IPL 2020 Highlights, KKR vs RR Match, Full Cricket Score: Knight Riders win by 60 runs, knock Royals out of tournament

Pat Cummins: My first two balls weren’t great. As long as you go back to trying to bowl your best ball, not get caught up in the moment. Always is top of the stumps, just outside off. Just trying to put as many balls in there as possible. It was a day where everything fell in place after that first over. Put a lot of pressure on myself. First game, didn’t feel I bowled that well. Feel like I’m bowling better and better with each game in the tournament.

Pat Cummins is the Player of the Match for his haul of 4/34!

Eoin Morgan, KKR captain: I thought it was the par score. Every batsman said that the wicket was beautiful to bat on. We lost wickets from 10 to 15 overs , we did well to finish where we did. We aimed at playing agressive way anyway. Imposing the way we did, I am very happy with it. We told our guys to take little bit of risk with the bat. We felt the good length was the best to bowl. To keep as simple as possible regardless of how Royals come after us. Great to see Cummins setting the tone. Winning the game was all about taking wickets. RR have world class players and you need to get them out to win. I was aware of the number (cut off mark). We tried to maximise on opportunities.

RR finishes at the last position now and CSK finishes at the seventh position

Steve Smith, Rajasthan Royals captain: I thought it was probably 180. There was a bit of dew. Losing four wickets in the powerplay, it’s always going to be tough. No one got going, and it was an unfortunate end for us. (On Cummins) Bowled nice lengths. We got off to a flier, and we lost wickets in clumps tonight. (On campaign) Started really well, won our first two games. In the middle we were just a bit inconsistent. Our batters, especially the top order were consistent. Couple of real positives. Jofra was pretty much superb in every game, whether with bat or ball. Tewatia, he pulled a few out of the hat in the tournament. Unfortunately, not enough of us were able to support them this year. The ones where you sort of win out of nowhere sort of make your season, but you also need to win the ones that you should be winning. It’s been great. The BCCI and everyone involved here have done a great job. We’ve come here and done what we loved, and hope we’v put on smiles on a few faces, especially in India. Organisers have done a terrific job.

After 20 overs,Rajasthan Royals 131/9 ( Shreyas Gopal 23 , Varun Aaron 0)

That’s it. KKR win this big match by 60 runs. They have knocked RR out of the competition, they join CSK and KXIP as the ousted teams. Nagarkoti completes his spell as well. This is a solid collective performance from KKR bowlers. Five bowlers used and four of them among wickets. RR never looked ahead in chase. KKR still afloat in tournament, by a whisker.

After 19 overs,Rajasthan Royals 129/9 ( Shreyas Gopal 22 , Varun Aaron 0)

Mavi completes his spell. A wicket in the last over of the spell for him in form of Tyagi. He gave just 15 from his four and picked up two wickets. Just one over left. RR need 63. Let’s see how many they can get and also whether they bat through the 20.

OUT! Ninth wickets goes down for RR as Mavi takes a completes a terrific caught and bowl to dismiss Kartik Tyagi. Good reflex catch and brains to hold on to it. One wicket left for KKR to seal the win. Kartik Tyagi c and b Shivam Mavi 2(3)

After 18 overs,Rajasthan Royals 127/8 ( Shreyas Gopal 21 , Kartik Tyagi 1)

Nagarkoti picks up a wicket in his third over in form of Archer. Kartik Tyagi, right hand bat, comes in to bat. Gets off the mark on the first ball he faces. KKR would be looking to bowl RR out in the next 12 balls.

OUT! Archer walks back, makes room and hits it straight down the ground but not enough power on the ball and he has been holed out in the deep. Jofra Archer c Shivam Mavi b K Nagarkoti 6(9)

After 17 overs,Rajasthan Royals 123/7 ( Shreyas Gopal 19 , Jofra Archer 5)

Narine completes his spell. Archer tricked on the first ball in the flight. Gopal with a reverse-sweep collect a boundary and then ends the over with a four again. Rajasthan Royals need 69 runs in 18 balls.

