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Right, the Rinku Singh masterclass has definitely wiped off our Monday blues, and we hope yours too! It has been a cracker of a contest and despite what the scorecard suggests, both sides were in this until the last few overs! The Knight Riders will be hoping this win converts into a series of victories while the Royals will look to bounce back in the next. Plenty of thinking for them to do. That is all that we have for you from our coverage tonight folks. Hope you enjoyed it! Join us back tomorrow as the action continues at the DY Patil Stadium where table-toppers Gujarat Titans take on the Punjab Kings. Until next time then, this is me, Maanas Upadhyay, alongside Shashwat Kumar, bidding you adieu! Good night!
Rinku Singh (Man of the Match): I am the first boy from Aligarh who has played the IPL. Many play the Ranji Trophy but not the IPL. This is a big league so there is a lot of pressure here. I was waiting a lot of years so I wanted a chance now. I worked very hard, came back from injury and scored lots of runs in the domestic games as well. I had spoken to bhaiyya (Shreyas Iyer) and Baz (Brendon McCullum) had told me to finish off the game. (On what conversations he has with Iyer) I cannot reveal that, we keep talking about stuff (chuckles).
Shreyas Iyer (KKR captain): Right from the powerplay, when the bowlers came in and conceded around 36-38 runs in the powerplay and got a wicket, that was the start we needed. We've been talking about him (Umesh Yadav) right from the start. It is tough to bat against him in the nets. You just have to give him the ball and he executes his plans. He (Sunil Narine) is a great asset against the team. I was talking to my teammates in the dressing room. The way he (Rinku singh) maintains his calm is brilliant. He is a great asset for the franchise and he does not look like he is a newcomer into the team. We are looking for a great start because overtime I have to go in and build the partnership. We need the finesse in the first two-three overs so that we can get around 40 runs in the powerplay. Before the game, I told Mavi, Rinku and Anukul to take the difficult positions in the field. Even Mavi is brilliant in the field, the way he took Buttler's catch was brilliant. Hope the form continues.
Sanju Samson (RR captain): I think the wicket was a bit slow and they also bowled well. With the batting we have, we would have liked to score a few more boundaries towards the end. We were about 15-20 runs short. I am recovering well now (on his injury) and it is fine. It was a really great effort with the ball tonight - like the last game. We showed some real fight in the game. The body language and the energy was amazing. We could have batted a little better, and probably win the toss next time. We have to keep on assessing the game and keep on assessing who is batting with you. Wickets here and there didn't help and when I wanted to go big, they bowled well.
The Knight Riders have bounced back in style as they end their 5-match losing streak with a belligerent win against arguably one of the better sides in the tournament. Jubilation all around for the Knight Riders and the Royals will certainly be disappointed with their showing as they crash to their second defeat on the trot - both losses which have been due to a lacklustre batting performance in the first innings.
Chasing 153 runs was always going to be tricky on this surface and it did not begin in the best of manners for the Knight Riders as they lost Aaron Finch early on. Baba Indrajith, playing at the top of the order, played a few good strokes before being dismissed in the powerplay itself. The start was not one of the greatest for the Knight Riders as the batters took time to settle in. However, what followed was an excellent 60-run partnership between the skipper Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana as the duo laid the platform for their win.
Just when KKR were in cruise control, Shreyas lost his wicket against the run of play, getting dismissed for a slow but steady knock. What followed was an outstanding exhibition of batting from Rinku Singh, who was sent in ahead of Andre Russell. The 24-year old provided the impetus to the KKR innings and calmly went about his business, playing a wonderful match-winning knock alongside Rana. The two southpaws were absolutely brilliant, targeting the right bowlers and found the gaps at will.
Well then, the Knight Riders move up and leap over the Punjab Kings courtesy a higher net run-rate. They still need to win all remaining matches from here on but this win will certainly give them hope that they can just pull off the unthinkable. As for the Royals, it is two back-to-back defeats and they just might want to make a few tweaks to strengthen their batting (or their luck at the toss).
19.1 Kuldeep Sen to Nitish Rana, SIX! THAT WILL BE THAT! Short delivery outside off stump and that is just what Rana is waiting for! He backs away, gives himself enough room and upper cuts it over third man for a six to snap KKR's five-game losing streak! Wow, RR have now lost two on the spin and are suddenly not looking as invincible as they once did!
Kuldeep Sen [3-0-22-1] is back into the attack
A brilliant over for KKR and Rinku Singh's calmness has played a massive part in this run-chase. A few harsh wide calls coupled with some absolute brilliance by Rinku has seen the garner 17 runs off the penultimate over! Just one run needed now and just formalities remain in this contest.
19
overs
152/3score
1
1
1w
4
1w
1
2
2w
4
runs
Nitish Rana
42(36)
Rinku Singh*
42(23)
Prasidh Krishna
1/37
18.6 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, FOUR! SHOT! Low full toss just outside off stump. Rinku does not move around this time and instead, shovels it past mid wicket for four
Chants of "cheater, cheater" going across the stadium. The crowd are certainly not happy with the wide calls. However, the last one passed past the end-line and had to be called a wide irrespective of how far across the batter had moved.
18.6 Prasidh Krishna to Nitish Rana, ANOTHER WIDE! Full delivery speared way outside off stump. Rana walks very close to the tramlines and then misses his scoop. The ball goes well past the white line too and KKR sneak in another single
18.5 Prasidh Krishna to Nitish Rana, yorker on middle and leg stump. Rana gets his front foot out of the way and bunts the ball down the ground towards long on for a brace
18.4 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, slower delivery on a length outside off stump. Rinku has a slog across the line and chalks the ball into the on side towards mid wicket for a single
18.4 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, WIDE AGAIN! Back of a length delivery outside off stump. Rinku shuffles across and flays at it. He misses but the umpire again signals a wide. Surely not? Sanju reviews for caught behind. There is clear daylight between the bat and the ball and the third umpire does not need to proceed to Ultra-Edge to make his decision. However, replays show that was it a really harsh call. Surely not a wide delivery, that one.
18.3 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, FOUR! MISFIELD BY BOULT! Full delivery outside off stump. Rinku sits deep in his crease and drills it towards mid off, where Boult produces an uncharacteristic misfield
The napkins are out. Not for the ball though, Prasidh wipes his face. Whew! The temperatures in Mumbai are scorching!
18.3 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, full delivery slanted across the batter outside off stump. Rinku throws his hands at it and misses. But the umpire signals a wide, rightly so!
18.2 Prasidh Krishna to Nitish Rana, WELL WELL! Wide yorker outside off stump and Rana tries to reverse ramp. He makes a mess of it and toe ends it into the leg side for a single
18.1 Prasidh Krishna to Rinku Singh, full delivery outside off stump. Rinku plants his front foot and chalks the ball down the ground towards mid off for just another single. KKR need a boundary early in the over!
Prasidh to continue. Can he bowl a quiet over here?
The decision to bring on Chahal in this over might have been one of the best ones by skipper Sanju Samson but one cannot blame him, he did not have much of a choice. Tried to save the leg-spinner for Russell but that is a strategy that might end up costing them. 13 runs off the over and the Knight Riders need another 18 runs from 2 overs. With the ball coming onto the bat nicely and the duo of Rinku and Rana firing, this seems to be a straightforward chase for the Knight Riders. Their game to lose from here on. How long will it take for them to chase this down? Find out on Disney+ Hotstar!