IPL 2022, RR vs KKR, Top Performances: Rana-Rinku 66* partnership, tight bowling help KKR win

IPL 2022, RR vs KKR, Top Performances: Umesh Yadav's 1-24, Nitish Rana's 48* and Rinku Singh's 42* are top three performances from RR vs KKR game.

Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh put up a valiant 66-run partnership to take KKR home (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Brief Scores: KKR 158-3 (Rana 48*, Rinku Singh 42*, Sen 1-28) beat RR 152-5 (Samson 54, Umesh 1-24) by 7 wickets

Player of the Match: Rinku Singh – 42*(23) & 2 catches

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) got back to the winning track with a 7-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. The last time they went loggerheads witnessed an outcome that favoured Sanju Samson & Co with a 7-run win over the Knight Riders in a high-scoring contest.

Jos Buttler anchored his side to 217/5 with a 103-run knock and also his second century of IPL 2022. KKR, in the quest to chase the mammoth target, came close to winning, owing to the 85-run knock from their skipper Shreyas Iyer, however, they fell short by 7 runs in the end. The player of the match from that game, Yuzvendra Chahal's (5/40) registered his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL.

Going into this match, KKR were struggling with five losses on the trot. While Rajasthan Royals lost to Mumbai Indians by five wickets in their last outing on Saturday. The head-to-head record between KKR and RR ahead of this game was 13-12, which KKR bettered with a win by 7 wickets today. On a confusing pitch of Wankhede that has offered a mix of results, including both high-scoring matches and low-scoring games too, the game was afoot.

Shreyas Iyer after winning the toss opted to bowl first, considering that the last two matches played on the track witnessed the chasing teams ending up on the right side of the finishing line.

KKR win their fourth game after five consecutive losses since April 6

It took KKR five consecutive losses to get back to winning ways in the game against Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets. A perfect redemption for the Shreyas Iyer-led side that had lost by 7 runs in their previous encounter against the Royals on April 18.

An all-round performance from the unit, especially how the middle-order coped after the side lost two wickets during the powerplay, saw them overcome the odds this time around.

KKR batted their fifth new opening batting combination this season in the form of Aaron Finch (4) and Baba Indrajith (15), which however didn’t seem to click for them. But efficient batting from the likes of Shreyas Iyer (34), Nitish Rana (48*) and Rinku Singh (42*) helped them overcome the target in the final over of the game.

Earlier in the night, RR pacers - Tim Southee (2/46), Umesh Yadav (1/24) and Shivam Mavi (1/33) - accounted for 4 wickets, while spinners Sunil Narine (0/19) and debutant Anukul Roy (1/28) were economical in restricting RR to 152/5 in 20 overs.

Let’s look at the top performances from the game between RR and KKR:

Umesh Yadav's 1-24 helps KKR restrict Rajasthan Royals for 152 (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Umesh Yadav delivers economical spell

The ‘Strongman’ has been one of the most improved bowlers in IPL 2022, especially for Kolkata Knight Riders. He started the spell for KKR and leaked four runs in the first over to Jos Buttler. Umesh Yadav came back for the 3rd and took down Devdutt Padikkal for a paltry 2 runs (off 5 balls). The pacer disarmed the left-right opening combination of RR with a brilliant caught & bowled, similar to the one he did against Prithvi Shaw in the previous game against Delhi Capitals.

Yadav put an end to Padikkal’s knock, who has been in indifferent form this season. Incidentally, Umesh also delivered a maiden over, that helped KKR build pressure on RR during the powerplay. As a result, RR managed to get 38/1 during the powerplay, nearly a run-a-ball show which was clearly below par.

After the completion of his spell, Umesh Yadav finished with 1/24 in four overs at an economy rate of 6 runs per over, while other KKR pacers went for over 8 runs per over.

Read More: IPL 2022, MI vs RR Top Performances: Meredith's 2-24 restricts RR to 158; MI register first win

Nitish Rana's unbeaten 48 helps KKR beat Rajasthan Royals (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Nitish Rana anchors KKR’s chase with an unbeaten 48*

For the second match in a row, Nitish Rana remained the top-scorer of KKR while chasing. In the last game against Delhi Capitals, he scored 57 runs off 34 balls which, however, couldn’t help Kolkata win.

Chasing 153 runs, KKR suffered two jolts in the form of their openers departing early during the powerplay as the scorecard showed 32/2 after 6 overs. However, Nitish Rana, who remained unbeaten on 48* runs off 37 deliveries, got into a 60-run partnership for the third wicket with skipper Shreyas Iyer and took KKR close to the 100-run mark. Unfortunately, Iyer departed after scoring 34 runs off 32 balls following a brilliant review from Rajasthan Royals.

KKR still needed more than 61 runs from 43 deliveries but things were in their control for forcing a win. Next, Nitish followed up with another 50+ run partnership with new batter Rinku Singh and led the side home to their 4th win of the season. His unbeaten 48-run-knock comprised of three boundaries and a couple of sixes.

Read More: IPL 2022, DC vs KKR, Top Performances: Kuldeep 4-14, Mustafizur 3-18, Powell's 33* take DC home

Rinku Singh gets player of the match for his 23-ball-42 against KKR (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Rinku Singh’s onslaught encashes an easy win for KKR

The 24-year-old Rinku Singh from Aligarh has been improving game by game for KKR. He scored an unbeaten 42* runs off 23 balls and guided KKR to a comfortable victory. He came in to bat when KKR needed 61 runs in 7.1 overs, and took no time, before initiating his onslaught on RR bowlers.

Singh started his innings with a boundary off the first ball he faced from Trent Boult, and then followed the pursuit with regular singles and mindful strokes for boundaries. The youngster engaged in a 66* partnership with Nitish Rana, while his innings was laced with half a dozen boundaries and a six at a strike rate 182.60. This is the third game in a row when Rinku rose to the occasion with his finishing abilities, which KKR has been looking for especially after mixed results from the middle-order.

In the last two games, Rinku scored 23 runs (off 16 balls) & 35 runs (off 28 balls) against Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans, respectively.

Read More: IPL 2022, Top Indian Bowlers: Pacers Natarajan, Umran, Khaleel impress besides resurgent ‘Kulcha’

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table

What’s to come

Table-toppers Gujarat Titans will come face to face with Punjab Kings in the 48th game of IPL 2022 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on May 3.

Here are some of the top twitter reactions from KKR vs RR game, IPL 2022:

Read More: IPL 2022, Teams Likely for Playoffs: Rajasthan, Gujarat firm favourites; SRH, LSG have decent chance