FOUR! Another reverse-hit, this time more of a reverse pull, and hits it to deep point for four runs

FOUR! Switch hit by Gopal out of nowhere, over the point fielder, for four runs

After 16 overs,Rajasthan Royals 112/7 ( Shreyas Gopal 9 , Jofra Archer 4)

Mavi returns to the attack. Another quiet over. Single off the first ball to Archer, followed by a dot. Four singles off the last four balls. Five off the over. Rajasthan Royals need 80 runs in 24 balls.

After 15 overs,Rajasthan Royals 107/7 ( Shreyas Gopal 7 , Jofra Archer 1)

Chakravarthy continues. Another top spell from the ‘Architect’. Two wickets for 19 off his four. A wicket in the last over his spell as well. KKR well and truly on top. Rajasthan Royals need 85 runs in 30 balls.

OUT! Another DK catch, fuller from Chakravarthy and seemed like the one that goes away for the left-handers, Tewatia attempted a slog sweep but did not connect, the ball went up, DK called for it and took it safely. Rahul Tewatia c Karthik b Chakravarthy 31(27)

After 14 overs,Rajasthan Royals 101/6 ( Rahul Tewatia 28 , Shreyas Gopal 5)

All kinds of shots being tried by Tewatia. Cummins completes his spell. 4 for 34 he has finishes witRR have gone past 100 in the 14th over. They need 91 runs in 36 balls.

After 13 overs,Rajasthan Royals 96/6 ( Rahul Tewatia 25 , Shreyas Gopal 3)

Chakravarthy continues. A run out scare for Gopal as he wanted to tap to short third man and run. Tewatia called from non-striker’s end and then refused.Thankfully for RR, the throw reached the batting end where Gopal reached safely, had it gone to bowler’s end, Tewatia would have struggled. Rajasthan Royals need 96 runs in 42 balls.

After 12 overs,Rajasthan Royals 93/6 ( Rahul Tewatia 23 , Shreyas Gopal 2)

Narine back on. Tewatia with two good strokes, collectes 10 runs, a four first and then a six. RR need another Tewatia kind of innings to get out of the jail. Rajasthan Royals need 99 runs in 48 balls.

SIX! Tewatia with another six, fuller from Narine and on the middle leg, favours the leg side and he slog swept this well for a flat six

FOUR! On back foot is Tewatia and he smashes through covers on this short ball from Narine.

After 11 overs,Rajasthan Royals 81/6 ( Rahul Tewatia 12 , Shreyas Gopal 1)

And just when it appeared RR are slowly coming back in the game, a wicket has fallen and that too of big man Buttler. Chakravarthy back on, managed to produce an edge on just the first ball, but to his bad luck, ball ran away for four runs for lack of first slip. But he got hus man later in the over. Shreyas Gopal is the new man in. Seven off the over and the wicket of Buttler.

OUT! BIG WICKET!

Buttler is gone. Short ball, not the best of his deliveries, Buttler eyes the deep mid-wicket boundary and wanted to clear but could not connect well, the ball went to Cummins placed there. RR six down. 

Buttler c Cummins b Chakravarthy 35(22)

FOUR! Chakravarthy comes back on, produces an edge off Buttler but there is no slip and the ball races away for four behind the stumps

After 10 overs,Rajasthan Royals 74/5 ( Jos Buttler 29 , Rahul Tewatia 12)

Many permutation and combinations going on currently. This team loses, and that team goes through and all. But one things is for sure, the team which loses today is out of the competition. Rest, our statsman Umang Pabari will keep you updates with the maths. Eight off the over. Rajasthan Royals need 118 runs in 60 balls.

FOUR! Fine shot, middled by Buttler, full from Nagarkoti and Buttler hits it to long off boundary for four runs. Sweet sound of the bat!

