Mumbai:Sanju Samson 42*) and Chris Morris (4/23) starred in Rajasthan Royals's 6-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the match No 18 of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Saturday.
After winning toss and opting to bowl, KKR were put in trouble right from the start. The Eoin Morgan-led side kept losing wickets at equal intervals and were restricted to 133 for 9 in 20 overs.
Chris Morris, the most expensive player in the IPL auction history, proved his worth and finished with figures of 4 for 23 - his best figures in the cash-rich tournament. Other RR pacers, Jaydev Unadkat (1/25), Chetan Sakariya (1/31) and Mustafizur Rahman (1/22), were also superb with the ball.
For KKR, Rahul Tripathi was the top-scorer his 36-run innings. Nitish Rana (22 off 25) and Dinesh Karthik (25) also made same valuable contributions with the bat.
In reply, RR lost both of their openers inside the powerplay. But, a reliable innings from skipper Sanju Samson (42*) and contributions from Shivam Dube (22) and David Miller (24*) helped Rajasthan chase down the target of 134 with seven balls to spare.
It is second win for the RR from five matches in the ongoing IPL 2021 while KKR have won just one match so far.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 133 for 9 in 20 overs. (R Tripathi 36, D Karthik 25; C Morris 4/23).
Rajasthan Royals: 134 for 4 in 18.5 overs. (S Samson 42 not out, D Miller 24 not out; V Charavarthy 2/32).(UNI)