Spectacular Quinton de Kock played a brutally brilliant knock as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets to register their first win of the season on Wednesday in Guwahati. Quinton de Kock (97*) churned out a breathtaking knock to secure his wounded team’s win as they bounced back from a depressing loss to RCB in the IPL opener on March 22. The victory also marked a much-needed boost for KKR, who successfully chased down a target of 152 in just 17.3 overs.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals, having been asked to bat, faced an uphill battle against KKR’s disciplined and tightly-knit bowling attack. Despite having a decent start, RR’s top and middle-order batters found themselves succumbing to pressure, as KKR’s bowlers strangled the opposition with utmost accuracy.
KKR’s spin duo, Moeen Ali and Varun Ckakaravarthy, proved to be the most effective weapon in the attack. Both contributed with crucial breakthroughs to disrupt RR’s momentum. They took two wickets each. Even, KKR’s pacers applied pressure, with Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora taking two wicket each.
In the end, Royals could only muster 151 runs from their 20 overs, with Dhruv Jurel top-scoring with (33 off 28). Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag also helped a little, hitting (29) and (25) respectively. For Rajasthan Royals, this defeat marked their second consecutive loss of the season, following an opening match defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.