IPL 2019: Match 43, KKR vs RR – Rajasthan Royals Player Ratings

The Kolkata Knight Riders have missed their plot horribly this season. After having dominated the early days of the season, they have now lost six games on a trot. Their most recent defeat came against the Rajasthan Royals in a home game at the Eden Gardens. After having posted 175 on the board, KKR were pretty much in the hunt to defend the total. But some brilliant batting by Riyan Parag and a couple of big shots from Jofra Archer sealed the game for RR.

Coming into the game, the Royals won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. Varun Aaron bowled an excellent spell for RR as he dismissed Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill early in the innings. Nitish Rana (21) struggled at the crease, whilst Dinesh Karthik planned his innings to perfection. Wickets kept tumbling around Karthik, with even the big names like Andre Russell failing on the day. Unfazed by all of this, Karthik scored an unbeaten 97 to help KKR post 175/6 in their 20 overs.

In the run chase, the RR openers got off to a decent start with Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson adding 53 runs for the first wicket. But four wickets in quick succession got them reeling and KKR had clawed back in the game big time. Riyan Parag then scored a brilliant 47, and Jofra Archer provided the much-needed acceleration to bring the visitors in the equation again. Parag perished in the penultimate over but Archer stayed till the very end to see RR win by 3 wickets.

Here are the RR Player Ratings for the match:

Ajinkya Rahane – 4/10

Ajinkya Rahane walked in to bat riding on some serious confidence after hitting his second IPL ton in the previous outing for the pink outfit. Rahane looked in sublime form and hit some lovely boundaries during his stay at the crease. He added 53 runs for the opening wicket with Sanju Samson. During his 21 ball stay, he scored 34 runs with 5 fours and a six to his name.

Sanju Sams0n – 3/10

There is no doubt that Sanju Samson is a very talented young batter. But the fact that he has been failing to convert his good starts to big scores on a consistent basis, is hurting his reputation. The story was no different in this game either. He raced to 22 off just 15 balls with two maximums and then ended up throwing his wicket away.

Steve Smith – 2/10

RR skipper Steve Smith had hit two consecutive fifties for his side in the lead up to this name. No wonder why the expectations were very high from the skipper to lead from the front in what promised to be a critical run chase. Smith had a rare failure with the bat and ended up disappointing big time. He perished after scoring just 2.

Ben Stokes – 2/10

It was a tame end to Ben Stokes’ campaign in the 2019 edition of the IPL. Stokes is set to leave the RR camp and join the national side now. He had hoped to finish things on a high but could only score 11 off the 10 balls that he faced. He was not tested with the ball in this game, and it was indeed, a very silent wrap up to a lowly IPL stint for the hyped all-rounder.

Riyan Parag – 9/10

Young Riyan Parag deserves a lot of credit for the way he has been calm and composed in crunch situations. He had showed his spirits with a gutsy knock a match ago, and replicated it here as well, with a match-defining 47. Parag’s brutal hits in the final overs proved to be the difference between the two sides. He scored 47 off 31 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name. He was unlucky to have been hit wicket just when everyone thought he would hit the winning runs for his side.

Stuart Binny – 3/10

The RR team management seems very confused about what they expect from Stuart Binny. They had used him as a frontline bowler in the last two games, and he had performed well enough. Despite this, he did not get an over to bowl in the match. With the bat, he came in at the crease as a lower middle-order batter and scored a run-a-ball 11 before getting dismissed.

Shreyas Gopal – 4/10

Shreyas Gopal has been the most consistent bowler for RR in the competition this season. The leg spinner had a great start to his spell in this game as well. He took the wicket of Nitish Rana to bring a halt to budding KKR partnership. However, he could not contain the run flow in the game. He conceded 31 runs in the three overs that he bowled.

Jofra Archer – 7/10

Playing his final game of the season before heading for his maiden international assignment, Jofra Archer had a memorable time in the field. Having largely underperformed with the bat, despite having a good hitting reputation, Archer came good with the willow in Kolkata. He scored an unbeaten 27 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to see his side over the line. Earlier in the game, he was decent with the ball too and finished with 0/28 in his four overs.

Jaydev Unadkat – 2/10

The RR camp will be very worried about the form of Jaydev Unadkat. The most expensive bowler in the competition, Unadkat, had a nightmare with the ball yet again. He was taken away for 50 runs in his quota of four overs and Dinesh Karthik took a special liking to his bowling. To his respite, he has the wicket of Carlos Brathwaite against his name in this game.

Oshane Thomas – 4/10

Oshane Thomas had a decent IPL debut. Playing his first game for the side, he did a fair job with the ball. He was not the most economical of all bowlers but looked impressive for someone who was on his debut in a league as big as this. In the four overs that he bowled, he gave away 32 runs and accounted for the big and massive wicket of Andre Russell.

Varun Aaron – 8/10

Varun Aaron played his second match of the season for the Royals. When he had last turned up for his side, he was taken away for aplenty in the two overs that he had bowled. This time around, the management certainly made better use of him. He was given the new ball and he responded well by bowling a maiden first up. He dismissed both the RR openers and completed a clinical spell of 2/20 in his four overs.

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