Singh, Yadav give KKR emphatic win over RR

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the forty-seventh game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Rinku Singh was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Royals' go-slow strategy

In his first over, Umesh Yadav got the new ball to swing both ways, threatening the edges of Jos Buttler. With his stump-to-stump darts, Ankul Roy, who was selected in lieu of the out-of-form Venkatesh Iyer, kept Buttler - and Devdutt Padikkal - quiet. In his second over, Yadav struck with Padikkal spooning a return catch for two runs.

Sanju Samson got a move on in the fifth over, hitting Yadav for back-to-back fours after watching the Royals eat up 18 dots in the opening four overs. Buttler took an uncommonly long time to reach 22 off 24 balls before being dismissed by Shivam Mavi and Tim Southee. Buttler shoveled one away in the air with his muscular bottom wrist after Southee bowled one in his slot - or possibly just short of it. The ball appeared to sail away for six for a brief period, but Mavi intervened by springing athletically to his right at long-on to snag the ball from thin air. The Royals were 55 for 2 in the ninth over at the time.

Royals get a from Samson and Hetmyer

Samson was more fluid, frequently leaping outside leg to create swinging room and scoring chances. He got to 40 from 30 balls, but just 14 off his last 19 deliveries. A magnificent cut off Mavi was the pick of his eight boundaries, but the seamer bounced back to dismiss Samson for the fifth time in seven IPL innings. Shreyas Iyer revealed during the toss that Mavi had returned in lieu of Harshit Rana due to his favorable match-ups against the Royals batsmen. Mavi did a good job in his four overs, taking 1 for 33.

Riyan Parag only batted for a few minutes (19 off 12 balls), but Shimron Hetmyer clattered an unbeaten 27 off 13 balls in the slog overs, as he has done so frequently recently. He was especially harsh on Southee, taking him out for 17 in just five deliveries.

KKR's go-slow strategy

The Royals' offense had plenty to work with because of Samson's early impetus and Hetmyer's late punches. The new ball was swung by Trent Boult, who bothered Aaron Finch and Baba Indrajith - the Knight Riders' seventh different opening combination this IPL. When Kuldeep Sen rushed Finch and had him chopping on for 4 off 7 balls, he made the first incision.

When Indrajith rocketed Prasidh Krishna over short fine leg for four, he showed glimpses of his enhanced white-ball potential. Indrajith top-edged a hook to fine leg, who had been forced back onto the boundary after that four, thanks to Krishna's head-high bouncer the following ball. In the powerplay, the Knight Riders stumbled to a 32 for 2 score.

Rana-Rinku performance

In the next over, Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced to the attack, and Iyer sliced his first ball between backward point and short third man. In his third over, Nitish Rana went after him with a variety of sweeps, including the reverse-hit, and picked him off for 4,6,4.

Boult had Iyer caught by Samson down the leg side for 34 off 32 balls, but Rana and Rinku Singh completed the job for the Knight Riders without much fuss. With Rana vulnerable to rapid pace and bounce, Singh took on both Krishna and Sen before lining up Chahal too. Often confined to being KKR's regular substitute fielder in the IPL, Singh showed off his batting chops by contributing 42 off just 23 balls to an unbroken 66-run stand with Rana.