Dethrone CSK, climb to the top of points table

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 8 wickets at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur yesterday.

Chasing 140 runs, KKR openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine gave the visitors a flying start as the duo galloped 52 runs in only 4.1 overs. Sunil Narine was at his best as he scored a quickfire 47 off just 25 balls at a strike rate of 188. His innings included 6 fours and 3 sixes. Narine and Lynn clobbered boundaries around the park at will as they added 91 runs for the 1st wicket in 8.3 overs.

Narine was dismissed by Shreyas Gopal. On the other hand, Lynn brought up his 7th IPL half-century before he was dismissed for 50 off 32 balls. His innings also included 6 fours and 3 sixes. Gopal dismissed Lynn who was caught at 1st slip by Steve Smith.

By the time Lynn was dismissed, KKR were in touching distance from a fabulous win. Robin Uthappa scored 26 off 16 (1 four, 2 sixes) to ensure KKR don’t lose further wickets.
With this win, KKR climbed to the top of the points table, dethroning Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with a superior net run rate.

Earlier, RR scored 139/3 in 20 overs courtesy a fluent 73 not out by Steve Smith.

DC beat RCB

Chasing 150 for victory in their IPL 2019 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Delhi Capitals rode on skipper Shreyas Iyer’s 50-ball 67 to get to victory with 7 balls to spare.

Winning the toss, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first. Scoring looked difficult for the RCB batsmen throughout, as the away team kept picking regular wickets.

Virat Kohli, in an unusual display, got most of his runs in singles, as he kept losing partners on the other end. Moeen Ali (32) gave some impetus to the RCB innings. Kohli almost came to life after Moeen Ali’s onslaught, hitting two consecutive sixes.

However, devastatingly for the home crowd, Kohli fell for 41. Kagiso Rabada was the star of the show, devastating RCB with three wickets in the 18th over.

Despite Shikhar Dhawan’s early wicket in the chase, RCB could not make regular inroads as Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer consolidated the innings. There was a rush of wickets towards the end, but it was too little too late as the Delhi Capitals lower order held their nerves to take their team to victory.

RCB, now having lost six consecutive matches, are stuck at the bottom of the table with 0 points. DC, now having won three matches in six, are now at fifth position on the table.