Ganguly-led KKR triumph; Rajasthan eliminated

KKR made four changes to their playing eleven – David Hussey, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar and Iqbal Abdulla made way for Cheteshwar Pujara, Jaydev Unadkat (the player of the match), Murali Kartik and Shane Bond.

RR made three changes to their playing (Micha)eleven – Lumb, Amit Paunikar and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala made way for Aaron Finch, Paras Dogra and Faiz Fazal.

On winning the toss, Shane Warne, RR’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the fourth over. They scored 46, without the loss of a wicket.

RR’s openers put on 50 off 6.3 overs (39 balls). KKR hadn’t conceded any extras at that point. While Shane Watson’s contribution to the partnership was 38, Naman Ojha’s contribution to it was 14.

Watson, whose 26-ball innings included seven boundaries and a six, eventually scored 44. Forty-five balls into the match, Laxmi Ratan Shukla broke the 59-run partnership.

Ojha, whose 22-ball innings included three boundaries, eventually scored 18. Seven balls later, he was caught by Shukla. Unadkat broke the 10-run stand.

Yusuf Pathan, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Ten balls later, he was caught by Sourav Ganguly, KKR’s skipper. Unadkat broke the five-run stand.

Although his innings included a boundary, Adam Voges had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored eight. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Kartik. Ashok Dinda broke the 24-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 13.5 overs (83 balls). KKR had conceded an extra at that point.

Finch, whose run-a-ball innings included a six, scored 21. Five balls after Voges’ dismissal, Bond broke the three-run stand.

Abhishek Raut, who faced four balls, scored a couple. Nine balls later, he was caught by Chris Gayle. Unadkat broke the two-run stand.

Dogra, who faced a dozen balls, scored eight. Eleven balls later, Kartik broke the 12-run stand.

The eighth-wicket pair put on 11. Fazal, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored 13. Eleven balls later, Unadkat and Brendon McCullum ran him out.

Warne, who faced four balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

Siddharth Trivedi, who faced a couple of balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Unadkat. Dinda broke the four-run stand.

Kamran Khan, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.

KKR eventually conceded three extras. RR scored 132 for the loss of nine wickets off 20 extras.

Each of the five bowlers bowled four overs apiece.

Kartik, Shukla and Bond (whose spell included a maiden) picked up a wicket apiece. They conceded 31, 30, and 20, respectively.

Dinda, who picked up a couple of wickets, conceded 24.

Unadkat, who picked up three wickets, conceded 26.  

The first Powerplay of KKR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the fourth over. They scored 42, and lost a couple of wickets.

Although his innings included a boundary, McCullum had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored half-a-dozen. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Watson. Khan broke the 21-run stand.

Gayle, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. A couple of balls later, Khan broke the one-run stand.

KKR scored 50 off 7.2 overs (44 balls). RR had conceded five extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 47 balls. While Ganguly’s contribution to the partnership was 20, Pujara’s contribution to it was 27. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.

KKR scored 100 off 12.5 overs (77 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave RR no reason to be in seventh heaven. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Ganguly’s half-century – which included eight boundaries and a six – came off 39 balls.

The third-wicket pair put on 100 off 76 balls. While Ganguly’s contribution to the partnership was 52, Pujara’s contribution to it was 44. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was four.

Ganguly, whose 50-ball innings included 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 75. He was unbeaten, as was Pujara, whose 38-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, eventually scored 45.

KKR, who scored 133 for the loss of a couple of wickets off 16.1 overs, won by eight wickets off 23 balls to spare.

Voges and Fazal bowled a wicketless over apiece. While the former conceded 16, the latter conceded 14.

Finch bowled seven wicketless balls, conceded five.

Trivedi bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceding 16.

Pathan, Warne and Watson bowled three wicketless overs apiece. They conceded 32, 20, and 17, respectively.

Khan bowled two overs, conceding 13. He picked up both the wickets that fell.

RR were eliminated.