IPL 5: Rajasthan defeats Kolkata by 22 runs

Rahul Dravid led Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 22 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Sunday.

KKR skipper Gambhir won the toss and asked royals to bat. Rajasthan start was not good as their previous match hero Ajinkya Rahane was run-out without scoring. Dravid and Shreevats Goswami shared a 44 run stand before skipper Dravid was run-out. At the end, Ashok Menaria (40) and Brad Hodge (44) helped team get a 164 that was a big total.

Chasing the target Kolkata got off to a horrible start as Kallis, Gambhir and McCullum walked to pavilion in three balls. Manoj Tiwary (59) was the lone warrior from Kolkata who scored some boundaries and kept Kolkata in the run. But his valiant efforts were not enough. Lee's (25 from 11 balls could not take Kolkata at the doors of victory. The hopes of Kolkata faded when Yusuf Pathan (15) failed to make a big score.

Rajasthan victory could be attributed to its team effort as most of the players gave their best. Brad Hodge was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 44 runs from just 29 balls.