Rajasthan lose to Gambhir-led KKR

KKR made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Brett Lee and Lakshmipathy Balaji made way for Sachithra Senanayake and Iqbal Abdulla.

RR made three Chan(dila)ges to their playing eleven – Brad Hodge, Ajit, and Sreesanth made way for Dishant Yagnik, Ankeet Chavan and Brad Hogg.

On winning the toss, Rahul Dravid, RR’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 34, and lost two wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Nineteen balls into the match, he was stumped by Manvinder Bisla. Senanayake broke the 20-run stand.

James Faulkner, who faced four balls, scored a run. Eight balls later, he was caught by Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s skipper. Needless to say, Abdulla was in seventh heaven.

RR scored 50 off 8.1 overs (49 balls). KKR had conceded four extras at that point.

Shane Watson, whose run-a-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 35. Thirty-eight balls after Faulkner’s dismissal, he was trapped leg before wicket by Sunil Narine, who broke the 44-run stand.

Yagnik, whose six-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 10. Nine balls later, Senanayake broke the 12-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 14.4 overs (89 balls). KKR had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

Sanju Samson, whose 36-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, scored 40. He was unbeaten, as was Owais Shah, who scored 24 off 22 balls, which included a couple of boundaries.

Stuart Binny, who faced five balls, scored three. He was unbeaten, as was Dravid, who scored half-a-dozen off three balls, which included a boundary.

The number of extras they eventually conceded gave KKR no reason to be in seventh heaven.

RR scored 132 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets off 20 overs.

Sumit Narwal, who bowled two wicketless overs, conceded 17.

Kallis and Abdulla bowled three overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 25, the latter conceded 22.

Bhatia and Narine bowled four overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 21, the latter conceded 20.

Senanayake, who bowled four overs, conceded 26. He picked up two scalps.

The first Powerplay of KKR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 48, and lost a wicket.

Gambhir, whose 14-ball innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. Thirty-three balls into the chase, he was stumped by Yagnik. Watson broke the 41-run stand.

KKR scored 50 off 6.3 overs (39 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave RR no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Bisla, whose 25-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 29. Ten balls after Gambhir’s dismissal, he was caught by Rahane. Chavan broke the 14-run stand.

KKR scored 100 off 12 overs (72 balls). RR had conceded nine extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 36 balls. While Jacques Kallis’ contribution to the partnership was 18, the contribution of Yusuf Pathan, the player of the match, to it was 33. Extras didn’t contribute to the partnership.

Kallis, whose 30-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 33. He was unbeaten, as was Yusuf, who eventually scored 49 off 35 balls, which included three boundaries and as many sixes.

RR eventually conceded 10 extras. KKR, who scored 133 for the loss of a couple of wickets off 17.2 overs, won by eight wickets with 16 balls to spare.

Binny, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded eight.

Siddharth Trivedi, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 24.

Hogg, who bowled 3.2 wicketless overs, conceded 31.

Faulkner, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 16.

Chavan and Watson bowled three overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. While the former conceded 28, the latter conceded 21.