Rajasthan Royals 217 for 5 (Buttler 103, Samson 38, Narine 2-21) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 210 (S Iyer 85, Finch 58, Chahal 5-40) by seven runs
Rajasthan Royals defended 217 by the skin of their teeth in an instant IPL classic at the Brabourne Stadium, with debutant Obed McCoy rearranging Umesh Yadav’s stumps to see out a nerve-jangling win.
Kolkata Knight Riders were pinned against the ropes as Jos Buttler hit his second hundred of the season and his third in his last seven IPL innings, playing out Sunil Narine but dominating the rest of their attack on his way to 103 off 61 balls. He was supported ably by Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, as Royals plundered the highest total of the season.
But after a false start, which saw Narine getting run out without facing a ball after his promotion to pinch-hit at the top of the order, Knight Riders fought back. Aaron Finch led the charge with 58 off 28 balls, adding 107 in just 8.5 overs with Shreyas Iyer.
Yuzvendra Chahal appeared to have won the match in his final over: he had Venkatesh Iyer stumped off the first ball, a ripping googly, then removed Shreyas, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins to complete his first IPL hat-trick and five-for and leave KKR needing 38 off 18 balls with two wickets in hand.
With nothing to lose, Umesh swung hard. Trent Boult’s final over cost 20 runs, including two sixes and a four, to leave 18 required off the last two. But Prasidh Krishna conceded only seven, and McCoy held his nerve with two wickets in four balls to seal a breathless win.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo