IPL 7 RR vs KKR, Highlights: Pravin Tambe's Hat-Trick Spins Rajasthan to Fifth Victory

Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. Catch the highlights of the match here (Scorecard | Text Commentary | Schedule | Points Table)

19:54 IST: QUOTES -

Pravin Tambe: The confidence the team gives me, I will never forget. Glad to bag my first hat-trick. At this level you have to keep the energy well high.

Shane Watson: We have wicket-taking bowlers. Pravin Tambe just keeps going and going. He gets world class batsmen out and at crucial times. He has been incredible, he makes my job easier. (Rajat) Bhatia complemented him well. Towatia did a good job. Happy make an impact with the ball.

Gautam Gambhir: It's a hard pill to swallow. I've not seen this kind of cricket but we've got to move on. Eight games to go and hopefully we can turn it around. Apart from Sunil and Shakib none of the guys are putting their hands up.

19:37 IST: That't the end of the match. Rajsthan Royals fight back to beat Kolkata Knight Riders (160/6). It was a turnaround of fortunes after Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir fifties put KKR in command. Things changed in the 15th over when Shane Watson got rid of the established batsmen and uprooted Andre Russell's middle stump. Pravin Tambe went a step further and bagged his and season's first hat-trick to spin Royals to a 10-run win.

19:30 IST: A lot of drama is happening at Motera. Shane Watson to bowl final over. Kolkata 154/6 (19 overs)

19:26 IST: Shane Watson drops Shakib Al Hasan, who keeps Kolkata in hunt for a victory. Kolkata 147/6 (18 overs)

19:19 IST: Shane Watson and Pravin Tambe bring Royals back in the game after KKK dig their own graves - lose six wickets for just two runs. Kolkata 132/6 (17 overs)

19:09 IST: Hat-trick! Pravin Tambe removes Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate to get his maiden hat-trick. Pandey stumped, Yusuf caught and bowled and Doeschate lbw. Kolkata 123/6 (15.2 overs)

19:02 IST: Wicket! Pravin Tambe joins the party. He gets Manish Pandey. Bowls a wide down the leg, Pandey loses balances and Samson completes his job as a wicketkeeper. Kolkata 123/4 (15.1 overs)

19:00 IST: Wicket! Watson gets another. What an over it has been. Uproots Andre Russell's middle stump. Kolkata 122/3 (14.5 overs)

18:55 IST: Wicket! Shane Watson strikes again. This time he gets Robin Uthappa for 65. Uthappa pulls a short one straight to Rajat Bhatia. Kolkata 122/2 (14.3 overs)

18:55 IST: Wicket! Shane Watson strikes but it's kind of little late. Gautam Gambhir edges to keeper Sanju Samson. Kolkata 121/1 (14.1 overs)

18:50 IST: Fifty! Gautam Gambhir reaches his 21st half-century in Indian Premier League. He reaches his fifty with a bpundary towards deep square leg. Kolkata 118/0 (13.2 overs)

18:41 IST: Fifty! Robin Uthappa slams his 10th half-century in Indian Premier League. He reaches his fifty in 39 balls. Kolkata 93/0 (11 overs)

18:32 IST: Gautam Gambhir scores his 300th boundary in the Indian Premier League. He goes on the back foot and whacks Pravin Tambe for four towards deep mid wicket. Kolkata 75/0 (9 overs)

18:27 IST: Rajasthan still searching for their first wicket. They now bring in spinner Rahul Tewatia. The debutant bowls a decent 5-run over. Kolkata 66/0 (8 overs)

18:19 IST: Gautam Gambhir is timing the ball well today. Seems he is getting his lost form back. He hits Tim Southee for consecutive boundaries. Kolkata 50/0 (6 overs

18:11 IST: Another change in bowling. James Faulkner replaces Shane Watson. Kolkata 35/0 (4.4 overs)

18:08 IST: Rajasthan introduce spin in the fourth over. Pravin Tambe comes into the attack. Kolkata 31/0 (4 overs)

18:04 IST: Shane Watson bowls a slightly expensive over. Gets hit for two fours by Robin Uthappa. Kolkata 23/0 (3 overs)

18:00 IST: Tim Southee joins Shane Watson in opening spell. Kolkata 13/0 (2 overs)

17:55 IST: Shane Watson starts proceedings for Rajasthan. He gets pulled away for a boundary but comes back strongly. Kolkata 5/0 (1 over)
17:37 IST: That's it! Rajasthan post 170/6 in 20 overs against Kolkata. Karun Nair top scores with 44, while Sanju Samson (37, Shane Watson (31) and Ajinkya Rahane (30) play crucial knocks. Sunil Narine and Vinay Kumar get two wickets apiece.

17:35 IST: Wicket! Another sensational catch. Stuart Binny looks to clear mid-wicket boundary but fails to go past jumping Ryan ten Doeschate. Vinay bags his second. Rajasthan 163/6 (19.4 overs).

17:34 IST: Wicket! Steve Smith falls after scoring three. Vinay gets his first wicket. Rajasthan 163/5 (19.3 overs).

17:27 IST: Wicket! Superb catch. Suryakumar Yadav takes a brilliant catch at mid-wicket boundary to end Shane Watson fiery 20-ball 31-run knock. Sunil Narine gets his second wicket. Rajasthan 153/3 (18.4 overs).

