Why was Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine not playing the all-important match against the Rajasthan Royals? The KKR fans would be asking themselves this question after the most popular team of the IPL lost by nine runs over the Royals at the Brabourne stadium.
It was a big match and a big player like Shane Watson responded with a big knock. The way he batted, it reminded us of the 2008 inaugural season, wherein he had played a huge role in Royals’ one and only IPL win.
On every count, it was a perfect match for the Royals from the very beginning. They won the toss and were off to a rapid start to their innings. A horrible mix-up with Watson saw Ajinkya Rahane getting run out after a rousing start. But, he shared an important 80-run stand with Watson, which laid a solid foundation for the Royals.
From there, the Royals went ahead and added another 119 runs from 13 overs to take their overall score to 199. And, it was Watson, who stayed till the end before hitting nine fours and five sixes to compile an undefeated score of 104 off 59 balls. There was no looking back for the Royals after Watson’s a very powerful knock.
The one who replaced Narine in the playing XI, Azhar Mahmood, was taken to the cleaners. He was the most expensive bowler in the KKR bowling unit. Surprisingly, even Morne Morkel went for plenty. The only bowler who stood out was Andre Russell, who took three wickets to his credit.
When KKR came out to bat, it was again Russell, who offered a glimmer of hope to the defending champions by playing his trademark shots off Royals’ bowlers. They were still in the game as long as Russell and Yusuf Pathan were batting together in the match. But two wickets from Royals’ Chris Morris in the 14th over changed the complexion of the game completely.
Both Russell and Suryakumar Yadav lost wickets to Morris, who finished with four wickets in the match. In the slog over, Umesh Yadav’s strokeful shots did offer a ray of home, but that too faded soon. KKR were down and literally out of the tournament.
Mathematically, they are still in the tournament, but it’s only a miracle that can see them in the play-offs while Royals are the second team to reach the next level of the IPL after the Chennai Super Kings.
