Guwahati : Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Quinton de Kock’s 97* (61) helped the defending champion achieve the feat.
KKR opting to bowl first, removed in form Sanju Samson (13) within powerplay, with help of Vaibhav Arora’s yorker, on 33. KKR bowlers kept RR Batters in check throughout the innings.
After 34(24) runs partnership between skipper Riyan Parag (25) & Yashasvi Jaiswal (29), KKR began taking cluster of wickets. In no time, RR were reduced from 67-1 to 82-5.
With Dhruv Jurel’s (33) efforts and Jofra Archer’s (16) cameo, RR reached 151-9.
The spin duo of Moeen Ali, who replaced Sunil Narine today, and Varun Chakaravarthy, conceded just 40 runs in 8 overs and bagged 4 wickets (2 each).
Apart from them, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana too picked 2-fers.
Chasing 152, Quinton de Kock (97*) played sensibly, occasionally targeting bowlers on a tough Pitch.
Despite losing Moeen Ali & skipper Ajinkya Rahane from other end, he continued his exploits. This also included 83*(44) runs match winning partnership with youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (22*).
Ultimately, in Jofra Archer’s over (18th over), de Kock smashed him for 1 boundary and 2 sixes, thereby winning the game in style. This also recorded Ajinkya Rahane’s first win as KKR captain.
Quinton de Kock’s innings of 97*(61) included 6 sixes and 8 boundaries, earning him man of the match.
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Brief Scorecard :
1st Innings :
RR : 151-9 (20)
Dhruv Jurel : 33 (28)
KKR :
Varun Chakaravarthy : 4-17-2
2nd Innings :
KKR : 153-2 (17.3)
Quinton de Kock : 97* (61)
Result : KKR won by 8 Wickets.
