KKR vs RR: Magical spell from Kuldeep Yadav put KKR in poll position for the Play-offs

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals to reach 14 points in 13 matches in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Chasing 143, KKR reached the target in 18 overs

Kuldeep Yadav | MoM: I was a bit under pressure after the start they got. I was only thinking of taking a wicket, Jos Buttler is the man in form and I was really trying to get him out. You have to motivate yourself, you have to back your strengths and basics and try to succeed. I don’t try a lot because I try to succeed with my strengths only. But you need to keep changing in a format like T20. I knew Buttler would go for a reverse sweep and that’s why I bowled the quicker one to him. You need to keep planning in every game for every batsman; sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t but you need to keep trying. (Half Hindi translation)

Dinesh Karthik | Winning skipper: I think they started off brilliantly; especially Buttler and Tripathi played really well. But it also shows our character where we just didn’t give up. When we got the chance we just didn’t let it go. Winning one, losing the next and then coming back is a part of the IPL. We just try and put in team bonding sessions, keep interacting and look to put a smile one everyone’s face to keep them motivated. (On the review he took) Yeah I was convinced. I thought at that stage the wicket was really important. Kuldeep is an international quality bowler and is one of the best chinaman bowler in the worl. He is sometimes so confident that he ends up slacking off and giving out one easy ball. But he is very hardworking, always in the gym and if I can keep him consistent it is enough. (On qualifications) Now you are scaring me (chuckles)

Chris Lynn: The only way we’d have let RR into the game is by losing a couple of more wickets. Exciting cricket but we got the job done. Important 2 points on the board. I didn’t want to leave it to anyone else in the end. We wanted to boost that run-rate, which will come into play in a game’s time. We have got quality players against spin in the middle overs. My strength, obviously, is against the quicker bowlers. We got to get our momentum back, and the boys are excited. (They) showed character in the first six overs.

Ajinkya Rahane | Losing skipper: The intent was positive (from the team). Jos (Buttler) and Tripathi batted really well and when I went in I just wanted to carry the momentum forward. Jos was batting really well and it’s not just upto him all the time. Batsmen will have to take responsibility. We have to blame all the batsmen and we lost because we played badly. I felt our bowlers bowled really well. 170-180 would have been very good. We still have a chance. We have to learn from this game and move forward. We know how the wicket will play in Jaipur, so we got to learn and move forward. We will definitely miss Jos and Stokes, but as a cricketer I really feel happy for Jos that he has been picked in the Test squad. As a player you feel really happy when selected to play the Test matches.