Kolkata Knight Riders outplayed Rajasthan Royals and registered a much-needed win at Eden Gardens on Friday. RR put up a total of 132 runs on the board which was chased down successfully with 16 balls spare. Yusuf Pathan scored a mind boggling 49 runs and added 78 runs with Jacques Kallis who scored 33 runs. Earlier Sanju Samson and Shane Watson showed some good fight against the spin twins of Sunil Narine and Sachithra Senanayake.

Here we bring to you the hits and flops from the match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

HITS

Yusuf Pathan: Pathan is back to form as he blasted 49 runs against Rajasthan Royals. He smashed three fours and three sixes in his knock and led his side to a comfortable and much-needed win.

Sanju Samson: Samson proved his mettle once again as he scored 40 runs off 36 balls. His skills did justice to the turning track of Eden Gardens. He was aggressive at times and was showing some good defence when required.

Jacques Kallis: Kallis was once again the saviour for KKR as he did well with both bat and ball. He scored 33 runs off 30 balls and also picked up one wicket. His presence in the team has always been a moral booster for KKR and it’s going to be interesting to see how he will come out in the upcoming matches.

James Faulkner: Faulkner was brilliant with the ball as he gave away just 16 runs in four overs. He didn’t pick up any wicket in his spell but his bowling did create some sort of pressure from one end on KKR batsmen.

Sunil Narine: Narine was at his usual best as he gave away just 20 runs in his four overs and picked up the most important wicket of Shane Watson who was looking a real threat for KKR. He has been exceptional this season and he needs to continue this form in upcoming matches to make sure that KKR makes it to play-offs.

Shane Watson: Watson was once again brilliant as he scored run-a-ball 35 and also picked up a wicket of Gautam Gambhir. He has been the cornerstone for RR and RR will need him to come up with more such performances.

FLOPS

Ajinkya Rahane: He again ended up scoring just six runs. He has not adapted well on away games and has paid the price for that. He has shown impatience when it comes to start the innings. In the earlier part of IPL-6, he was taking his time but now he is trying to smack almost every ball that is coming his way.

Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir failed to deliver once again as he got out after scoring 12 runs. He needs to spend some more time in the middle especially after his recent string of low scores which had got his confidence down.

Brad Hogg: Hogg was unimpressive with the ball as he failed to pick up any wicket on the track that was assisting the spinner. It was his first match of IPL but he has played enough T20 cricket and was expected to deliver for RR.

Siddharth Trivedi: Trivedi gave away 24 runs in his three overs. He has to consistently vary his pace when he is playing on slow and low wicket like the one at Eden Gardens but failed to do so. He was smashed for three boundaries.

Sumit Narwal: Narwal started off brilliantly as he gave away just four runs in his first over but Watson made the mess of his bowling figures as he scored 13 runs in his second and final over.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network