In the 30th match of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
After winning the toss, the skipper of KKR, Shreyas Iyer asked RR to bat first. The decision worked in favour of the first-ever IPL champions as both the openers started the inning in a great fashion. Jos Buttler (103) smashed his second hundred of IPL 2022. With nine 4’s and five 6’s at the strike rate of 168.85, the Englishman hammered bowlers all around the park. Padikkal (24) also found his form but couldn’t capitalise on it. In the end, some quick contributions by Samson (38) and Hetmyer (26), wherein both struck at S/R of 200, took RR to a mammoth total of 217/5, which also happened to be the highest score so far of IPL 2022.
In response, KKR got a loose start to their innings as they lost opener Narine for a platinum duck. The knights made a decent comeback in the powerplay thanks to the partnership between Shreyas Iyer (85) and Aaron Finch (58). The duo put up 107 runs for a second partnership and was the only positive thing for KKR. The wickets kept on tumbling from one side which in the end harmed KKR as they got all out for 210.
Yuzvendra Chahal was the star of the second innings as the leg spinner registered the first hat-trick of IPL 2022. In his quota of four overs, Chahal scalped five wickets. McCoy also picked two wickets. Along with them, Ashwin and Krishna also got one each.
For KKR, Narine, who was playing his 150th game for KKR, picked two wickets. Russell, Mavi and Cummins also got one wicket each.
In a rare occurrence, despite a ton by Jos Buttler, the Man of the Match award was given to deserving Yuzvendra Chahal for his five-wicket haul. With this win, Rajasthan Royals get to eight points and are second on the points table.
Scorecard:
Rajasthan Royals: 217/5, Overs 20, Jos Buttler 103, Sunil Narine 2/21
Kolkata Knight Riders: 210/10, Overs 19.4, Shreyas Iyer 85, Yuzvendra Chahal 5/40