After 9 overs,Rajasthan Royals 66/5 ( Jos Buttler 22 , Rahul Tewatia 11)

Narine continues. Buttler starts the over with a huge six. He is picking up Narine well and mostly playing him on back foot. Single to finish the over. 10 off it. First time out in the chase has been taken.

SIX! Buttler with a huge six, not a bad ball, little short maybe, Buttler rocks back and smashes this for a long six straight down the ground.

After 8 overs,Rajasthan Royals 56/5 ( Jos Buttler 13 , Rahul Tewatia 10)

Kamlesh Nagarkoti, right-arm fast, into the attack. He is bowling short stuff at Buttler, one came at a perfect height for England batsman who dispatched it for four runs. Tewatia slogs one, the outside edge takes it to square on the off side and it lands right between the three fielders approaching. Lucky for the left-handed batsman. RR have gone past fifty as well. Boundary by Tewatia to end the over.

FOUR! Room given outside the off stump by Nagarkoti and Tewatia reached out for it and hit it for four to deep extra cover.

FOUR! Buttler swivels it away for four runs, short ball from Nagarkoti and just the ball Buttler wanted!

4 or more wickets in the PP overs in an IPL match:

5 – Ishant Sharma v KTK, 2011
4 – Shoaib Akhtar v DD, 2008
4 – Ajit Chandila v PWI, 2012
4 – Dhawal Kulkarni v RCB, 2016
4 – Pat Cummins v RR, 2020*

After 7 overs,Rajasthan Royals 45/5 ( Jos Buttler 9 , Rahul Tewatia 4)

Mystery bowlers from both the ends as Narine begins his spell as well. Top start from the West Indian as he gives away just four in his first over. Rajasthan Royals need 147 runs in 78 balls.

After 6 overs,Rajasthan Royals 41/5 ( Jos Buttler 7 , Rahul Tewatia 2)

Varun Chakravarthy, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack, replaces Mavi. Powerplay over. Rahul Tewatia, left handed bat, has joined Buttler in the middle. Nagarkoti makes a mistake in the field and someone screams hard at me, seems like it was DK. KKR are passionate on the field, they want to win it big. Just four off the over.

After 5 overs,Rajasthan Royals 37/5 ( Jos Buttler 5 , Rahul Tewatia 0)

Buttler with probably the best shot this evening, through the covers. He is a key here. Cummins into his third as Morgan going for the kill, he is looking to dismiss them under 100 for a strong NRR. Parag dismissed on the last ball of the ove to make Cummins’ figures look even better at this stage. RR completely on back foot with half of their side gone.

OUT! DK takes another, his third catch this evening, and third wicket for Cummins, on last ball of his third over, very well directed short delivery from Cummins, Parag could not handle it and the ball kissed the gloves and went to DK who took a safe catch. 
Riyan Parag c Karthik b Cummins 0(7)

FOUR! AH Buttler! Room outside off, and Buttler, on back foot, caresses it through the covers for four. Sunny Gavaskar on air says, " I can travel miles to watch this shot". It was that good.

After 4 overs,Rajasthan Royals 32/4 ( Jos Buttler 0 , Riyan Parag 0)

Crazy things happening in the middle. RR losing control in the chase. They got off to a great start, the best for any team in this IPL as Stokes and Uthappa collected 19 off the first over but then from ball five of the same over, the self-destruction began and it continues. Samson also gone, trying to score quickly. KKR in total control. A maiden wicket for Mavi. Top stuff.

OUT! Samson gone, lovely ball, on good length and it moves away, Samson drives nevertheless and as a result, ends up edging it to keeper. DK does the rest behind the stumps. Horrible start for RR in this chase. Samson c Karthik b Shivam Mavi 1(4)

After 3 overs,Rajasthan Royals 32/3 ( Sanju Samson (W) 1 , Jos Buttler 0)

What an over for KKR. First DK taking a blinder behind the stumps. And then Cummins setting up his Australia teammate to eventually get him on the last ball of the overl. KKR in command now. Five runs and two wickets.

