Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hurricane unbeaten 98 off 47 deliveries as well as Yuzvendra Chahal’s excellent bowling with 4 for 25 runs guided Rajasthan Royals to a 9-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders with 41 balls remaining at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. 

Asked to bat first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 149 for the loss of wickets. Venkatesh Iyer was the top scorer for KKR with 57 off 42 balls. Incidentally, the openers Jason Roy (10) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (18) failed to give a boost to the remaining batsmen of the home team. Both looked surrendering to seasoned left-arm pacer Trent Boult. Skipper Nitish Rana (22) too got out after getting a start. Chahal sealed KKR’s fate with a superb piece of bowling, continuing his fine run of form.

In reply to KKR’s 149, it was Jaiswal storm at the Eden Gardens which looked almost impossible for KKR to resist. Jaiswal hit five sixes and 12 fours. Even though Jos Buttler got run out without scoring a run, Sanju Samson gave perfect assistance to Jaiswal, the remaining 48 not out to steer Rajasthan to the victory. Rajasthan scored 151 losing only Buttler’s wicket in 13.1 overs.

Rajasthan Royals are fifth in the standings with five wins and six losses through their first eleven games. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders, who have played 11 games, are sixth in the standings with a record of five wins and six losses. 

Even though RR now leads KKR in terms of net run rate (NRR), the situation could swiftly change if they keep winning since a win for any team will put them in the top four.