Kolkata Knight Riders top-order batsman Venkatesh Iyer has defended captain Nitish Rana's decision to bowl the first over. Rana had spent 26 runs in this over. Yashasvi had hit two sixes and three fours on his balls. Rajasthan had achieved the target of 150 runs in 13.1 overs with a brilliant start in the first over. Venkatesh said Jaiswal is a left-handed batsman and as such the decision to open against him with an off-spinner was not wrong. We know that Nitish bowls well. He has given good breakthroughs many times. Had Jaiswal got out in the first over, it would have been a masterstroke.
What happened in the match?
Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 149 runs for eight wickets and set a target of 150 runs in front of Rajasthan Royals. Venkatesh Iyer scored the maximum 57 runs for Kolkata. At the same time, captain Nitish Rana played an inning of 22 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets for Rajasthan. Trent Boult got two wickets. Sandeep Sharma and KM Asif took one wicket each.
Kolkata's pitch has always been helpful for spin bowlers. In such a situation, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana decided to do the first over himself. Yashasvi Jaiswal was on strike. In such a situation, Kolkata planned to take his wicket in the first over through the off-spinner. However, this did not happen in the match. Yashasvi collected 26 runs in the first over of Nitish Rana. He hit two sixes and three fours.
After spending 26 runs in the first over, the Kolkata team could not return to the match. Rajasthan won the match by scoring 151 runs for one wicket in just 13.1 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal completed his half-century in just 13 balls in this match and became the fastest half-century player in IPL. He remained unbeaten on 98 off 47 balls with the help of 12 fours and five sixes. At the other end, captain Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 48 off 29 balls. Jos Buttler faced three balls but could not open his account.