OUT! Another dismissal for Smith in this fashion, as he chops on to the stumps, Cummins back of the length, just outside off, Smith tries to punch it but the ball takes the inside edge and hits the stump. Two wickets in the over. Smith b Cummins 4(4)

OUT! DK, you beauty! What a catch! A flying catch behind the stumps. Cummins from round the wicket to Stokes, he swings, ball takes the edge and flies through left of DK, who flew last second to his left to take a blinder and held on to it. Superb catch. Stokes c Karthik b Cummins 18(11)

After 2 overs,Rajasthan Royals 27/1 ( Ben Stokes 18 , Steven Smith (C) 0)

Shivam Mavi, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack from the other end. He starts off with two dots, in complete contrast to the first over. Follows it up with a wide.The third ball rises from the length and loops in air, Mavi gave himself a chance but it landed a feet away from him. Lucky on the next ball as well. Mavi could not collect the ball to run Stokes out at the batting end. Stokes hits a boundary next ball and takes a single to keep strike on the last ball. Eight off the over.

FOUR! Fuller and on off stump, Stokes dances down, makes room and smacks it through covers for four runs.

After 1 over, Rajasthan Royals 19/1 ( Ben Stokes 11 , )

Cummins bowls the first over. What an over. He starts off with a terrible delivery, down the leg and dispatched for six by Uthappa. Stokes defends the first ball he faces before edging one for four and then playing an extra-ordinary shot for a six behind the wicket. Was turning out to be a terrible first over from Cummins. 19 off it. But he ended up getting a wicket on the last ball. Uthappa gone, Smith comes in.

OUT! Uthappa walks back, right in the slot to hit, on the legs and Uthappa flicks it to the man at deep square leg. RR lose their first wicket. Uthappa c K Nagarkoti b Cummins 6(2)

KKR needs to win by 81 runs or more to have a better NRR than DC and RCB both.

If RR chases this target down within 14 overs then they’ll have a better NRR than DC and if they do it within 13 overs then they’ll have a better NRR than RCB.

SIX! Stokes plays a paddle-scoop, shuffles in his crease, covers the off stump and guides the ball over fine leg for a maximum

FOUR! Cummins round the wicket to Stokes, he makes room and swings the bat, ball takes the inside edge and runs away for four to fine leg. Lucky.

SIX! Cummins bowls down the leg stump, actually on the hips of Uthappa and he flicks it for six over fine leg. What a shot!

Alright back with the chase. We have a hunch that it will be a nail-biter. Stokes (LBH) and Uthappa (RHB) come out to open for RR. Cummins, right arm fast, bowls the first over. Uthappa to take strike for first ball.

After 20 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 191/7 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 68 , Kamlesh Nagarkoti 1)

Tyagi bowls the final over. Cummins collects a brace off the first ball of the final over, but gets caught behind off the second after edging off the toe end. Single to Nagarkoti off the first delivery he faces. Morgan then turns down singles off each of the next two deliveries, before smashing the ball over the bowler’s head to finish the innings off in style. The skipper remains unbeaten on 68 off 35 as KKR set RR 192 to enter the playoffs.

SIX! Heaved straight over the umpire’s head and beyond the sight screen! Majestic finish to the innings as Kolkata Knight Riders post 191/7 on the board after being asked to bat by Rajasthan Royals!

OUT! Cummins edges a wide ball from Tyagi off the toe-end, and gets caught by Samson behind the wickets as his little cameo comes to an end. KKR 184/7

Cummins c Samson b Tyagi 15(11)

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 182/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 62 , Pat Cummins 13)

Another huge over for the KKR as Ben Stokes is smashed for 24 runs in his third over of the evening — three sixes (two to Morgan) and a four)! Kolkata poised for a handsome finish today.

