971dDeivarayan Muthu

Rinku and Rana steer KKR home in tricky chase

Sanju Samson scored a half-century for Royals, but struggled to cut loose on a slow Wankhede pitch

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

SV Samson
SV Samson
54(49) 7x4 - 1x6
Control %76%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 11 runs
  • 1x4 - 1x6
5 4 0 10 18 7 9 1
N Rana
N Rana
48(37) 3x4 - 2x6
Control %61%
  • Productive Shot
  • cut shot
  • 9 runs
  • 0x4 - 1x6
0 15 5 6 10 4 1 7

Best performances - Bowlers

TG Southee
TG Southee
O4
M0
R46
W2
Eco11.50
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
UT Yadav
UT Yadav
O4
M1
R24
W1
Eco6.00
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: @PeterDellaPenna

11.19 pm So KKR score a big win as they try to dig themselves out of the bottom half of the table. Rana and Rinku get them across the line with an impressive half-century partnership.

Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson: "I think the wicket was a bit slow and they bowled really well, but with the batting we have I would have liked to score a few more boundaries at the end. I think we were short 15-20 runs. I have had a niggle the last few games but I'm recovering well and [my back] is fine. It was a great effort [in the field]. With the bowling and fielding we showed some real fight. The body language and energy was amazing. I think we could have batted a bit better and win the toss next time for sure. I think you have to keep on assessing the game and who is batting with you. Wickets at intervals, that's what stopped myself to keep going with momentum. When I wanted to go hard, they bowled really well and we couldn't execute our shots."

KKR coach Brendon McCullum: "Five [losses] on the bounce is no easy feat to pull yourselves out of. I just have to compliment all the guys within the group. I know it's the first year for all the guys in this team but the guys have stuck really close and we could have easily been on the other side of two or three of those games. It's not easy to keep the faith sometimes but the boys are able to do it and tonight was a fantastic performance from a couple of guys who are very good friends in particular. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh, they will grow so much from that performance. We had guys who arrived late, a couple of injuries, a couple of guys who lost form and confidence as well. So there's a myriad of reasons why we've had to make as many changes as we've had. Tonight, with Anukul coming into the side because of the nature of the wicket meant that we had to adjust our balance again and we wanted five bowlers. Mavi on this wicket has a good record. It's certainly not my way to keep chopping and changing, but sometimes you have to make the calls that you think are right. [On Rinku Singh] He's an amazing story. He's been around the franchise now for a long period of time. Before the first game that he played, I was lucky enough to spend a little bit of time with him. He knew for his own self-worth and his own career, he needed to make a statement in this competition. He was able to do it in the first game. He's such a great team man, a wonderful human being and the real vibe and culture of the group is set by Rinku. His older brother and Nitish Rana as well was out there with him and I think that gave him great confidence. Some players just deserve to have things go their way and Rinku is one of them. [On Anukul Roy] He was brilliant, again one of those guys who has been around IPL cricket for a long time without a whole lot of opportunities. But similar to Rinku, he carries himself so well and is able to contribute to the team, even if he's not playing on the field. It was great to see him get an opportunity tonight and I think he's got a big future in front of him."

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer: "Right from the Powerplay, when the bowlers came in and conceded around 36 runs in the Powerplay and getting a wicket, that was the start we needed. [On Umesh Yadav] The way he's bowling those hard lengths, he's increased his pace definitely. It's really tough to bat against him in the nets. He's got a set of plans which is really hard to read. As a captain, you just have to give him the ball and he's always up to execute things. [On Sunil Narine] He's a great asset for the team. Whenever I give him the ball, he's ready to give me wickets. He turns out to be a very economical bowler at the same time. If he gets a wicket, he gets a big one. [On Rinku Singh] I was talking to my teammates in the dressing room and was like, the way he's maintaining his calm even in such pressure situations playing his second or third game, it's outstanding. Building that partnership with Nitish Rana in that situation, it's something we have to praise about and he's a great asset for the future in the franchise. The way he has given starts right from the first game, he doesn't look like a newcomer in the team. We are looking for a great start. Every time I have to go in and build a partnership... I really love pressure but in every game, it really sweats out a lot of me."

Rinku Singh is Player of the Match: [Translated from Hindi] "Rinku Singh: I am the first to play IPL from Aligarh, though many have played Ranji Trophy. There is pressure in the IPL that is not there much in First Class. It's been five years; I haven't been getting chances regularly. Feels good to contribute now. Baz told me to finish the game and so did Nitish Rana."

That's it from live coverage of tonight's match. On behalf of my tag-team partner (and Hindi translator) S Sudarshanan, I'm Peter Della Penna. Come back tomorrow night for more IPL action. Until then, take care!

19.1
6
Sen to Rana, SIX, Rana ends the match, and how! Short ball on off stump, backs away to uppercut this over the third man rope. KKR wins by seven wickets with five balls to spare.

Sen has the ball in hand. A maiden required here to force a Super Over.

END OF OVER:
19 | 17 Runs | KKR: 152/3 (1 run required from 6 balls, RR: 8.00, RRR: 1.00)

  • Rinku Singh42 (23b)
  • Nitish Rana42 (36b)
  • Prasidh Krishna4-0-37-1
  • Yuzvendra Chahal4-0-31-0
18.6
4
Prasidh Krishna to Singh, FOUR, goes for yorker on fifth stump but misses badly. Shin high full toss whipped away through wide long-on to level the scores.

Hruday: "You don't often see DRS used sarcastically, but it was warranted in that instance"

18.6
2w
Prasidh Krishna to Rana, 2 wides, full and wide practically off the pitch, Rana was also almost off the pitch trying to ramp this and misses. Nitin Pandit signals a wide as the ball passes beyond the white line return crease. Fumble from Samson and they pinch a second extra to get Rinku on strike.

Down to a run a ball to win now.

Tushar Ponda: "Seeing Rinku Singh's profile gives a glimpse of his very impressive numbers in FC and LIST A cricket with an average of 64 and 50 respectively. With his age being 24, his great fielding, and amazing batting potential, I really hope to see him in India colors someday."

18.5
2
Prasidh Krishna to Rana, 2 runs, yorker on leg stump at 146 kph, backs away to jam this out to long-on for a sharp two.
18.4
1
Prasidh Krishna to Singh, 1 run, slower ball wide yorker on the wide guideline, goes for a big heave to this 98 kph delivery and drags it into the leg side for one.
18.4
1w
Prasidh Krishna to Singh, 1 wide, short and very wide, Rinku shuffles way across his stumps to uppercut and misses. Wide harshly called. Samson signals for a review. Is he mocking the umpire or is he genuinely asking for caught behind? There was no sound on the live action. Ball is miles away from the edge but Rinku was clearly playing at it well within reach after shuffling well past the stumps. Review lost.

KKR 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st16AJ FinchB Indrajith
2nd16B IndrajithSS Iyer
3rd60N RanaSS Iyer
4th66N RanaRK Singh

Indian Premier League

TeamMWLPTNRR
GT14104200.316
RR1495180.298
LSG1495180.251
RCB148616-0.253
DC1477140.204
PBKS1477140.126
KKR1468120.146
SRH146812-0.379
CSK144108-0.203
MI144108-0.506