Rajasthan Royals (RR's) 3 biggest wins over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with the Rajasthan Royals in a highly anticipated match of the ongoing IPL 2023 season. This IPL match will take place on Thursday, May 11, at the iconic Eden Gardens and this will be the first meeting between the two sides this term.
Both the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals understand the significance of this match and the potential ramifications it holds for their respective IPL journey. With the race for the coveted top four spots intensifying, a victory could propel either team closer to securing a coveted spot in the points table.
However, a loss at the Eden Gardens would place them perilously close to the brink of elimination, heightening the pressure and stakes for both sides.
Kolkata Knight Riders come into this match holding a 14-12 lead in the head-to-head record against the Rajasthan Royals.
Here we take a look at the Rajasthan Royals’ 3 biggest wins over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL:
#3 Won by 34 runs, 2010
Back in 2010, Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals put on a dominant show in Ahmedabad as they beat Kolkata Knight Riders comprehensively by 34 runs.
Batting first, Rajasthan lost Michael Lumb early, but then the other batters all chipped in as they were able to post 168 for the loss of seven wickets after 20 overs. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala was the top scorer with 45 and Adam Viges provided the late flourish with a 22-ball 37 to give Rajasthan a formidable score.
In response, KKR never really found any momentum as they kept losing wickets regularly. Rajasthan bowlers were extremely disciplined and never allowed the KKR batters to break free. Brad Hodge, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Sourav Ganguly all got scores but they were always catching up with the required run rate.
In the end, they were restricted to 134 for 5 in 20 overs as Rajasthan claimed a comprehensive win.
#2 Won by 6 wickets, 2021
Normally the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is a batting beauty, but in this match between KKR and Rajasthan Royals, the batters had a hard time finding momentum.
Kolkata batted first and struggled to break free against a disciplined bowling performance by the Rajasthan Royals. Rahul Tripathi was the only batter who looked at ease and he top-scored with 36. However, none of the other KKR batters hit their stride as they were restricted to 133 for 9 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan paced their chase perfectly and Sanju Samson played the perfect anchor’s knock and remained unbeaten on 42 off 41 deliveries to lead his side to an easy win by six wickets in the 19th over.
#1 Won by 45 runs, 2008
An unheralded Rajasthan Royals led by Shane Warne was the best team on display back in the inaugural season of the IPL.
In this particular match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, Swapnil Asnodkar and Yusuf Pathan joined hands to power Rajasthan to 196 for 7 in 20 overs.
Sohail Tanvir, Shane Watson, and Siddarth Trivedi chipped in with two wickets each as RR bundled out Kolkata Knight Riders for 151 to claim a dominant win by 45 runs.
This remains their biggest and most comprehensive performance over KKR so across all seasons of the IPL.