IPL 2019: Match 35, KKR vs RCB - Was Robin Uthappa responsible for KKR’s loss?

It was raining sixes at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last night. More than 400 runs were scored in 40 overs in the 35th match of IPL 2019. It was yet another typical high-scoring thriller in the history of IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders who had lost their last three matches on the trot took on a sorry Royal Challengers Bangalore side who had won only one out of their first eight games. Dinesh Karthik, the KKR skipper, won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Virat Kohli’s majestic hundred and Moeen Ali’s brilliant counter-attack against Kuldeep Yadav helped RCB to post a massive target of 214. In reply, KKR had a poor start to the run chase as they lost their first three wickets for just 33 runs at the end of five overs.

Then, Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana steadied the run chase by scoring 46 runs for the fourth wicket. Despite the required run rate climbing higher at the end of every over, KKR never looked out of the run chase as Andre Russell was still at the crease.

In the end, Rana’s eventual onslaught and Russell’s blitzkrieg knock of 65 runs from just 25 balls were not enough for KKR as they lost the match by a narrow margin of just 10 runs.

Now, looking back at the KKR innings, a sluggish knock of 9 runs from 20 balls from Uthappa proved to be the difference between the two teams. It was understandable that the team had lost three early wickets and a partnership was needed at that stage.

During the partnership between Rana and Uthappa, 46 runs were scored from 41 balls. Rana played the aggressor's role as he scored 31 runs in that partnership. Uthappa could manage to score only eight runs during that period as the remaining seven runs came from wide deliveries.

Uthappa lacked timing and often found the fielders with his shots. His inability to rotate the strike denied any momentum to KKR in the middle-overs. When Uthappa was dismissed, it was seen as a blessing in disguise for KKR as Russell had arrived to the crease.

Had Uthappa shown some intent in the middle-overs, the result would have been unquestionably come out in the favor of KKR. As Russell stated in his post-match presentation, in the end it was just a matter of two hits.