Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, 47th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Indian Premier League 2022 Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Date & Time: May 02, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Rinku Singh and Rana took KKR home © BCCI

Glimmer of hope after 5 losses for KKR

Oh, after five losses, there is some hope for KKR. They have beaten RR by seven wickets. Rinku and Rana played the key roles with an unbeaten alliance of 66. In fact, Rinku took the pressure off his team-mate with a slew of shots.

In the 19th over, Rinku scored a couple of boundaries and 17 came off that over bowled by Prasidh, which in turn made the result of the match a foregone conclusion. Even though a few wides and a misfield helped KKR's cause. The umpiring in relation to adjudging wides has been inconsistent.

Rana provided the finishing touches with a six off Kuldeep Sen.

KKR inch closer

31 needed off 3 overs, with Rana still at the crease. Rinku Singh has also played his part with a six and a four off Kuldeep Sen and Prasidh Krishna. Even though the boundary was via the top-edge. But that four gave KKR some breathing space.

Wicket against the run of play

Oh, that wicket has come against the run of play and that too via a strangle down leg. Iyer aimed to pull but could only eke out an edge to the 'keeper. The umpire, though, didn't seem to hear the sound of the leather meeting the willow. He ended up giving it as a wide too! But Samson took the review and got it overturned.

RR needed that wicket desperately.

Key alliance

KKR needed a big over to get some momentum. It came in the 11th over when Rana smacked Ashwin for two fours and a six. KKR perhaps have edged ahead slightly now, with Iyer and Rana sharing a key alliance.

Hit-the-deck - trump card for RR

Prasidh followed Kuldeep Sen by removing Indrajith with a bumper. It was a good bouncer as he bent his back from a high-arm action and also gave no room for Indrajith. The batter could only pull it to fine leg. RR have two hit the deck pacemen and both are doing a fine job.

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13422 636

Shreyas Iyer: We will bowl first, seems like a used wicket. Considering the dew factor it helps us in the second innings. We have lost many close games. The chat is always been positive cricket. We need to play fearless cricket. We have two changes. Roy comes in for Venky and Mavi comes in. It's important to have the right combination. We are trying to give as many matches as possible to the players.

Sanju Samson: Nothing different today, looking forward to winning some tosses going forward. In this format the margin for error is very small. We have put in a great standard. Nothing much to improve on.

Pitch report: Looks a very hard surface and it's extremely dry. Yesterday we saw a big total posted by LSG. With similar conditions, you can expect a high scoring game tonight. There will be a little bit of spin on offer. With the wickets starting to get tired, the captain winning the toss should elect to bat first, reckons Hayden.

Prelude:

With five losses in a row, KKR now find themselves at a lowly 8th place on the points table. Is it too late for the Kolkata franchise to make a comeback?

KKR have been hampered by poor form of certain players. Venkatesh Iyer has struggled to notch up scores of substance. Varun's form too has been poor and he was dropped after playing 8 matches.

Andre Russell, Shreyas Iyer, Tim Southee and Sunil Narine have been doing the heavylifting for the side. Meanwhile, Jos Buttler has been in prime form for Rajasthan Royals. The RR opener has explored every nook and cranny of the ground, with his strong wrists coming into play.

Their bowlers - Y Chahal, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin and Trent Boult - have been among the wickets. However, RR did lose their pervious game to MI.

All the drama and action in a few minutes time...