FOUR! Worked through the gap between backward point and short third man by Morgan! KKR 182/6

SIX! Back-to-back hits over the fence for Morgan off Stokes! Hammered over long off this time! Vital runs these for Kolkata! KKR 178/6

SIX! Hammered over long on has Morgan, and that brings up his half-century off just 30 deliveries! He’s producing a captain’s knock today, and it’s coming at the most crucial juncture in their campaign so far! KKR 172/6

SIX! Fuller delivery from Stokes, and Cummins smacks this over long off for a maximum! KKR 165/6

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 158/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 45 , Pat Cummins 6)

Archer bowls out his final over, giving away six off it to sign off with neat figures of 1/19 from four overs. Plenty of running between the wickets in this one as Cummins collects a brace off the second and third deliveries, followed by a single and a leg bye off the next two. Sharp bouncer to Cummins to end the over.

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 152/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 45 , Pat Cummins 1)

Six off this over as Smith brings Stokes back into the attack, with Morgan collecting a boundary off the last delivery to bring up the 150 for his side.

FOUR! Driven through the off side, has Morgan, off the last delivery of Stokes’ second over! KKR 152/6

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 146/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 40 , Pat Cummins 1)

Tyagi returns to the attack, and Russell puts him under pressure right away by smacking sixes off each of the first two balls, both down the ground. Against the run of play, he’s dismissed off the next delivery as substitute fielder Miller takes a screamer at deep point to dismiss him for 25. 14 runs and a wicket from this over.

OUT! A wicket against the run of play! Dre Russ looks to make it three sixes in a row off Tyagi, but is undone by a brilliant effort by substitute fielder Miller at deep point! The Jamaican’s livid with himself after the dismissal! KKR 144/6

Russell c sub(Miller) b Tyagi 25(11)

SIX! Two-in-two for Dre Russ off Tyagi, and the young pacer is under massive pressure at the moment. This one goes sailing over long off! KKR 144/5

SIX! In the slot for Dre Russ, the Jamaican sends this flying over long on! KKR 138/5

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 132/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 40 , Andre Russell 13)

Archer’s brought back for another spell, and unfortunately for him, he goes for runs in this over as Russell hits him for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries, with 11 coming off this over.

SIX! Short from Archer, and Russell’s smashed this over the midwicket fence with authorit! KKR 131/5

FOUR! Thick edge off Dre Russ’s bat that sends the ball flying towards the third man fence! KKR 125/5

SR in death overs in IPL:

Eoin Morgan : 172.4
Andre Russell : 207.2

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 121/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 40 , Andre Russell 2)

Morgan’s bossed Gopal completely in this over as he smashes the Karnataka leggie for two fours and as many sixes off the last four deliveries of the over, with 21 runs being added to the KKR total!

SIX! 21 runs off this over! How Morgan has turned things around all of a sudden! Hammers this over long on! KKR 121/5

SIX! All the way over long off! Straight hit off Morgan’s bat as the skipper collects his firs big hit of the evening! KKR 115/5

Karthik against leg-spinners this IPL:

Balls : 19
Dismissals : 6
Average : 2.3
SR : 73.7

FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries for Morgan this time as he goes big over extra cover! KKR 109/5

FOUR! Hammered straight down the ground by Morgan off Gopal! KKR 105/5

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 100/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 20 , Andre Russell 1)

Just cannot keep Rahul Tewatia out of the game! The leg-spinner grabs his third wicket just two balls after conceding a boundary to Morgan off the first ball, with Karthik getting caught by Smith at short midwicket after getting a thick inside edge. Dre Russ joins Morgan at the crease now, and this is the make-or-break partnership as far as Kolkata’s playoff chances are concerned. Rahul Tewatia signs off with 3/25 from four, as Reiffel points to his watch again to signal the second timeout of the innings.

