Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) could not put an end to their losing streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as they suffered their sixth consecutive loss. After Virat Kohli’s controversial dismissal took centrestage in the run chase, half-centuries from Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar helped RCB get back in the game. In the end, Karn Sharma’s three sixes revived RCB’s run chase but Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the last-ball thriller by one run. KKR climbed one place to the second place in the points table with their fifth win of the tournament.
Salt sprinkles sixes
Earlier, Du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first. Philip Salt hit Mohammed Siraj for a six and a four. In the fourth over, he smacked Lockie Ferguson for two sixes and four fours. Siraj ended Salt's stay at the crease in the fifth over. He scored 48 runs from 14 balls. Yash Dayal struck twice in the sixth over to dismiss Sunil Narine and Angrish Raghuvanshi. After powerplay overs, KKR were 75/3. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer were looking to stitch a partnership but the latter was dismissed by Cameron Green in the ninth over. Venkatesh scored 16 runs from eight balls. At the halfway stage, they were 107/4.
Shreyas plays captain’s knock
Rinku Singh hit Karn Sharma for the first six of his knock. Ferguson returned to dismiss Rinku who scored 24 runs from 16 balls. Feguson finished well after an expensive first over. Shreyas in the 17th over hit Yash Dayal for a six and a four. He departed in the next over to Green. He scored 50 runs from 36 balls including seven fours and a six. In the penultimate over, Siraj took a beating from Ramandeep as he conceded two sixes and a four. In the final over bowled by Dayal, Andre Russell hit two fours. Ramandeep ended the innings with a four as KKR posted 222/6. He scored 24 runs from just nine balls whereas Russell remained unbeaten for a 20-ball 27.
Jacks, Patidar go berserk after Kohli’s wicket
In the run chase, Kohli hit Rana for a four and a six. He hit Mitchell Starc for a maximum too. In the next over, he was dismissed caught and bowled by Rana with a slower one. Kohli was left fuming as he felt that it was a no-ball. He departed after scoring 18 runs from seven balls. Jacks hit the first six of his innings off the third ball he faced. In the next over, Varun Chakaravarthy got the better of Du Plessis. In the sixth over, Jacks unleashed a full-blow attack against Starc hitting him for three sixes and a four. In the ninth over, Jacks reached his maiden IPL fifty from 29 balls. Patidar went berserk against Suyash Sharma and hit him for two sixes and two fours. He did not spare Narine either and smashed two sixes.
Russell changes the game
In the 12th over, Shreyas introduced Russell into the attack. Jacks went for a hit over long-on but caught. He returned to the dugout after scoring 55 runs from 32 balls including fours and five sixes. He got the wicket of Patidar too who scored 52 runs from 23 balls including three fours and five sixes. Impact player Prabhudessai got off the mark with a boundary. Green hit Narine for a six and got out next ball. In the same over, Mahipal Lomror got out caught and bowled. Karthik and Prabhudessai took the game deep. Rana in his final over got the breakthrough. Prabhudessai scored 24 runs from 18 balls. Karthik in the penultimate over hit a six and a four but got out trying to hit it over short fine leg fielder. Karthik departed for an 18-ball 25.
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Karn’s 3 sixes not enough
RCB needed 21 runs in the final over. Starc bowled it full and wide. Karn smashed it for a six. Next ball, he edged one to the wicketkeeper but it was taken on the bounce. On the next two balls, Karn smashed two consecutive sixes before getting caught and bowled. On the last ball, three runs were needed. Ferguson hit it towards offside but could not come back for a couple of runs. KKR ended up winning the last-ball thriller by just one run.
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