Kolkata Knight Riders return to winning ways with win over Royals
Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back from a five-match losing streak as they clinched a seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals.
Chitrangada Chaudhuri
Umesh Yadav once again provided KKR the early breakthrough as he removed Devdutt Padikkal for just 2 off 5 to reduce RR to 7/1 in 2.1 overs
Following the early wicket, Samson and Buttler stitched together a second-wicket stand of 48 off 39
The in-form Jos Buttler was removed by Tim Southee as Shivam Mavi took a stunner to remove him for just 22 off 25
Shivam Mavi, once again, delivered against the Royals as he removed Sanju Samson for 54 off 49 to to reduce RR to 115/5 in 17.1 overs
Shimron Hetmyer, who has been handed the finisher's role for the Royals, gave the runrate a much-needed boost as he hammered Tim Southee for 20 runs in the 19th over
Shivam Mavi conceded just 10 in the final over as Royals scored 152/5
KKR's chase got off to a shaky start as Kuldeep Sen removed Aaron Finch (4) to reduce KKR to 16/1 in 3.1 overs
Ashwin removed Baba Indrajith (15) in the final over of the powerplay as KKR was reduced to 32/2 in the first six overs
Nitish Rana piled the pressure on RR as Ashwin conceded 16 runs in the 11th over after being hit for three consecutive boundaries: 6-4-6 by Rana
Nitish Rana and Shreyas Iyer's third-wicket partnership of 60 off 43 set the stage for KKR
Nitish Rana (48) and Rinku Singh (42) finished the job with a fourth wicket stand of 66-off 38 as KKR clinched their fourth win of the season.