Rajasthan Royals have been defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders for the second time this season. Such a loss was inevitable for the Rajasthan-based franchise as they had become way too dependent on Jos Buttler, who had been promoted to the opening slot following a rejigged batting line-up.

Buttler, after clubbing five consecutive fifties in the tournament, managed to score 39 runs against KKR, at the Eden Gardens. The Royals were bundled out for 142 runs as their batters failed to stand firm against the hosts’ bowling attack, following Buttler’s departure.

A 4-wicket haul from Kuldeep Yadav sapped the energy out of RR, as only Rahul Tripathy and Jaydev Unadkat were able to go past the mark of 20 runs. Prasidh Krishna and Andre Russell also took two scalps each while Sunil Narine and Shivam Mavi shared the remaining wickets of RR between them.

RR had lost their first wicket on 63 runs but then their batting line-up collapsed, with Unadkat salvaging some pride for his side in the end. On the other hand, KKR were three down before reaching 70, yet managed to get the better of their opponents as they had gotten some sensible knock in the middle after Sunil Narine’s 7-ball cameo of 21 runs in the beginning.

Ben Stokes showcased an excellent performance by removing all three of KKR’s top-order batsmen while conceding only 15 runs in 4 overs, but his efforts went in vain as the rest of the bowlers failed to produce any scalps except for Ish Sodhi, who returned bowling figures of 4-0-21-1.

A 45-run innings from Chris Lynn, alongside another unbeaten innings of 41 runs by Dinesh Karthik took KKR past the finishing line by 6 wickets with 2 overs to spare.

Even after the defeat, Rajasthan Royals are still in the safe zone, with fifth-placed Kings XI Punjab breathing down their neck. KXIP have accumulated as many points as the Rahane-led team despite playing one game less than the former champions. KKR, on the other hand, are in a safer position at no. 3 in the points table as they are 2 points clear of RR with one match in hand.

KKR will face the table-toppers—Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next game on May 19 and RR will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on the same day.

 

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