Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]April 19 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers Varun Chakravarthy and Kartik starred with three-wicket hauls apiece, to restrict Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a modest 155/9 in their 20 overs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Sunday in Kolkata.
Still searching for their first win of the 2026 IPL, KKR will need to chase down 156 in their 20 overs to secure two crucial points and keep their playoff hopes alive.
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After winning the toss, RR opted to bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened the innings for the Royals. Vaibhav Arora started with a very tight first over, conceding just 6 runs in the opening over.
Sooryavanshi got his innings going in the next over, opening his arms against Kartik Tyagi and smashing two boundaries. However, Cameron Green responded with a tight over, conceding just a single boundary and following it up with four consecutive dot balls.
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Continuing to dominate the opening stand, Sooryavanshi took on Arora in his second over, collecting 15 runs with three crisp fours. He carried the momentum into the next over as well, launching KKR’s premium spinner Sunil Narine for a six.
Narine, though, bounced back strongly, tightening his line to deliver five dot balls in succession. In the last over of the power-play, Green leaked 22 runs, which powered the visitors to 63/0.
KKR tightened their lines after the power play, conceding just 16 runs in the next two overs. The pressure paid off in the 8th over when Chakravarthy dismissed the dangerous Sooryavanshi for 46, bringing up his 200th wicket in T20 cricket, bringing Dhruv Jurel to the crease.
Chakravarthy struck again in his next over, picking up his second wicket of the match by dismissing Jurel for just 5. Attempting a reverse sweep, Jurel completely missed the ball, and Tim Seifert, behind the stumps, did a sharp stumping.
Narine in the following over, took the price wicket of set batter Jaiswal for 39, bringing Shimron Hetmyer to the crease. Things got worse for the Royals as Chakravarthy in the last over cleaned up RR skipper Riyan Parag, who was struggling to put bat on ball.
KKR faced a collapse going from 81/0 to 124-5 as Narine, on the final ball of his spell, removed Donovan Ferreira for 7. Tyagi, in the 19th over, gave RR a triple blow as he removed Ravindra Jadeja, Shimron Hetmyer, and Ravi Bishnoi.
Arora, in the final over, gave 9 runs to restrict the visitors to 155/9. (ANI)
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