OUT! Karthik gets a thick inside edge that balloons the ball to Steve Smith standing at catching midwicket! Flurry of wickets brings Rajasthan back on top in the middle overs! The former Kolkata skipper departs for a golden duck, the second in this innings! KKR 99/5

Karthik c Smith b Tewatia 0(1)

FOUR! Swept away towards the square-leg fence by Morgan off Tewatia! Parag puts in a dive near the boundary and nearly pulls off a screamer. KKR 98/4

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 94/4 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 15 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 0)

Six off Gopal’s second over, including a brace to Morgan off the fourth delivery after a swipe towards wide long on and a wide off the fifth. Morgan gets a thick outside edge after the wide that nearly carries to Varun Aaron standing at short third man. Tripathi perishes off the last ball, holing out to Uthappa — who takes a fine catch running to his left near deep square leg. Meanwhile, the towels are out already and in full use as dew has set in at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Surely that’s good news for the Rajasthan batsmen, especially the in-form Stokes and Samson.

OUT! Tripathi perishes while looking to boost the stagnant run-rate in the middle-overs, getting caught by Uthappa at deep square leg who takes a fine catch running to his left. KKR 94/4

Tripathi c Uthappa b Gopal 39(34)

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 88/3 ( Rahul Tripathi 38 , Eoin Morgan (C) 11)

Another tidy over for Tewatia as he keeps a check on the KKR run flow with his economical bowling, giving away just four singles in his third over of the evening. Morgan tries charging down the pitch in the fifth delivery, but ends up mishitting it from the toe end for a dot.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 84/3 ( Rahul Tripathi 36 , Eoin Morgan (C) 9)

Tyagi continues as KKR skipper Eoin Morgan walks out to the centre, and gets going in no time with a six over fine leg off the fourth delivery. The Irish-born Englishman drives the ball through the cover region for a brace off the fifth ball, and refuses a single off the last. 10 off the over.

SIX! Dug in short by Tyagi aimed at his helmet, Morgan hooks this over the fine leg fence for his first six of the innings. KKR 82/3

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 74/3 ( Rahul Tripathi 35 , Eoin Morgan (C) 0)

Tewatia’s hit for a boundary by Tripathi off the first delivery of his second over, but he strikes two balls later, dismissing Gill for 36 to break the 72-run partnership and bring Rajasthan back in the game after a phase that saw the two batsmen bossing the attack. Timeout taken after the dismissal, with Tewatia getting a wicket on the other side of the break as well as Narine holes out to Stokes at wide long on off the last delivery to depart for a two-ball duck. Two wickets for just six runs in RT’s 2nd over.

OUT! Sunil Narine fails to last beyond two deliveries, going for the glory shot early on but failing to get the connection. Wasn’t the easiest of chances for Stokes getting under the ball at wide long on, but he grabs it safely in the end. KKR 74/3

Narine c Stokes b Tewatia 0(2)

OUT! Tewatia brings Rajasthan back into the game by getting rid of the dangerman in Gill, who perishes after getting a top-edge off an attempted slog-sweep towards deep midwicket. Easy pickings for Jos Buttler in the deep. Umpire Paul Reiffel also signals the first timeout of the evening. KKR 73/2

Gill c Buttler b Tewatia 36(24)

FOUR! Cut hard through the off side by Tripathi off Tewatia! Sweeper cover running to his left can’t stop this one. KKR 72/1

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 68/1 ( Shubman Gill 36 , Rahul Tripathi 29)

Young pacer Kartik Tyagi brought into the attack now, and he gets off to a tidy start, conceding four singles off his first six deliveries of the evening.

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 64/1 ( Shubman Gill 34 , Rahul Tripathi 27)

Rahul Tewatia brought into the attack as the field spreads out following the end of the powerplay, and he concedes a single off each of the second and third deliveries. Appeal for stumping off the fourth, but Tripathi’s backfoot is firmly grounded behind the crease. Tripathi collects his second six off the fifth delivery, smacking the ball over long on. Nine from the over.

