Twitter Reactions: Kolkata Knight Riders snatches victory from Rajasthan Royals’ pocket

Poor decisions from the skipper Ajinkya Rahane and team management cost Rajasthan Royals dearly as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders beat them by 25 runs in the Eliminator to set-up the IPL Qualifier-2 clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Kolkata on Wednesday.

On the day KKR star spinner Sunil Narine was expensive and returned wicket-less, the likes of Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav stepped up to restrict Rajasthan 144 for four after batsmen put on board 169 for seven.

KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik continued his sublime form to lead them to safety with a 38-ball 52, containing four fours and two sixes while Andre Russell came up with his destructive 29-ball unbeaten 49, studded with three boundaries and five sixes to propel the side to a fighting total.

Royals began their chase in right earnest with Rahane (46 off 41) and Rahul Tripathi (20) adding 47 runs for the first wicket. Sanju Samson played a smart inning of 50 runs from 38 balls but leg-spinner Piyush Chawla removed Tripathi and Samson to tilt the match in the hosts favour.

Ajinkya Rahane batted too slow, playing a lot of dot balls, and the asking rate kept mounting. When Rahane departed it was tough a task for the batsmen at the crease. Rahane got 22 runs from five boundaries but consumed 36 balls for remaining 24 runs.

The equation was still within reach for Rajasthan with 43 runs and seven wickets in hand in last three overs but the young pacer Krishna gave away just three runs in the 18th over to tilt the match in their favour.

KKR will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the virtual semifinal round on Friday.

Here is how the fans on Twitter reacted to the Eliminator of IPL 2018:

https://twitter.com/SirJadejaaaa/status/999334149872857088

https://twitter.com/SirJadejaaaa/status/999333007763890176

https://twitter.com/hankypanty/status/999337849097863169

https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/999333163959648256

https://twitter.com/TiimesHow/status/999335204484399104

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