17:25 IST: Shane Watson edges one to third man off Andre Russell! Umesh Yadav runs well for it but fails to judge it. Rajasthan 136/3 (16.2 overs).

17:15 IST: WICKET! Sanju Samson falls after scoring 37 off 31 balls. Samson takes on Sunil Narine but ends up finding Manish Pandey at deep mid wicket. Rajasthan 136/3 (16.2 overs).

17:13 IST: What an over for Rajasthan! Shane Watson slams Vinay Kumar for two sixes and a four. 19 runs come off that over. Rajasthan 134/2 (16 overs).

17:01 IST: Wicket! Karun Nair goes down the track and misses a widish delivery by Shakib Al Hasan. Wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa does the rest. Karun scored 44. That also brings an end to 53-run partnership. Rajasthan 105/2 (13.3 overs).

16:52 IST: Six! It's tough to keep young Karun Nair quiet for a long time. This time he hits Umesh Yadav for a biggie over backward square leg. Rajasthan 92/1 (12 overs).

16:46 IST: Sanju Samson and Karun Nair have added 24 runs for the second wicket. Kolkata have used five bowlers so far. Rajasthan 76/1 (10 overs).

16:39 IST: Shakib Al Hasan comes back into the attack. Sanju Samson has joined Karun Nair in the middle. Rajasthan 71/1 (9 overs).

16:29 IST: Wicket! Sunil Narine sends Ajinkya Rahane (30) back in hut with a direct hit. Karun Nair played it towards short fine leg and took off. Rahane dived but was well short of crease when the bails were dislodged. Rajasthan 52/1 (6.3 overs).

16:26 IST: After Shakib bowls an unimpressive first over, KKR bring medium pacer Andre Russell into the attack. Rajasthan 50/0 (6 overs).

16:22 IST: It's raining fours and sixes at Motera. Karun Nair hits Shakib Al Hasan for consecutive boundaries. Rajasthan 44/0 (5 overs).

16:16 IST: Ajinkya Rahane flicks Umesh Yadav for a six over deep fine leg. Rahane and Karun Nair have provided a decent start. Rajasthan 33/0 (4 overs).

16:10 IST: Umesh Yadav joins Vinay Kumar in the opening spell for an expensive 9-run over. Rajasthan 14/0 (2 overs).

16:02 IST: Ajinkya Rahane flicks Vinay Kumar for a four towards deep square leg to get off the mark. Rajasthan 5/0 (0.1 over).

16:00 IST: Rajasthan Royals openers Karun Nair and Ajinkya Rahane are out in the middle. Pacer Vinay Kumar to start proceeding for Kolkata Knight Riders.

15:40 IST: Squads -

Rajasthan Royals: Karun Nair, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Steven Smith, Rajat Bhatia, James Faulkner, Tim Southee, Rahul Tewatia, Pravin Tambe

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Vinay Kumar, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav

15:32 IST: TOSS! Kolkata win toss and elect to bowl against Rajasthan. KKR drop out-of-form Jacques Kallis for Ryan ten Doeschate.

Preview

The last time they clashed, Rajasthan Royals edged past Kolkata Knight Riders in perhaps the most nerve-wrecking contest of this season's IPL and it promises to be another humdinger when the two teams with fluctuating fortunes square off in Ahmedabad today. Their most recent head-to-head took place on April 29 in Abu Dhabi, which was among three UAE cities which played host to the IPL's first leg. That clash turned out to be a battle of epic proportions. Both the teams ended their regulation overs on the same score, before also finishing level in the Super Over. Finally it took a boundary count to decide the match which was won by Royals in final analysis.

Royals are better-placed as far as morale is concerned. The team chalked out a thumping win over Delhi Daredevils on Saturday with discovering a match-winner in young Karun Nair, who slammed a 50-ball 73. KKR, on the other hand, were thoroughly outplayed in their 34-run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in their most recent match. (Read more)

Pravin Tambe talks about what not to do as a spinner

Rajasthan Royals spinner Pravin Tambe said his biggest strength is bowl according to the plan. "T20 is a game where even a small mistake will cost you. So I try and see that I don't let the batsman swing the bat. If he tries to hit, then I would get his wicket. So I try to cramp the batsman; I try and work on that area. So when I pitched it in the right area and Pietersen tried to hit me, I got the wicket as he mistimed it and was caught near the ropes at long-on," he explained. (Read more)

RR are champions of Super Over thrillers

Rajasthan Royals' triumph against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League has made it the only side to have won two tied games.

Kolkata and Rajasthan remain the only two teams to have participated in two tied games. Rajasthan won both the games through one-over eliminator. After the scores were tied even in the Super Over on April 29, Rajasthan won on the boundary count. Overall, five tied games have been recorded in the IPL history. Rajasthan remains the only team to have won two tied games. (Read more)

Teams

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Tim Southee, Unmukt Chand, Ankush Bains, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Tewatia, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Karun Nair, Dishant Yagnik.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Morne Morkel, Piyush Chawla, Manish Pandey, Veer Pratap Singh, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sayan Sekhar Mandal, Pat Cummins, Debabrata Das, Suryakumar Yadav, Manvinder Bisla, Ryan ten Doeschate, Kuldeep Yadav.