IPL 2020, Match 12: KKR hand RR first defeat of the season

IPL 2020, Match 12, Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Kolkata Knight Riders won by 37 runs

Wednesday, Oct 01, 2020, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Crucial contributions from opener Shubman Gill and pacers inspired Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to defeat Rajasthan Royals (RR) and go into the top 4 in the points table! Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals who won both their high scoring games in Sharjah bagged their first defeat of the season!

After being sent into bat first, KKR had a cautious start as they had in their previous games this season! Shubman Gill once again top scored for them scoring a 34-ball 47 which included 5 fours and a six. Nitish Rana (22 off 17) and Andre Russell (24 off 14) got into 20s while a late burst from Eoin Morgan (34* off 23) helped KKR finish with 174/6 in 20 overs.

Image Credits: IPL / BCCI

Among Royals bowlers, Jofra Archer bagged two wickets while Rahul Tewatia, Jayadev Unadkat, Tom Curran and Ankit Rajpoot picked up a wicket apiece. Rajasthan were coming into this game with a 200+ total in their first two games but the other side of the innings break had its own plans for RR!

Chasing a competitive total, Rajasthan's top order failed to put on a show with the bat! Jos Buttler (21 off 16) and Rahul Tewatia (14 off 10) are the only players in top 6 to get into double figures. The other four batsmen in top 6 combinedly scored only 14 runs! Royals lost their first 6 wickets for just 66 runs and the 100-run mark seemed highly impossible at that stage!

Then RR pacer Tom Curran who walked in at No. 7 batted superbly towards the end scoring an unbeaten half-century which helped Royals to at least gain some Net Run Rate! Curran scored unbeaten 54* runs off just 36 deliveries with 2 fours and 3 sixes.

Pat Cummins bowled with great control and is the pick of KKR bowlers with figures of 1/13 in his 3 overs. Each of the six KKR bowlers who bowled in this match picked up at least a wicket each! Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Varun Chakravarthy bagged two wickets apiece while Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav bagged a wicket each.

Shivam Mavi who dismissed Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson has been adjudged as the 'Player of the Match' for his bowling figures of 2/20 in 4 overs. After this match, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals are stationed at second and third positions respectively in the points table. Both have 4 points each with two victories in three games!

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders - 174/6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gull - 47, Eoin Morgan - 34, Jofra Archer - 2/18, Rahul Tewatia - 1/6) defeated Rajasthan Royals - 137/9 in 20 overs (Tom Curran - 54*, Jos Buttler - 21, Kamlesh Nagarkoti - 2/13, Shivam Mavi - 2/20) by a margin of 37 runs