• KKR defeated RR by 60 runs to grab the fourth place in the points table.

  • Pat Cummins finished with impressive figures of 4-0-34-4.

IPL 2020 – Twitter reactions: Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins power KKR to staggering 60-run win over RR
Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins (Image Source: Iplt20)

In the 54th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 60 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. With the loss, RR have been knocked out of the tournament while KKR have reached the fourth spot in the points table.

Chasing a challenging target of 192, Royals needed a good start which they got as Robin Uthappa (6), and Ben Stokes took Pat Cummins to the cleaners in the very first over. The duo slammed two sixes and a four to put pressure on the Aussie pacer. However, soon the New South Wales bowler got his revenge by removing Uthappa on the last ball of his over.

The wicket of Uthappa opened floodgates as RR’s top order fell like a pack of cards. They lost half their side in the powerplay. Cummins was the chief architect behind the destruction as he dismissed Stokes (18) in the third over of the innings. And in the same over he cleaned up RR captain Steve Smith (4).

Shivam Mavi also joined the party as in the fourth over of RR’s chase; he picked up the prized wicket of Sanju Samson (1). Then, in the penultimate over of the powerplay, Cummins came back to bag his fourth scalp of the match in the form of Riyan Parag (0).

RR were struggling at 37/5, and from thereon, Jos Buttler (35) along with Rahul Tewatia (31) tried to steady the ship. The pair put together a vital stand of 43 runs for the sixth wicket before Varun Chakravarthy sent Buttler back to the hut.

Chakravarthy didn’t just stop there as in the 15th over, the mystery spinner removed Tewatia from the middle.

In the end, Royals could only reach 131/9, losing the contest by 60 runs.

Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten 68 pushed KKR to 191/7

Earlier, KKR had a terrible start as they lost the opener, Nitish Rana, for a duck. RR pacer Jofra Archer dismissed the left-handed batsman on the second ball of the match.

Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi then added crucial partnership of 72 runs for the second wicket. Before Gill could do more damage, he was outfoxed by Tewatia on 36. In the same over, Tewatia also sent back Sunil Narine for a duck.

The dismissal of Narine followed wickets of Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik in quick succession.

Andre Russell and KKR skipper Eoin Morgan tried to shift the momentum by adding 43 runs for the sixth wicket. But Kartik Tyagi sent back Russell to the dugout to provide one more blow to the two-time champions.

However, that didn’t stop Morgan to score quick runs. The English cricketer smashed 6 sixes and 5 fours during his unbeaten knock of 68 from 35 balls. Morgan hit a maximum off the last ball of the innings to take KKR to 191/7.

For Royals, Tewatia bagged three wickets while Kartik picked up two scalps. Shreyas Gopal and Archer also claimed one wicket each.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

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CATEGORY: IPL Kolkata Knight Riders Twitter Reactions

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