RR vs KKR IPL 2019 report: Disciplined bowling, Lynn take KKR to top

The fact that KKR are much more than Andre Russell was proved once again as their high quality bowling unit delivered the fourth win of the season to take the franchise to the top in IPL 2019. Chris Lynn blasted a fifty to strengthen his credentials while Rajasthan’s lack of firepower in batting order was once again exposed.

Rajasthan’s meager effort with the bat

Debutant @gurneyhf is awarded the Man of the Match award for his bowling figures of 2/25 ??#RRvKKR pic.twitter.com/nu0iArlv4Y

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 7, 2019

Rajasthan lost skipper Ajinkya Rahane on the seventh ball of the innings as Prasidh Krishna trapped him in front of stumps on his first ball of the night.

KKR bowlers then did an incredible job of keeping Buttler quiet with their smart thinking and accuracy. KKR’s dominance can be understood by the fact that Buttler scored just 18 runs off 21 balls in the first six overs.

Kuldeep Yadav too kept it tight and Buttler was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 12th over against Gurney in an attempt to break the shackles. He scored 37 runs off 34 balls, his first below 50 score at this venue in five innings.

KKR choke RR in death overs

Royals then heavily banked on Tripathi and Ben Stokes to provide a flourish but both failed and this meant Rajasthan had a below par total. Tripathi was dismissed by Gurney for just six runs off eight balls while Stokes was kept quiet and remained unbeaten on 7 off 14 balls.

Smith meanwhile kept one end guarded but failed to accelerate in the death overs as Rajasthan managed just three boundaries in the last five overs and finished with 139 in 20 overs.

Also read how Kagiso Rabada and Shreyas Iyer kept RCB winless in IPL 2019 for sixth time here.

Lynn, Narine shape KKR’s chase

KKR began their chase in style as Lynn hammered Dhawal Kulkarni for two fours in the first over. Narine was more brutal as he clobbered Gowtham for four fours and a six in the second over and earned 22 runs.

Chris Lynn at it again as he brings up a gritty FIFTY off 31 deliveries. This is his 7th half-century in #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/fxRTHMCODI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 7, 2019

The duo of Lynn and Narine didn’t look back and gathered runs at will by playing swashbuckling strokes. They scored 91 runs for the first wicket in 51 balls and virtually ended the game.

Also read: KXIP vs SRH IPL 2019: Match preview 

Gopal dismissed Narine for 47 runs in the ninth over and in the next over sent back Lynn for 50 runs off 32 balls. But Robin Uthappa (25 off 14 balls) and Shubhman Gill (5 off 6 balls) finished off the proceedings in the 13th over to give KKR a thumping win in Indian Premier League season 12.