Twitter Reactions: Nitish, Russell propel Kolkata Knight Riders total to 200

The iconic Eden Gardens was all set to host the match 13 of the 2018 edition of the IPL. The match was going to be an emotional affair of sorts for the fans at the venue. Their home side, the Kolkata Knight Riders, were ready to take on the Delhi Daredevils – a team that was going to be led by the former KKR captain, Gautam Gambhir. Certainly, the moment was quite nostalgic for Gambhir who stepped on to the very familiar field, albeit as the opposition skipper.

He received a very warm reception from the KKR camp and the fans present at the venue. The toss went in his favor too, and Gambhir had no hesitation in bowling first. The Chris Lynn-Sunil Narine opening duo was back for the Kolkata Knight Riders. However, neither of the two power strikers lived up to the expectations. Trent Boult bowled a fiery spell up front that saw Narine getting dismissed on a duck.

He bowled a maiden over to set things right for the visitors. Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn rallied along after that. While Uthappa’s 35 came off just 19 deliveries, Lynn played a rather uncharacteristic knock on the day. He could only muster 31 runs during his 29-ball stay at the crease. Skipper Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana took the baton forward from thereon.

Karthik played well for his cameo of 19 runs and his dismissal meant the arrival of the Jamaican beast Andre Russell at the crease. What perspired was absolute carnage from thereon. Russell’s 12-ball stay yielded 41 runs that included 6 maximums. It was sheer power display from Russell, who hit all the sixes to Mohammed Shami across the last two overs of the pacer.

Russell looked like scoring the fastest fifty but Boult rattled his stumps in the 18th over. While Russell missed out on his fifty, Rana reached his fifty in 30 deliveries. Rana’s handy knock of 59 off 35 deliveries ended in the penultimate over. His efforts were good enough to see the Kolkata Knight Riders post a total of 200/9 in 20 overs. The last over of the innings yielded just 1 run and saw three wickets falling down. Will that make a difference? Only time will tell.

Here is how the fans reacted to the KKR innings:

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