Press Trust of India
Mumbai, May 16: The party turned sour for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their co-owner’s territory as the Knights virtually ruled themselves out of a play-off berth by going to down to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by nine runs at the Brabourne Stadium here Saturday. And all this happened in front of Shah Rukh Khan, who had come to watch his team play in Mumbai after a gap of three years.
Shane Watson (104 n o, 59b, 9×4, 5×6) led the Royal charge and then picked up the crucial wicket of Yusuf Pathan (44, 35b, 5×4, 1×6) to turn the game into a nightmare for the Knights. With 15 points from 14 games, the chances of the defending champions retaining the trophy are virtually over.
None of the KKR batters could play the role that Watson did as he batted through the 20 overs when RR batted. Andre Russel (37, 20b, 4×4, 2×6) threatened for a brief while, but the moment he was dismissed by Chris Morris (4/23), a winning target of 200 was always going to be difficult.
Planning always plays an important role in a T20 game. It is on this aspect that Royals scored over the defending champions. For no rhyme or reason, the KKR management suddenly fielded Azhar Mahmood (41 runs in his three overs and six while batting) in their most crucial match of the tournament. On the other hand RR, brought back Dhawal Kulkarni (2/36) back into the team keeping in mind his experience while bowling in Mumbai conditions. It paid them rich results.
Brief Scores
RR 199 for six (Shane Watson 104 no; Andre Russell 3/32) beat KKR 190 for nine (Yusuf Pathan 44, Andre Russell 27; Chris Morris 4/23, Dhawal Kulkarni 2/36) by nine runs.
