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Rajasthan Royals' dream of playing in the semi-final of IPL ended when they lost their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Durban on Wednesday (May 20). Knight Riders defeated the Jaipur team by 4 wickets. Royals were able to post a low total of 101 runs after being sent to bat first by Kolkata skipper. Apart from Naman Ojha (22 off 12) no other batsman from Royals could put up a good performance in yesterday's crucial match. Pacer Charl Langeveltd took 3 wickets by giving only 15 runs in four overs. Apart from him, Ajit Agarkar claimed 2 for 15 and Saurav Ganguly got one wicket.
Rajasthan Royals' champion batsman Yusuf Pathan got run out after scoring nine runs from 15 deliveries. Royals needed to win the match to keep afloat in the semi-final but disastrous batting performance brought their nemesis. Chasing a modest total, Kolkata Knight Riders began their innings badly by losing their top five batsmen for 37 runs. Ganguly was sent back to the dugout without any run while skipper Brendon McCullum could manage only nine runs. After that, Brad Hodge (6), Yashpal Singh (6) and David Hussey (9) also got out quickly.
However arrival of Laxmi Ratan Shukla brought the much-needed relief as he and Ajit Agarkar put on to a crucial unbeaten 57-run partnership to steer the team home in 19.3 overs. Shukla's unbeaten knock of 48 runs came in 46 deliveries while Agarkar scored 13 runs. With this victory, Knight Riders ended the tournament with seven points from 14 matches while the defending champions got 13 points. Laxmi Ratan Shukla was adjudged the man of the match for his match-saving knock.
