IPL 2018: 3 things we learnt from RR vs KKR

The match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders was a highly-anticipated encounter with both teams coming off impressive wins, against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils respectively. RR had the explosive D’Arcy Short and Sanju Samson at the top to do their power hitting while KKR had the services of Narine and Andre Russell to go with a much-improved Dinesh Karthik.

The IPL returned to the Sawai Mansingh stadium after two years following the ban of Rajasthan Royals in 2015 and the stage was set for an enthralling encounter with two intelligent Indian skippers set for a battle of wits. The match started off in a dull manner but sprung to life when Rahane got going with four consecutive boundaries off Sunil Narine. D’Arcy Short and the other batsmen could not support their skipper though and RR ended up with a sub-par total of 160.

In reply, KKR lost Lynn early but the duo of Uthappa and Narine kept the scoreboard ticking and in the latter stages, skipper Dinesh Karthik and new recruit Nitish Rana staged a 50-run partnership to take their team home with more than an over to spare.

Here are 3 things we learned from the match:

#1 Narine is not infallible

Narine had a poor outing with the ball

Sunil Narine has had somewhat of a rollercoaster career. From being a mystery spinner in the mould of Ajantha Mendis to getting suspended for a suspect action and finally transforming into a pinch-hitter, he has come a long way.

Even though he re-worked his bowling action, he was still a nightmare to deal with for other IPL teams, going by his IPL economy rate of 6.36 which is seriously impressive in the modern T20 era. But yesterday, the scenario was different. Narine was taken to the cleaners by RR skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, who hit him for four consecutive boundaries. Narine recorded his poorest IPL figures, conceding 48 runs off his 4 overs with no wickets.

Narine more than made up for his performance in the second innings, hitting a typically explosive 35 off 25 deliveries but it was a day to forget for Narine, the bowler.

#2 Uthappa is still a force to be reckoned with

Uthappa hit a steady 48 off 36 balls

Robin Uthappa is one of those players who will always leave us scratching our heads over why he has not played for the Indian team often. A sublime 86 on debut in 2006 was followed by a stellar 2007 T20 World Cup and it seemed that India had found a new star in the making. Alas, it was not to be.

Uthappa somehow tapered off though. His domestic and IPL performances also did not catch the eye until he joined KKR in 2014. Yesterday, he reminded us of the early days. Coming in at the fall of Chris Lynn’s wicket, he hardly looked troubled as he stitched an important partnership with Narine to set up a platform for the likes of Russell and Rana. He was only dismissed by a superhuman Ben Stokes effort but had put KKR well on course to victory.

#3 Unadkat has failed to justify his price tag

Unadkat failed in yet another match

India has a rich history of producing left-arm seamers who can swing the ball prodigiously. Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan were prime exponents of swing in their hey-days and had built a legacy to uphold for the new crop of bowlers.

Unadkat was expected to join this league when he came into prominence during the Under-19 World Cup in 2010. Though India endured a poor campaign, Unadkat seemed to emerge like a bright spark. Another example of a talent gone to waste.

Unadkat has bounced around a lot in the IPL, featuring for quite a few teams but failing to make a lasting impression until the 2017 IPL. He somehow turned into a death-bowling specialist for Rising Pune Supergiant, playing a massive role in their road to the final. That encouraged Rajasthan to fork out 12 crores for the services of Unadkat, in the hopes of making him their lead bowler.

However, he seems to have regressed again following some horrific performances for RR this campaign.