The 49th match of the Vivo IPL 2018 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, began with the Rajasthan Royals batting first. The openers Tripathi (27) and Jos Butler (39), got off to promising starts but failed to convert them to big knocks. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane too was dismissed cheaply.
Following Rahane, the middle order including Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, fell like a pack of cards, before Jaydev Unadkat offered little resistance to score 26(18), to take Rajasthan Royals to a decent 142 in 19 overs. Kuldeep Yadav had claimed an impressive 4/20. Entered the Kolkata Knight Riders to chase 143, and Sunil Narine exploded initially itself, only to be dismissed early after a solid 21(7).
While Robin Uthappa failed yet again, Nitish Rana flattered to deceive and fell scoring 21. Entered skipper Dinesh Karthik who forged a partnership with opener Lynn, and both began scoring slowly, at a low run rate. Lynn departed soon after, scoring 45(42). Dinesh Karthik held his nerves and scored a calm and composed match winning 31(28), leading Kolkata Knight Riders to 144/4, and a victory by 6 wickets, with 2 overs to spare.
