The Kolkata Knight Riders had the match against Rajasthan Royals in their hands when they posted 175/6 in 20 overs in Kolkata on Thursday. Dinesh Karthik played a superlative innings of 97 runs after KKR were tottering at 42/3 at one stage. The home side almost sealed the deal when they reduced the Rajasthan Royals to 98/5 in the 13th over. But, Riyan Parag strung two important partnerships with Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer to help Rajasthan clinch a three-wicket victory. Parag played a gem of an innings of 47 runs from 31 runs before being dismissed hit wicket in the 19th over. ((Full Scorecard))
However, Parag wouldn’t have been able to play his special innings if Sunil Narine had latched on to a return catch from the Rajasthan batsman in the eight over. Parag had just come into bat and in his third ball, he chipped a delivery from Narine back to him, but the West Indian put down a simple chance as he didn’t expect it. The Kolkata Knight Riders camp will surely look at that moment which changed their fortunes on the day. Parag was batting on zero when the catch was put down.
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The Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith was very impressed with Parag’s innings against Kolkata Knight Riders.
“We made it difficult for ourselves. We lost too many wickets in the middle section after a good start. Riyan Parag - isn’t he an impressive young man? He played very composed like a seasoned campaigner. Great contribution from Gopal and Archer too. I thought they bowled really well with the new ball, first 7-8 overs. Oshane (Thomas) did well in his first game. Varun Aaron was exceptional with the new ball. The boys did a great job,” said Smith at the presentation.
First Published: Apr 26, 2019 00:50 IST
