In the battle between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Lucknow Supergiants, KKR was off to a fine start with the bat despite the wicket of Finn Allen in the 2nd over. However, the batting faced a major collapse from the 11th over of the game, as they lost 3 wickets for just 14 runs. The Lucknow Super Giants were able to find their way back into the game with the wickets of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh. KKR’s batting went down the slope as they went from 98/4 to 112/4. 

The X viewers were disappointed with the quick batting collapse as the Kolkata Knight Riders are yet to taste victory this season, and they had the opportunity to capitalise on a mammoth total batting first. The stage is set for a good finish from the lower order of the KKR, with the likes of Rovman Powell and Cameron Green still at the crease. But, with the loss of 3 crucial wickets in quick succession, the Kolkata Knight Riders could find it difficult to cross the 200-run mark.

Three wickets in a flash halt KKR’s momentum as Lucknow trigger sudden collapse

The Lucknow Super Giants skipper, Rishabh Pant, won the toss and elected to field first. Finn Allen is a powerful striker of the ball, and it’s a well-known fact that he likes to get going from ball one. But this time out, he couldn't cause damage as he was dismissed for just 9 runs. Then, a solid partnership of 84 runs was formed between Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Ajinkya Rahane continued his brilliant run of form, scoring 41 off just 24 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes, striking at 170. The young Raghuvanshi accompanied him at the other end, and he scored 45 off just 33 balls, including 5 fours and 2 sixes, striking at 136. Despite the early wicket of Finn Allen, the Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t allow their opponents to build on the momentum; they fought with intent to steady the ship for their side.

However, there was a huge shift in the momentum after the dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane on the second ball of the 11th over by Digvesh Rathi. Then, Cameron Green walked out at number 4, and he was all set to support Raghuvanshi from the other end. In the very next over, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed off the bowling of Manimaran Siddharth, and Aiden Markram took a fine catch. Then came out Rinku Singh, who was in brilliant touch coming into the game, but he too was dismissed in the succeeding over off a really good ball from Avesh Khan. The innings began to slow down slightly for KKR, and they had scored just 4 boundaries from the 11th over till the 14th over.

With Cameron Green and Rovman Powell still at the crease, the Kolkata Knight Riders will be hopeful that they can get to a respectable total on board and give their bowlers something to bowl at. There are still 6 overs to go in the innings, and they will be confident in the lower-order batters as well, with Ramandeep Singh padded up. KKR will be eyeing their first win of the season against a vulnerable Lucknow Super Giants.