IPL 2020: RR vs KKR Review: KKR thump hapless Royals in one-sided clash

Kolkata Knight Riders comfortably defeated the Rajasthan Royals to register their second consecutive win in IPL 2020 on Wednesday. With this result, all eight teams have won or lost at least one game already.

After losing the toss, KKR never looked settled during their innings. Shubman Gill played a decent knock scoring 47 runs off 34 balls. Eoin Morgan (34*) batted well till the end to propel his team to 174 runs in their 20 overs.

RR appeared to be dodgy in the chase with their skipper Steve Smith playing big shots from the get-go. They couldn’t adjust to the conditions in Dubai and kept losing wickets one after the other. Jos Buttler looked like he was getting back into his groove. But that wasn’t the case as Shivam Mavi got the better of him. At 42/5, the Royals were already out of the game.

It was only because of Tom Curran that they completed their full quota of 20 overs. And the England cricketer enjoyed his stay in the middle, hitting some lusty blows for his unbeaten 54 off just 36. RR could only reach 137 in the chase after 20 overs and lost the game by 37 runs.

Turning point

Shivam Mavi impresses – The Royals batsmen were coming off the highest-ever successful run-chase of the IPL and KKR needed some quick wickets. That is what Shivam Mavi did after coming into the attack. He first sent back the man in-form Sanju Samson and then won the battle against the dangerous-looking Buttler. He ended with the figures of 2/18 in his four overs and was one of the best bowlers for his side on the day.

This 37-run win is the biggest for KKR vs RR in the IPL.

Top performers

Way Ahead

Both RR and KKR will be in action again on Saturday during the first doubleheader weekend of the season. While the Royals will face RCB in the first match of the day, the Knight Riders will lock horns against Delhi Capitals in the evening.