Kolkata Knights snap their four-game losing streak with 21 wins over Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL
Post Date – 11:45 PM, Wednesday – 4/26/23
Kolkata Knights players celebrate their victory over RCB during the IPL 2023 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knights at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)
Bangalore: Kolkata Knights conjured up spin magic after Jason Roy’s fifty-pound 50, and they snapped a four-game losing streak with 21 wins over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL here on Wednesday.
The English opener led the game with 56 for 29 as Kolkata Knights batsmen fired in unison, 200/5 after RCB skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl at their home ground.
But the rotating duo of Varun Chakravarthy (3/24) and rookie Suyash Sharma (2/30) produced a top-flight before Andre Russell (2/29) broke the resistance that Kohli limited RCB to 179 for eight. confusion.
Leading the side in the absence of Faf Du Plessis, Kohli struck 54 off 34 balls and kept hopes of the 201-run chase alive after du Plessis (17) Glenn Maxwell (5) fell cheaply.
But everything went haywire when Venkatesh Iyer caught the ball deep on the mid-sideline, knocking Kohli off Russell.
He dived to the left and rolled over, but had a solid grip on the ball as Kohli walked back in disbelief.
48 balls required 86 balls, leaving Dinesh Karthik (22) to continue the chase but Chakravarthy had the last laugh as he let the experienced RCB wicket batsman in his three-run run and it seemed all was over for RCB .
KKR thus performed a double over RCB, beating them by 81 points in the season opener.
This defeat once again proved RCB’s over-reliance on their Big Three – Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell.
RCB lost by 30 runs and its flying start was stopped by the spinning duo of Sharma and Chakravarthy who gave KKR a perfect start, sharing the three wickets between them in a power play (58/3) .
RCB’s regular captain, Fa du Plessis, was absent only to be substituted as an impact player, watching him ominously at his best when he smashed Umesh Yadav on both sides of the wicket.
While the RCB opening duo began enjoying the KKR pacer, Kohli was also giving it his all.
With their ace spinner, Sunil Narine, absent for four matches, Rana relied on their latest spinner bag, the Suyash Sharma, to succeed.
It was a successful move and the tights mistakenly grabbed du Plessis’ precious scalp, and on his next move, he trapped Shahbaz Ahmed (2).
Maxwell then made his second appearance against Chakravasi in as many games this season, throwing RCB’s top flight into disarray.
But RCB did not let up as Mahipal Lomror made his intentions clear, providing the perfect support for Kohli as the duo progressed.
KKR finally got into action as Roy smashed five sixes and four boundaries as he and Narayan Jagadeesan (27; 29b) gave KKR their best start ever – 83 for 56 balls.
KKR’s strikes came on either side of two brilliant bowling spells by Sri Lankan legspin sensation Hasaranga, who came back 4-0-24-2 to cause enough buzz.
First, his stingy spells after the power show provided the impetus for Vyshak’s double whammy when he dismissed Jagadeesan and Roy.
But Lana then made sure they didn’t lose momentum as he made the most of his two reprieves – in the 5th and 19th – to race to his 21-ball 48 (3×4, 4×6).
KKR’s new hero Rinku Singh (18 not out; 10b) took over as he smashed two fours and a six to ensure they reached 200.
David Weiss hit two sixes to go 12 games unbeaten.
Roy showed KKR how it’s done in power play as he charted a 22-ball 50-for-his second in a row to give KKR their best-ever start to the season.
The Englishman showed his intent against the likes of RCB’s new-ball bowlers and Mohammad Siraj and David Wiley, unleashing his power when he brought in left-arm spinner Ahmad in the final power game. anger.
Roy smoked him for four sixes from five balls in 25 runs without a loss, as KKR recorded their highest power game score of the season with 66.
But all credit should go to Hasalanga for his cleanliness after a strong game, conceding just two points and putting pressure on the duo.
Vyshak and Harshal Patel also tightened the noose, as the boundaries suddenly disappeared, which was even more evident on the duo.
Striving for a big hit, Jagadeesan was finished by a Vyshak bouncer and while Roy got a peach from the uncapped Indian, he got a perfect legstump yorker to clean up the Brit around his legs.
