In the KKR VS RR game, Sanju Samson (42) and Chris Morris (4/23) kicked KKR to the bottom of the IPL 2021 table. Chasing an elementary total of 133, RR played it safe and achieved the target with 7 balls to spare. Samson played a match winning inning of 42. Earlier, KKR was restricted by RR at just 132, with Morris scalping 4 important wickets.

KKR VS RR: KKR Inning Highlights

RR wins toss, opts to bowl first

Winning the toss first, RR skipper put KKR to bat first. Skipper Samson’s decision proved wise as KKR got off to an abysmal start. The opening duo of Gill and Rana looked to be struggling on the sluggish Wankhede surface. Gill’s excruciatingly slow start was the reason for his own dismissal as he in frustration tried running a non-existent run and was sent back run out at 11 from 19.

RR keeps taking wickets, KKR: 61/4 by the halfway

By the end of the first powerplay, KKR could only score 25/1. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi tried to change the gears. Rana and Tripathi hit Unadkat four a couple of boundaries in an over that leaked 12 runs. Unfortunately for KKR, the momentum was immediately halted as Rana, Narine and Eoin Morgan all three were sent back to the dressing room. By the halfway mark, KKR had lost almost half of their team and were in a serious trouble at 61/4.

KKR’s House of Cards fell

The pack of cards fell with Rana who edged Sakariya and deposited the bowl to wicket keeper. Next came Narine who again failed to successfully edge against Morgan for 6. Meanwhile, Morgan’s dismissal was just unfortunate as he tried to deflect a Tripathi hit ball straight to the bowler leading to his run-out on duck.

Andre Russell no show?

In a move by team management that left KKR fans dismayed, Andre Russell was still nowhere to be found. Dinesh Karthik and Rahil Tripathi were seen struggling hard to push their team to a respectable total. But their hopes came crashing as Tripathi, who was the only player looking to be in somewhat decent form, was sent back by Rahman. With Tripathi’s dismissal, the 33-run partnership was also broken.

In the 16th over, Russell was finally sent to the middle. But with his team already reeling at 94-5, he crumbled against the pressure. While KKR fans hoped that he could repeat history and play with the same zeal as he did against CSK. But Russell just ended up perishing for 7 as he hit Morris to long-on, finding Miller.

Death overs: Morris scalps one wicket after other

In the death overs, Morris gave RR one blow after other. After Russell’s dismissal it was Karthik who tried hitting Morris over extra cover but found Sakariya to be sent back at 25 off 24. Pat Cummins, swung his bat a couple of times and a ball finally met the middle of the bat to go for a maximum. However, Morris in the 19th over first got rid of Cummins, and then Shivam Mavi. Cummins tried pulling Morris to mid-wicket, however as he mistimed it, he was caught by Riyan Parag. Mavi on the other end had no answer to low full-toss and was bowled out.

RR dominated the entire first inning, not giving KKR even a second to breathe. Thanks to Morris’ 4/23, KKR was reduced down from 61/4 to 133/9 eventually.

RR Inning Highlight

Jaiswal gets a life, Butler perishes

Chasing just 134 against a weak bowling side, RR had a lucky start. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was replacing Manan Vohra, got a reprieve as he was dropped by Gill in the 1st over. Capitalizing on the reprieve, he slammed multiple fours in the next over to show his positive intent. However, Butler who hadn’t spent enough time in the middle perished at 5 off 7 when Varun Chakravarthy trapped him LBW. In the next over Jaiswal too followed suite as he deposited Mavi’s ball to him, ending his 22 off 17.

Powerplay ends, RR in driver’s seat

RR’s powerplay was starkly different than KKR’s as Dube and Samson both slammed KKR bowlers for boundaries and maximums. By the end of the powerplay, RR had cruised past 50 for just 2. The duo of Dube and skipper Samson looked as if they had told the rest of the batsmen to just sit back and enjoy the show. For the 3rd wicket partnership Dube and Samson added 45 crucial runs.

Dube’s dismissal comes too late

The partnership would have flourished even further had Dube top-edged Chakravarthy’s bowl and got caught by Prasidh Krishna at short third man. The wicket brought no smiles to the face of KKR fans as the damage had already been done.

Tewatia gone, can KKR turn the game around?

However, KKR bowlers gave the team’s fans a flicker of hope of a turnaround as Tewatia pulled Prasidh Krishna but eventually depositing the ball in the bowler’s hands itself. Tewatia was dismissed for 5 and RR was showing 100/4.

Miller and Samson take RR to finish line

In the end, David Miller and RR captain Samson pulled up their sleeves and saw to the task of achieving the victory for their team. Both the batsmen made no mistakes whatsoever as they pushed their team to the finish line with 7 balls to spare. Miller played a patient 24 of 22 inning while Samson played the 42 off 41 match-winning inning.