Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders – Indian Premier League 5 – Match recap – Royals continue winning streak with 22-run win
Obviously flourishing under the captaincy of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals followed up their victory in the season’s opener with a 22-run win against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
The Knight Riders won the toss and skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 last Friday. However,
he was unable to repeat the performance, and found himself run out on duck after facing just 4 deliveries.
Dravid (26) and wicketkeeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mayank-Goswami-c75433 followed soon after in the 9th over, clean
bowled by Bhatia, leaving the score at 61 for 3.
What followed was the winning partnership of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419, who eliminated Hodge in the 17th
over, and followed that up with Menaria in the 19th.
However, by this time the Royals’ batsmen had been able to put their team on solid ground, and by the end of the 20 overs, with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/OA-Shah-c2134 (23 off 11 balls) and Kevon Cooper (5) at the crease, the home team posted a respectable total of 164 on the board.
Aussie pacer Lee was the highest wicket-taker for the Knight Riders, claiming 2 at the expense of 29, while Bhatia took 1 for 27. The remaining bowlers were fairly disappointing – fiery Windies spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869 was hardly a threat to the opposing batsmen,
conceding 29 runs in 4 overs for no wicket, while http://www.senore.com/Cricket/YK-Pathan-c2815 gave away 28 in just 2 overs.
Any chance the Knight Riders might have had of chasing the 165 target was dealt an early blow by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692 on 5 in the 2nd over, and followed that up with the prized wicket
of skipper Gambhir, on duck, on the very next ball. The Knight Riders were still stuck on 8 in the 3rd over, when opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ankeet-Chavan-c1051.
With the top-order having given their wickets away without much of a fight, the middle-order batsmen found themselves with a fair amount of responsibility on their shoulders. The team received some respite with the innings of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Manoj-Tiwary-c1890, who scored a valiant
59 off 49 balls. He was aided in the chase most noticeably by Yusuf Pathan (with whom he established a 41-run stand), and Lee (who scored 25 off 11 balls).
Tiwary stuck it out till the end, but was unable to take his side beyond 142 and the team found themselves unsuccessful in the chase, all out by the end of 20 overs.
The ruthless http://www.senore.com/Cricket/J-Botha-c1610 chipped in with the prized scalp of
Tiwary.
Hodge was awarded the Player of the Match for his 44 off 29, and the Royals found themselves gaining two more match points, which enabled them to maintain their top spot on the league’s points table.
Dravid’s men will be facing off against the Mumbai Indians in their next IPL match, scheduled for April 11 at the Wankhede Stadium, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 – their first match of the season away from home. Meanwhile, the Knight Riders will be looking to best the Royal Challengers
Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the latters’ home city on April 10.
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