SIX! High and handsome from Tripathi, who dances down the track and smacks this over long on for a maximum! KKR 64/1

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 55/1 ( Shubman Gill 33 , Rahul Tripathi 20)

Aaron returns to the attack in place of Gopal, who went for 17 in his first over of the evening. Single to Gill off the first delivery, followed by a superb crunch off the backfoot off the second delivery by Tripathi. He then brings up the fifty stand off the penultimate ball, setting off for the non-striker’s end after getting hit on the pad. Gill ends the over with a flick past short fine leg for a boundary. Superb comeback by Kolkata after losing Rana early as the pair boost their run-rate with some well-time shots all over the ground!

FOUR! Full and angling down leg, Gill comfortably flicks this wide of short fine leg to collect a boundary at the end of the powerplay. KKR 55/1

Fifty partnership up between Gill and Tripathi for the second wicket off just 33 deliveries, the latter bringing up the milestone by setting off for a run after getting hit on the front pad. What a counter-attack this has been from the two after the early dismissal of Rana. KKR 51/1

FOUR! Tripathi shuffles across the crease, and punches this through the gap in the cover arc! Was the knuckle ball from Aaron, and the batsman picked this one beautifully! KKR 48/1

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 43/1 ( Shubman Gill 27 , Rahul Tripathi 16)

Stokes brought into the attack in the fifth over of the innings. Gill works the ball through midwicket for a brace off the second delivery, which is followed by a single off each of the next three. Tripathi hooks a short ball over the backward square-leg fence for the first maximum of the innings off the last delivery.

SIX! The first big hit of the innings, and this comes from Tripathi’s bat. Short from Stokes, Tripathi hooks this over the backward square-leg fence, where the leaping fielder is unable to get his hand to the ball. KKR 43/1

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 32/1 ( Shubman Gill 23 , Rahul Tripathi 9)

Smith turns to spin in the powerplay, giving Gopal the ball. The move however, doesn’t look that promising however, as the Karnataka leg-spinner gets carted for four boundaries — two each to Gill and Tripathi. Kolkata recover from the early blow with a flurry of boundaries.

FOUR! Heaved away towards the cow corner fence by Tripathi this time! A very expensive over indeed for Gopal! KKR 32/1

FOUR! Now a boundary for Tripathi as the current pair are taking full toll of the fielding restrictions at the moment. Tripathi gets down on one knee and slog-sweeps the ball towards the backward square-leg fence. KKR 28/1

FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries for Gill off Gopal, this time a Stokes misfield at cow corner — and a rare one for the Englishman that too — results in the ball touching the boundary cushion after a well-timed pull. KKR 23/1

FOUR! Gill collects a boundary off the first delivery of spin this evening, executing a wristy flick over a leaping Archer at mid off! KKR 19/1

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 15/1 ( Shubman Gill 14 , Rahul Tripathi 1)

Tripathi ducks to a well-directed short ball from Archer at the start of the over, and is denied a single after tapping the ball towards square leg in the next delivery. Finally gets off the mark with a single off the seventh delivery that he faces. Archer clocks 148 clicks while bowling a dot in the fourth delivery. Single and dot to finish the over.

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 13/1 ( Shubman Gill 13 , Rahul Tripathi 0)

Varun Aaron, one of the faster bowlers India’s produced over the years, bowls from the other end and gets off to a relatively expensive start as Gill smacks him for three boundaries.

FOUR! What an over this is turning out to be for KKR! Short again from Aaron, and Gill goes square in his pull this time. KKR 13/1

FOUR! Delicious! Fuller delivery from Aaron this time, and Gill flicks this with ease over midwicket! KKR 9/1

FOUR! First boundary of the innings, and a welcome one for the Knight Riders as Gill pulls a short ball from Aaron behind square, beating the man running to his left from fine leg. KKR 5/1

After 1 over,Kolkata Knight Riders 1/1 ( Shubman Gill 1 , Rahul Tripathi 0)

Outstanding over from Archer to start the evening for his team. Gets rid of Rana — who continues his trend of alternating between a fifty and a duck — off the second ball, cramping the southpaw for room and getting an outside edge that safely carries to the keeper. Beats new batsman Tripathi with a peach of a delivery two balls later that goes under his bat and sails just above the stumps. Just one run — which gets Gill off the mark off the first delivery — conceded for the wicket. Advantage Rajasthan already!

