Home
In the end, it turned out to be a comprehensive 21-run win for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who got back to winning ways after four consecutive losses. Dropped chances, overdependence on top-order haunted Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they let the game slip away from them in home conditions.
In the run chase of 201, RCB got off to a flyer with Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis hitting the ball all around the park. In the second over, Du Plessis smashed Umesh Yadav for two sixes. Rana introduced Suyash Sharma into the attack and he got the wicket of Du Plessis. The impact player scored 17 runs from seven balls. In his next over, Suyash trapped Shahbaz Ahmed in front of the stumps. In his second over, Varun Chakravarthy got the wicket of Glenn Maxwell. After powerplay overs, RCB had 58/3 on the board.
No boundaries were scored in the next two overs. Kohli slowed down a bit due to three wickets falling at the other end. The acceleration came in the 10th over as Mahipal Lomror smashed Sunil Narine for two sixes. At halfway stage, RCB were 96/3. Chakravarthy came back into the attack. he got hit for a six but got Lomror's wicket off the next ball. He scored 34 runs from 18 balls including one four and three sixes. Kohli succumbed to the pressure as well. He pulled off the front foot but got caught by Venkatesh Iyer in the deep. The stand-in skipper scored 54 runs from 37 balls including six fours.
In the 15th over, Suyash Prabhudessai fell victim to miscommunication and got run out. He contributed 10 runs from nine balls. In the last five overs, RCB needed 63 runs to win. In the 17th over, Dinesh Karthik hit Russell for a six over deep square leg. Wanindu Hasaranga went for a big shot too but found the substitute fielder Anukul Roy. In the 18th over, Chakaravarthy got the better of Karthik. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 22 runs from 18 balls. RCb needed 44 runs from 12 balls and it was too tough for tailenders to pull off. Vijaykumar Vyshak managed to hit Russell for a six in the penultimate over. In the final over, David Willey managed to hit a boundary as RCB lost the match by 21 runs. The hosts managed to post 179/8 on the board.
Earlier, Kohli won the toss and opted to field first. Jason Roy picked off right where he left in the previous game. He hit RCB’s best bowler Mohammed Siraj for two fours. On the other end, Narayan Jagadeesan took his time. He hit Willey for two fours in the fourth over. Roy converted it into a big over with a six. In the sixth over, Roy went berserk and hit left-arm spinner Shahbaz for four sixes. KKR had 66 runs on the board after powerplay overs. This was the first instance in the season when KKR did not lose a wicket in powerplay overs.
In the eighth over, Roy got to his half-century from 22 balls. RCB bowlers were able to pull things back. Vyshak got the breakthrough in the 10th over. Jagadeesan got out after scoring 27 runs from 29 balls including four fours. In the same over, he got the better of Roy with a brilliant yorker. The English opener scored 56 runs from 29 balls including four fours and five sixes. Iyer and Rana tried to rebuild the innings.
While Iyer took his time, Rana took the attacking approach in the 16th over, he hit Harshal Patel for two sixes. In the next over, he smashed Rana for two fours and a six. Hasaranga struck twice in the 18th over with the wickets of set batters Rana and Iyer. The skipper scored 48 runs from 21 balls including three fours and four sixes. Iyer scored 31 runs from 26 balls including three fours. In the penultimate over, Siraj took a beating from Rinku Singh who hit a six and two fours. Siraj ended the over with the wicket of Russell. In the final over, Rinku could not hit a boundary but David Wiese's two sixes helped KKR post 200/5.
ALSO READ:
Wrestlers vs WFI: DCW wants FIR to be filed against Police officers for not lodging case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
After match-winning 104 in run chase vs Pakistan, Mark Chapman jumps 48 places in ICC T20I rankings
