Royals beat Kolkata, move to second spot in points table

Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals registered their fourth win on the trot when they convincingly beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 45 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. In reply to the Royals’ 196 for 7, the Riders were bundled out for 151. With this victory, the Royals moved to the second spot in the points table. On the other hand, it was Kolkata’s third successive defeat in five matches.

In a departure from his usual practice, Warne this time decided to bat first after winning the toss to give his bowlers some respite from the oppressive Jaipur heat. The Riders, however, struck soon when Graeme Smith uncharacteristically attempted a wild shot and saw his stumps uprooted by Ishant Sharma. IPL debutant Swapnil Asnodkar, who had opened the innings with Smith, was joined by Mohammad Kaif and they took the score to 53 before Kaif was dismissed for 21. Asnodkar showed no signs of nerves in his maiden outing and merrily slogged his way to 60 off 34 deliveries. He was cautious against Ishant and Umar Gul, but targeted Ajit Agarkar and Ashok Dinda for attack.

Yusuf Pathan added 53 for the third wicket with Asnodkar and also went on to score a brisk half century. Pathan’s 55 came off 33 deliveries. In the later stage of the innings, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a cameo innings of 33 off only 19 deliveries which went a long way in helping the Royals to reach a competitive score of 196. Gul took 3 for 31.

Chasing a formidable target of 197 in the absence of Brendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting, Kolkata soon lost opener Salman Butt. Ajit Agarkar, coming one down as a pinch hitter, left after scoring 20 and Brad Hodge was unfortunately run out at the non-striker’s end when a Saurav Ganguly straight drive got bowler Siddharth Trivedi’s fingers before hitting the stumps. David Hussey joined skipper Ganguly, but they struggled to find the gaps against an accurate Rajasthan bowling. Though lucky to survive on a couple of occasions, including being ruled not out by the third umpire after doubts over a catch taken by Smith, Ganguly managed to score 51 off 39 balls. Hussey was the only other player who made a contribution of sorts scoring 42 before the Kolkata innings folded up for 151 with five balls still remaining. Shane Watson, Sohail Tanvir and Trivedi claimed two wickets apiece.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 196 for 7 (Asnodkar 60, Yusuf 55; Gul 3/31) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (Ganguly 51, Hussey 42; Tanvir 2/30, Trivedi 2/31). Rajasthan Royals won by 45 runs.