KKR victorious despite Short assault

The Result: Rajasthan Royals 8-160 (Short 44, Rana 2-11) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 3-163 (Uthappa 48, Gowtham 2-23) by seven wickets with seven balls remaining.

The match in a tweet: D’Arcy Short provides the highlights for Rajasthan but Kolkata’s middle-order proved far too strong, the Knight Riders go atop the IPL table #RRvKKR

The long and the Short: D’Arcy Short’s debut IPL campaign got off to a slow start with just 21 runs from three innings prior. The incumbent Big Bash League Player of the Series came with a heavy price tag and finally showed a glimpse of what he was brought to Rajasthan to do. It took him 15 balls to reach the boundary in Jaipur, but slowly got the ball rolling, finishing with 44 from 43 deliveries, eventually undone by a Nitish Rana slider. The West Australian hit five boundaries and a six in his knock at the top of the order, finally posting a score of note in India.

The Kolkata captain: It’s hard to divide praise up for the Kolkata top order with Andre Russell and Chris Lynn almost always stealing the limelight, but acclaim must be handed to Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik. After taking the job from long-time Kolkata servant Gautum Gambhir, he seems to have taken to the role seamlessly and his form mirrors that. The 32-year-old has got a start in each of his five innings at the crease, scoring 151 runs at an astonishing average of 50.3. His glovework has also been exemplary, two catches and two stumpings adding to his importance to the ladder leaders.

The youngster: After a superb year with eventual champions Mumbai last year, Nitish Rana crossed over to Kolkata and has emulated his stunning form. The Knight Riders’ leading run scorer in 2018, Rana has posted 162 runs and claimed back-to-back Player of the Match awards, also a more than handy option with his off-spin claiming four wickets. The 24-year-old has long been touted as a future national representative and a second consecutive season of good form in the IPL could well be the thing to earn him a call up.

The Aussie Pack: D’Arcy Short led the Royals for runs scored against Kolkata, his 44 at the top of the order not enough to keep the Knight Riders from cruising to a victory, with Ben Laughlin conceding 37 runs with the ball from 23 balls bowled. Chris Lynn was the other Aussie to feature in the match, dismissed for a second ball duck in the opening over, his teammate Mitchell Johnson once again left out in favour of English quick Tom Curran.

The Next Stop: Rajasthan get just the one day break before heading to Pune to face Shane Watson and the Chennai Super Kings, whilst Kolkata will look to cement their position at the top of the table with victory over Aaron Finch’s Kings XI Punjab on Saturday Night at Eden Gardens.

Australian viewers can watch the 2018 season of the IPL exclusively on Fox Sports