Chris Morris’s four-wicket haul in which he picked lower-order power-hitters Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, and Dinesh Karthik, helped Rajasthan Royals (RR) restrict Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 133 for nine in 20 overs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Saturday.
Russell, Cummins, and Karthik had played explosive innings in the last match against Chennai Super Kings to take their side to 202 from 31/5. But on Saturday, they just couldn’t get going. All three of them were caught while trying to hit the South African out of the boundary.
Morris, who was bought for Rs 16.25 crore ahead of this season by RR to become the most expensive player in IPL history, returned with figures of four for 23 in four overs. He was ably supported by left-arm pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who took one for 22.
Saurashtra pace bowling duo Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya who opened the bowling were also impressed with the senior pro taking 1/25 and the junior 1/31 as KKR could never find their bearings.
Only Rahul Tripathi (36 off 26 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 24 balls) put up some decent batting performances to help their side do well.
Morris’s bowling at the death was what hurt KKR the most.
At 117/5 and 15 balls to go, KKR had a chance to get to 150 with hard-hitters Russell, Karthik and Cummins still there.
But Morris got rid of Russell and Karthik in one over, his third, and then returned to removed Cummins in the last over.
Earlier, KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found scoring tough. They were reduced to 61/4 just after 10 overs.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 133/9 in 20 overs (R Tripathi 36, D Karthik 25, C Morris 4/23, M Rahman 1/22, J Unadkat 1/25, C Sakariya 1/31) vs Rajasthan Royals.