Most wickets in PP overs this IPL:

12 : Trent Boult 
10 : Jofra Archer*
7 :   Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Sandeep Sharma

OUT! Archer gets the early breakthrough as Rana nicks the ball to the keeper to get adjudged caught-behind for a golden duck! What’s more, he’s consumed the vital review in the process despite getting a clear nick! Boy Morgan and Baz won’t be happy with that, and might give him an earful in the dugout. KKR 1/1

Rana c Samson b Archer 0(1)

Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana walk out to the centre to begin Kolkata’s innings, hoping to get their side off to a solid start in what is a knockout match for both sides. Jofra Archer with the ball in hand, and he will hope to unleash the kind of destruction he’s known for, and do it early in the powerplay.

KKR have a 11-10 win/loss record against KXIP in IPL.

KXIP are officially knocked out of this IPL which means that this will be the first time in IPL history that a team finishing at the bottom of the points table has six wins.

KKR XI: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Rahul Tripathi, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy

RR XI: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi

Eoin Morgan, KKR captain: Absolutely. The conditions look similar to the game against Chennai. He’s back (Andre Russell). Great to have Dre back in the side. He’s been an integral member of the side for so long. Let’s hope tonight’s the night. Ricky Singh misses out, and Shivam Mavi comes in in the other change. As a side you want to get in a position to win the game.

Steve Smith, RR captain: Just had really good plans, and nice to get some runs on top of the order. In the games we haven’t done well, batters haven’t done well. Fortunately, Stokes and Sanju have done well for us. Same team for today.

Rajasthan Royals win the toss, and skipper Steve Smith opts to bowl!

Here are the two squads

KKR: Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Ali Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik

RR: Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat.

It’s been one crazy IPL, with no dead rubbers really this year. Every match has been of importance to each time, with the bottom four teams picking up after the halfway stage. Just four games left and we still don’t know who are the three teams which will make the cut to playoffs alongside MI. 

Have a look at the points table here.

IPL is on but some international cricket action is also going on with Pakistan taking on Zimbabwe in the second ODI at Rawalpindi. 

Check out the live scorecard here.

Injury risk still hovers over Rohit

Meanwhile for table leaders and defending champions Mumbai Indians, they might miss out on the services of regular skipper Rohit Sharma for a little while longer, maybe for all of their remaining games  after a medical report on the flamboyant batsman stated that he risked getting injured again and has been advised not to rush his comeback, especially with the Australia tour looming.

IPL 2020 qualification scenarios

While MI are confirmed to finish on top of the points table, and CSK are all but set to bow out of the tournament after today’s clash against KXIP, the tournament’s still wide open for every single other team from the second to the seventh spots thanks to the resurgence of teams that were lagging behind at the halfway stage of the season.

Cricket statistician Umang Pabari sheds light on the qualification chances of the teams involved. Click here to read the piece

A virtual knockout in store today

While KKR have hit a roadblock after hovering at the fourth spot on the IPL 2020 points table for the most part this season, RR have scripted an impressive comeback in their last two games, acing tough chases against Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab to keep their playoff hopes alive.

It all comes down to the second match of the Sunday double-header now, with the loser all but set to bid their playoff hopes goodbye.

Read the full preview here

KXIP set CSK 154 to win

In the other match taking place in the Sunday double-header, Kings XI Punjab stutter after getting off to another very good start, with middle-order batsman Deepak Hooda ultimately hitting an unbeaten 62 off 30 balls to guide his side to 153/6 after being asked to bat by MS Dhoni — who incidentally made it very clear that this is not his last match in the yellow jersey.

Follow live updates on the match here

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 54th match of IPL 2020, with Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Rajasthan Royals in a match that can be considered something of knockout, with the loser of this game bidding goodbye to their hopes of making it to the playoffs from here.