16 May,2018 07:39 AM IST | Kolkata | Arup Chatterjee
Kolkata spinner Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the wicket of Rajasthan's Stuart Binny at Eden Gardens yesterday. Pic/PTI
Rajasthan failed to build on a blistering start, managing a vulnerable 142 in the 19 overs they lasted in a crunch match at the Eden Gardens here yesterday. Kolkata got to the target with six wickets and two overs to spare after being held up midway by a Ben Stokes inspired a Royals resurgence. The English all-rounder, having again failed with the bat, finished with fine figures of 4-1-15-3 but there just wasn't enough on the board to defend.
Chris Lynn scored a 42-ball 45 that had five fours and a six, a sedate effort by his standards and skipper Dinesh Karthik an unbeaten 41 off 31.Earlier, the Knights, winning a good toss, pulled things back nicely after Rahul Tripathi (27) and Jos Buttler (39) had given RR a rollicking start.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who was hit for five sixes by Mumbai's Ishan Kishan, four of them in-a-row, in Kolkata's last match at the venue, made a fine comeback to finish with 4-0-20-4. Sunil Narine, brought in to stem the flow, went for 10 and a huge total loomed large. Andre Russell gave away just four runs in the fourth while removing Tripathi with a short one that caught a glove en route to the 'keeper. Ajinkya Rahane and Buttler fell attempting reverse-sweeps as they tried to break the shackles.
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