IPL 2018, Eliminator, KKR vs RR: 5 talking points
Kolkata Knight Riders made home advantage count as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by 30 runs in the Eliminator at the Eden Gardens tonight to book a clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 2 to be played, yet again in Kolkata, on Friday.
The winner of the contest will take on Chennai Super Kings in the final of IPL 2018 which will be played on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
KKR had a terrible start after being sent into bat, being reduced to 24/3 within the first four overs but they recovered to post a total of 169 on the board, thanks to knocks from skipper Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell.
Royals started off quick in the run-chase but lost their way in the middle overs and were simply unable to get the big shots required at the death to chase down the target and were left 25 runs short of the target after playing out their full quota of 20 overs.
Here are the five major talking points from tonight's contest.
#5 Early blows jolt KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders had home advantage to count upon heading into the eliminator against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens tonight, but they had a very start to the match's proceedings after losing the toss and being put into bat.
Krishnappa Gowtham struck twice inside the powerplay overs dismissing Sunil Narine and then Robin Uthappa while Jofra Archer accounted for Nitish Rana as the home side were reduced to 24/3 within the first four overs of the game.
It was a bold move by the Royals team management to open the bowling with Gowtham considering Narine's success against spinners early on but the move paid off and along with Archer's good start from the other end, KKR were very much on the back foot having lost three crucial wickets early on.