ELIMINATOR: KKR VS RR, SRH TO FACE THIS TEAM IN THE SECOND QUALIFIER!

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator on Wednesday.

After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals decided to field first.

Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a shaky start as they lost Sunil Narine in the first over itself. KKR lost two more crucial wickets inside the powerplay struggling at 46/3 by the sixth over. KKR captain Dinesh Karthik - 52 (38) and Shubman Gill - 28 (17) stitched up an important partnership in the middle overs to get KKR back on track. A late flurry from Andre Russel - 48* (25) powered KKR to a score of 169/7 from their 20 overs. RR bowlers Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, and Ben Laughlin picked up two wickets each.

Chasing a stiff target, Rajasthan Royals openers Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi played steadily at the top. As Tripathi - 20 (13) departed, Sanju Samson joined with his captain to build up an important partnership. Both Rahane - 46 (41) and Samson - 50 (38) lost their wickets in a quick interval. Some decent depth bowling from KKR restricted RR from reaching the target even though they had a hand full of wickets. RR managed to score just 144/4 from their 20 overs falling short by 25 runs.

KKR will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier at Kolkata on Friday.