The impressive run of Rajasthan Royals continued as they restricted a strong batting line-up of Kolkata Knight Riders to 174 for 6 in the Dream11 Indian Premier League match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Table toppers Rajasthan Royals, who are gunning for their third successive victories, won the toss and skipper Steve Smith opted to field first.
Although Shubman Gill, Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell flourished with their willows they could not take their team to anywhere near the 200-run mark.
With Rajasthan Royals batsmen in top class form in this IPL season, it looked quite an achievable target for them unless KRR bowlers come up with some extraordinary effort.
Gill (47: 34 balls, 5×4, 1×6) did no harm to his growing reputation as he produced yet another glorious knock. Last match hero Gill and Sunil Narine (15: 14 balls, 2×4, 1×6) gave KKR a solid start. Nitish Rana (22: 17 balls, 2×4, 1×6) then maintained the momentum with Gill.
The stylish opener missed his second half century of the season by just three runs when he mistimed a pull and Jofra Archer made no mistake in his follow through.
Russell blasted 24 off just 14 balls which included three huge sixes. The giant batsman was caught by Jaydev Unadkat at the boundary line off Ankit Rajpoot.
Eoin Morgan signed off the innings in style by cracking an undefeated 34 off 23 deliveries. The English southpaw hit a couple of big sixes to bolster the KKR innings.
Jofra Archer was the pick of the RR bowlers with two for 18 from his four-over spell. Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Tom Curran and Ankit Rajpoot chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Brief Scores
Kolkata Knight Riders 174 for 6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 47, Eoin Morgan 34 not out, Andre Russell 24, Nitish Rana 22, Sunil Narine 15, Pat Cummins 12, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 8 not out; Jofra Archer 2-18, Rahul Tewatia 1-6, Jaydev Unadkat 1-14, Tom Curran 1-37, Ankit Rajpoot 1-39) vs Rajasthan Royals.
Courtesy: orangecitysports.com
