Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Chahal takes fifer to jolt KKR line-up

This season, the third consecutive loss for Kolkata as Rajasthan defeats them by seven runs to climb second in the points table.

The Rajasthan Royal opener played a powerful knock.

Shreyas Iyer, on winning the toss, chose to bowl first. Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal opened the innings for Rajasthan Royals. They stitched a 97-run partnership off 59 balls, Jos Buttler reaching his quick half-century. Sunil Narine gets the first breakthrough in the 10th over in the form of Devdutt Padikkal (24). Jos Buttler then went to strike high alongside skipper Sanju Samson. Latter got dismissed on the slower ball by Andre Russell. Pat Cummins took the crucial wicket of Jos Buttler, who registered his second century of the season in the form of a sensational inning. Riyan Parag and Karun Nair fell poorly for 5 and 3 runs, respectively. Shimron Hetmyer remained not out at 26 to give the finishing touch and take the total to 217/5. 

Aggressive reply from Kolkata, but fell prey to Yuzvendra Chahal.

In an attempt to chase down a mammoth total of 218, Kolkata Knight Riders experimented with opening innings with Aaron Finch and Sunil Narine. With Finch on strike, Sunil Narine got dismissed as a diamond duck. Aron Finch then built a sensational show-stealing partnership of 107 runs in 53 balls along with Captain Shreyas Iyer. The duo looked to pull the score quickly, but Prasidh Krishna broke the partnership by dismissing Aaron Finch on his 58. This was followed by Yuzvendra Chahal striking Nitish Rana, followed by the dismissal of Andre Russell on duck by Ashwin. Venkatesh Iyer came at the fall of the 5th wicket but got stumped out on Chahal's googly. Yuzvendra Chahal then bowled a sensational 17th over to take a hat-trick by dismissing Shreyas Iyer (85), Shivam Mavi (0) and Pat Cummins (0). Umesh Yadav took the crease in power-hitting form and scored 21 runs in 8 balls, but McCoy clattered his stumps in the final over and successfully folded KKR on 210 to register their fifth win. 

Sanju Samson, the winning captain, said, "It got tensed. The quality of the players made it very interesting. Very happy for the win. There are some things that need to [be] used at the right time. You need to be smart enough to slow it down. I respect KKR as a unit. We never thought we were in the game. I think I don't need to talk much about individuals. We are lucky to have great players. Special mention to Ashwin for his delivery to Russell. And McCoy is an interesting guy. He doesn't talk much but seems to be in control over his bowling skills."

A near-perfect display of character by KKR batters couldn't steal the victory, Chahal being the point of difference. Apart from him, Obed McCoy delivered a brave and terrific final over to defend 11 runs in 6 balls, with Umesh Yadav being in the power-hitting zone. Rajasthan Royals have their next with Delhi Capitals on 22nd April, whereas Kolkata Knight Riders will clash with Gujarat Titans on 23rd April.