IPL 2018, KKR vs RR: 3 best decisions from the game

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A relatively calm chase by Kolkata Knight Riders thanks to brilliant captain's knock from Dinesh Karthik, breaking the winning streak of Rajasthan Royals in their own backyard. Batting first, Rajasthan Royals never got the momentum to their innings and scrambled to 160 in good batting conditions. Dinesh Karthik was smart with his bowling changes, opening with spinners and bowling them in the powerplay and finishing the chase with the help of an excellent partnership with Nitish Rana, who had a good game with bat and ball and winning consecutive man of the match award.

Sportkeeda takes a look at the three commendable tactics employed in the game which had a considerable impact on the end result.

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#1 Counter-attacking Rahane

Dinesh Karthik's strategy to open with spin at both ends against the likes of D'Arcy Short worked to a certain extent until batsman at the other end, Ajinkya Rahane decided to take the matter on his own ends. Both batsmen struggled to keep the scoring rate up for first three overs, scoring only 9 runs. But when Sunil Narine came to bowl, Rahane went berzerk and smashed four consecutive boundaries offsetting his lengths by using his feet and maneuvering the fields. When Karthik turned to a pacer in Shivam Mavi, Rahane was equally severe on him smashing him for a six first ball he faced, dancing down the track.

He eventually got out to a part-time spinner Nitish Rana for 36 runs at an impressive strike rate of 190 thanks to a brilliant stumping from Dinesh Karthik.

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