Dominant KKR Wins At A Canter

Rajasthan Royals puts up an insipid display in front of the home fans

- P.K. Ajith Kumar

There was no Andre Russell show. Kolkata Knight Riders will not be complaining, though.

Dinesh Karthik’s men authored one of the most emphatic wins of this IPL, though their biggest star Russell didn’t have to bat or bowl. Against a listless Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday night, they romped home with eight wickets and over six overs to spare.

The visitors deservedly moved to the top of the table after posting their fourth win in five matches. The Royals are placed second from the bottom after slumping to their fourth defeat.

Royals got nothing right on the night, from the toss onwards. Put in, their batsmen found scoring tough against a steady attack.

But they should have shown a lot more urgency and risk or two would have been worth taking. They ended up with what was the lowest IPL total batting first after losing three wickets or less.

Early setback

They lost their captain off the first ball of the second over. Rahane was trapped plumb in front by Prasidh Krishna. The Karnataka seamer brought his first ball sharply in, beating the batsman’s attempt to tuck him through the leg-side.