Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a heartbreaking 7-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a high scoring thriller at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Monday (April 18).
Chasing 218 to win, KKR lost Sunil Narine on the very first ball of the innings but Aaron Finch took them off the flyer. The Australian captain hit the RR bowlers all over the park for his fiery knock of 58 runs in just 28 balls. He was well accompanied by Shreyas Iyer, who played an exceptional innings and kept his side in the hunt till he was there.
Iyer smashed 85 off 51 balls before he was trapped LBW by Yuzvendra Chahal, who took four wickets in the 17th over, including a hat-trick, to change the course of the match.
Meanwhile, as the KKR captain walked back and reached the dugout, he expressed his frustration at the coaching staff and the team think tank, including head coach Brendon McCullum. Apparently, Shreyas was not pleased with the batting order as the management had sent Shivam Mavi over Pat Cummins.
Here’s the video:
In the death overs, Umesh Yadav produced a blistering cameo (21 off 9 balls) for KKR but it wasn’t enough. RR debutant Obed McCoy removed Sheldon Jackson and Umesh in the last over to bundle out the Knight Riders for 210 with two balls still left in the innings.
It was KKR’s fourth defeat in seven matches this season and the Shreyas Iyer-led side is currently occupying the sixth spot on the points table.
