Varun, Moeen restrict RR to 151/9 on sluggish track

Guwahati

Kolkata Knight Riders’ spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali worked in perfect tandem to weave their magic, as a disciplined bowling effort restricted Rajasthan Royals to a below-par 151/9 in their IPL clash here on Wednesday. On a dry and sticky Barsapara pitch where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat, KKR’s new spin combination -- brought together due to Sunil Narine’s injury -- proved to be their game-changer. Chakravarthy and Ali dismantled the Royals’ middle order, picking up two wickets each in successive overs right after the powerplay, shifting the momentum in KKR’s favour.

Chakravarthy, varying his pace masterfully, bowled out his quota with exceptional figures of 2/17, while Moeen Ali finished with a tidy 2/23 from his four overs. Seamer Vaibhav Arora (2/33) was expensive but chipped in with two crucial wickets -- regular Royals skipper Sanju Samson (13 off 11) with a yorker in the powerplay before dismissing impact substitute Shubham Dubey (9) cheaply. Harshit Rana (2/36) was instrumental at the death, breaking Dhruv Jurel’s promising innings of 33 (28) and removing the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer for just 7, both in the crucial penultimate over.

A quickfire cameo 16 from 7 balls from Jofra Archer ensured that they reached 150-mark but he fell to Spencer Johnson () in the penultimate ball of their innings. Put in, RR had looked set for a big total at 54 for 1, with a well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal (29 off 24) and local lad Riyan Parag (25 off 15) at the crease.

Riyan, leading the Royals for the first time at his home ground, began with intent, smashing Harshit Rana for a six over square leg off just the third ball he faced. Riyan, who knows the Barsapara pitch like the back of his hand, played the shot of the innings in the next over -- a beautifully timed lofted drive off Vaibhav Arora, sending the ball soaring straight down the ground. Jaiswal, dropped on 19, capped off the powerplay with a six as RR finished the first six overs strongly at 54/1.