IPL: KKR beat RR by 7 wickets, here're records broken
What's the story
Ten years back, on this day, we witnessed the first ever match of IPL where KKR thrashed RCB. Today, on the 10th anniversary, KKR have done it again. They beat Royals in their own backyard by 7 wickets. Chasing a target of 161, KKR were led to the finish-line by captain Karthik and Rana. Here are the records that were set in this fixture.
Spinning a web
KKR come at RR with a heavy spin attack
Kolkata Knight Riders' spinners bowled 14 of the 20 overs today. This is just the third instance where 14 or more overs have been bowled by spinners in an IPL match. The previous two instances also involved Rajasthan Royals- the 17.5 overs for CSK against RR in 2014 and 15 overs by Royals against KKR in 2009.
Bad day at work
Jaipur turns out to be a nightmare for Narine
Sunil Narine's figures of 0/48 at an economy of 12.00 is his worst ever performance in the Indian Premier League. This is also his second worst figures in all of T20 cricket. Before today's game, Sunil Narine topped the IPL 2018 economy charts, conceding just 82 runs in his 15 overs at 5.46 runs per over.
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Ben Stokes and his spin woes
Ben Stokes seems to have troubles batting against spin. Today he fell prey to Piyush Chawla extending his poor record against tweakers. In all T20s since 2015, Stokes has been dismissed 9 times by wrist-spinners off just 87 balls.
Silences critics
Ajinkya Rahane finally gets the better of Narine
Ajinkya Rahane has silenced his critics as he scored 35 off 17 and 36 off 20 in the powerplay overs in last two games. He had a slow start in the first two games. Rahane had scored only 5 boundaries against Narine off 38 balls in T20s before this match. Today he smacked him for 4 fours off his first 4 balls.
Weakness?
Leg spin is Sanju Samson's kryptonite
Sanju Samson might be one of the destructive batsmen in Royals' line up, but the 23-year-old averages just 57.9 against leg spin in this IPL. Against all other bowlers, the Kerala lad has scored at a strike rate of 160. Sanju Samson has managed just 11 runs off 19 balls against leg-spinners without scoring any boundaries.
Time for change?
Ajinkya Rahane does not tinker with his playing XI
Rajasthan Royals have fielded the same XI in all of their 4 matches in this season. They are the only team to not field more than 11 players this year. In all the 15 games that have been played in the 11th edition of the IPL so far, the toss winning captain has always elected to field.
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Chawal's match winning spell was the difference
Today's match is only the second time that Piyush Chawla has bowled three overs in the powerplay. The previous instance was against RCB, at home last week, where he conceded 21 runs off his 3 overs.
Historical
Trends have changed over the years in the IPL
Things have drastically changed in the last 10 years. In 2008 when it all began, 96% of the powerplay overs were bowled by pace bowlers. But in the 11th edition so far, only 67% of these overs have been bowled by pacers.