with figures of four for 23 in four overs. He was ably supported by left-arm pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who took one for 22.

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Saurashtra pace bowling duo Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya who opened the bowling were also impressive with the senior pro taking 1/25 and the junior 1/31 as KKR could never find their bearings.

Only Rahul Tripathi (36 off 26 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 24 balls) put up some decent batting performances to help their side get to their eventual total.

Morris’s bowling at the death hurt KKR the most.

At 117/5 and 15 balls to go, KKR had a chance to get to 150 with hard-hitters Russell, Karthik and Cummins still there.

But Morris got rid of Russell and Karthik in one over, his third, and then returned to remove Cummins in the last over.

Earlier in their innings, KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found scoring tough. They were reduced to 61/4 just after 10 overs.

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