After 5 successive defeats, Kolkata Knight Riders finally got back to the winning track in this season’s IPL, after they beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets at Wankhede. Shreyas Iyer won a crucial toss and elected to field first. Umesh Yadav gave them an early breakthrough before Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson steadied the shift. A very disciplined KKR bowling contained RR to 152/5 in 20 overs.

In reply, KKR lose their openers early once again but it was Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana in their middle order who made sure KKR gets over the line by playing a crucial 66 run partnership.

Let’s look at the talking points from the RR Vs KKR game-

Consistent Umesh Yadav

The 34-year-old produced his brilliance with the ball once again as he picked up Devdutt Paddikal in the third over. He also bowled some extremely good outswingers to unsettle Jos Buttler and bowled a maiden. Yadav has not played white-ball cricket for India since 2019 and certainly is proving a point in this IPL. It was his 15th wicket which makes him the second-highest wicket-taking pacer in this IPL.

Royals’ sent Hetmayer very late

At one stage RR were 90/2 in the 13th over, and fans expected them to touch the 170-180 mark with the middle order batting they have. After Karun Nair’s dismissal. They decided to send Riyan Parag ahead of in-form Shimron Hetmyer which created some doubts. The West Indian arrived at the crease in the 17th over to play a 13 ball 27 run cameo which somehow took their score to 152.

KKR’s opening pair failed again in the RR Vs KKR match

It was KKR’s 5th opening pair in 10 games which tells how much unsettled they are as per as their opening is concerned. After their major buy Alex Hales remain unavailable for this tournament, Ajinkya Rahane got the nod to open with Venkatesh Iyer this season in the early stages. After that, they tried Aaron Finch with Venkatesh and Narine, next game, Narine-Billings but nothing worked for them. In this match, it was another failure as Finch and Baba Indrajith could make only 16 as an opening pair.

Crucial Rana – Rinku partnership

It was another chance for KKR’s 8 CR buy Nitish Rana to show his worth when the team needed him. His form has been up and down just like his batting order for KKR this season. But he showed some good versatility to come at number four in this match and played an unbeaten knock of 48 off 37 balls. Alongside him, it was KKR’s super-sub Rinku Singh who showcased