A stellar performance with the bat followed by a dominant display with the ball saw Kolkata beat Rajasthan and give themselves a chance to qualify for the Indian T20 League playoffs.
Here are the key talking points from the contest:
Captain Morgan to the rescue
With his team reeling at 74/3 at the end of nine overs, Kolkata needed someone to step up and carry the team through the innings. Up rose captain Eoin Morgan, smashing an unbeaten 68 off 35 balls to guide his side to a massive total of 191 at the end of their batting effort. The Kolkata skipper hit five fours and half a dozen sixes in what was his best knock of the season.
Cummins comes good
In a season where he struggled to pick wickets, the record-purchase at the last auction, Pat Cummins came good for his side in their hour of need, picking three wickets in the Powerplay overs to dismantle Rajasthan's chase. With Rajasthan desperate to chase the total as quickly as possible to improve their net run rate, their top order decided to go after Cummins, but the wily Australian continued to bowl an aggressive line and was rewarded with three scalps in his first two overs. He added another to his tally late in the evening to finish with figures of 4-34, his best in the Indian T20 League. A stellar showing from the speedster.
One last toast from Tewatia
In what proved to be his final appearance of the season, all-rounder Rahul Tewatia went out with a sensational performance with both bat and ball in a valiant but fruitless effort. Tewatia picked three wickets with the ball while giving away just 25 runs in his quota of four and then scored 31 off 27 balls to keep his side in the hunt during their chase. Tewatia finished the season with 255 runs and 10 wickets in 14 matches, his best campaign to date in the league.
Where do things stand?
Kolkata started the match at the bottom of the table but jumped to fourth with this win. Their net run rate is 0.069 and 0.055 lower than Bangalore and Delhi, respectively. They will now have to rely on a big win for either Bangalore or Delhi tomorrow or more conveniently, a Mumbai victory over Hyderabad on Tuesday. Kolkata have run their race and will now watch the next two matches closely to determine their future in the competition.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League
