Royal Challengers Bangalore defeats Kolkata Knight Riders by 82 runs and moves into third place in the points table. This is biggest win margin for Bangalore in this year’s IPL so far. RCB scored mammoth 194/2 in 20 overs before KKR managed to score only 112/9 at the end of 20 overs.
Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first, AJ Finch (47 runs from 37) & Padikkal (32 from 23) gave excellent start to RCB. Russell broke the first wicket partnership of 64 runs in 7.4 overs by shattering Paikkal’s wood.
AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli added 100 runs in 46 balls for third wicket, man of the match award winner AB scored 73 runs not out in just 33 balls with the help of five 4’s and six 6’s. Virat Kohli gave much needed support to South African with 33 runs in 28 balls.
Kolkata collapsed under pressure
With huge target to achieve, Kolkata Knight Riders collapsed innings collapsed against Bangalore’s efficient bowling attack. Chris Morris bowled exceptionally for RCB, the South African bowled 4 overs, gave up just 17 runs for 2 wickets. Washington Sundar claimed 2 wickets in his 4 over spell , Y Chahal was most economical bowler for the night with 4-0-12-1 bowling figures.
Shubman Gill was the leading scorer for Kolkata knight Riders with 34 runs in 25 balls. Next highest score is by Russell & Tripathi , both scored 16 runs. Kolkata dropped to 4th place with 8 points in 7 games so far.
AB de Villiers, Man of the Match:
“I am very happy with my performance. That’s all I can say. I got a duck last game, that is a terrible feeling. I am very happy that I contributed. I surprised myself today to be honest. We were headed towards 140-150, and I thought I might try for 160-165, but I was surprised we reached 195. The margins are very small when Cummins and Russell are running in, and you need to use every bit of energy in you to keep the momentum going. I felt that energy in the bus already. Keeping is a different skill. I am working really really hard so that I am up to the mark. I want to be the best that there is.”
Virat Kohli , Captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore :
“It is a tremendous win against a very strong side. Heading into a busy week for us, it was important to start off well. The bowling unit looks that much more potent with Chris Morris coming back. We were very happy with the total. This pitch was drier. And the day was pleasant so we thought there would be no dew. Barring one superhuman, every batsman struggled on the pitch. The talk was around getting 165, but we got 195 you know exactly why.
It was unbelievable. I thought I had a few balls under my belt, and I might start striking. He just came in and struck the third ball, and said he felt good. I said you might see a lot of people do what is done in other games, but only AB can did what he did. It was a fabulous knock. We were looking at 160-165, and it was only thanks to his genius we got to 195. I was happy we could string together a partnership, and mine was the best seat to watch from.”
Dinesh Karthik, Captain of Kolkata Knight Riders :
“AB is a world-class player. He is hard to stop. He was the difference between the two teams. We tried everything. The only ball was the perfect inswinging yorker. Anything else was going. We need to sit down. There are a few things we need to do better. Even if we had restricted them to 175, there are a few things we need to do better the batting. Let’s be honest. Every captain ahs a day when things don’t go right. But there are a lot of good days I can remember as well, and I will want to stick on to them.”
