Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), IPL 2017, Match 41: Rahul Tripathi’s blitz and other highlights

Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) continued with their upward trend in IPL 2017 when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their fortress.

Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) continued with their upward trend in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their fortress — the Eden Gardens — in Kolkata on Wednesday. Chasing 156 to win, RPS did not have a good start, but they later rode on unheralded Rahul Tripathi’s blitz to secure a 4-wicket win. Tripathi hammered a classy 52-ball 93 — a knock that was laced with 9 fours and 7 sixes. With this win, RPS climbed to the third spot in the points table while KKR remained second, with just the Net Run-Rate separating them. Tripathi’s knock was the biggest highlight from the match. In the highlights package, we bring to you his knock and some key moments from the game. Check them out here:

Stephen Fleming rings the bell: Before the match, former New Zealand captain and current RPS coach Stephen Fleming got the honour of ringing the bell at the iconic Eden Gardens. It is notable here that as a part of tradition, important people are generally invited to ring the bell before the commencement of a match at the ground. Full cricket scorecard: KKR vs RPS, IPL 2017, Match 41 at Eden Gardens

Apples keep the Umpires away: A weird thing happened before the start of the match. As the two Umpires walked out, they were presented with a basket full of apples and the match ball. A lady offered them the apples and Umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan refused to have them. When she offered him the ball, he gleefully took it!

Jaydev Unadkat started with a wicket maiden: Unadkat punctured KKR’s pinch-hitter experiment by removing Sunil Narine for a duck in the first over. Furthermore, he delivered a wicket maiden — RPS’ first ever maiden in the first over of an IPL match. Full cricket updates: KKR vs RPS, IPL 2017, Match 41 at Eden Gardens

Sheldon Jackson’s hit-wicket — a first for KKR: In another first, Sheldon Jackson became the first ever KKR batsman to get out hit-wicket in the history of IPL.

Are you all right buddy? In the 18th over of KKR innings, Dan Christian bowled a nasty bouncer to Nathan Coulter-Nile. The ball delivered at 142 kph hit the grille of Coulter-Nile’s helmet, leaving him disoriented for a while. Christian was quick to check on his compatriot. So was Steven Smith.

Fastest 50 for RPS in IPL 10: Tripathi’s blitzkrieg ensured RPS completed their fifty in 4.2 overs — fastest team fifty for them in this season of IPL.

Tripathi has arrived: Swapnil Asnodkar did it for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL. Paul Valthaty did the same for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in IPL 2011. Tripathi has been the flavour of the season for RPS so far. With scores of 10, 33, 31, 59, 45, 38, 37, 6 and 93, his reputation is enhancing with every passing day. On Wednesday, he owned KKR bowlers, especially Coulter-Nile and Kuldeep Yadav; hammering fours and sixes at will. The man who has hit 6 sixes in an over in local tournaments of Pune twice, has well and truly arrived.

Chris Woakes stands tall amidst ruins: Woakes was the pick of the bowlers for KKR. While his colleagues were getting hit for runs (Umesh Yadav was an exception), he delivered a fine spell and accounted for key wickets of Smith, Manoj Tiwary and Tripathi.