Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered their sixth consecutive defeat at the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), losing out to Kolkata Knight Riders by the slimmest margins of a solitary run at the Eden Gardens. Chasing a target of 223 runs, Bengaluru threw the kitchen sink and more, but were bowled out for 221.
The target had very little provision for anchors, and complying with the need of the hour, Virat Kohli batted at his aggressive best from the first over. However, after scoring 18 runs off his first six deliveries, the former RCB skipper lost his wicket to a delivery he would least expect to fall prey to – a full-toss. Though Kohli was unhappy with the umpires, demanding a no-ball, ball tracking showed it was a fair call from the third umpire.
Faf du Plessis lost his wicket to Varun Chakavarthy in the fourth over after merely scoring a run-a-ball 7, and at that stage, Bengaluru had a mountain to climb. That, they came agonisingly close to climbing that mountain, was courtesy of the 102-run third-wicket stand between Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar.
The English batter scored 55 runs in 32 deliveries, whilst Patidar, who is not having the best of seasons, showed what he is capable of producing whilst on song, scoring a 23-ball 52.
At one stage, when the score read 137/2 in 11 overs, requiring 85 runs off the last nine overs, the game was RCB’s to lose. And lose they did, by losing four wickets in two overs – Andre Russell and Sunil Narine picking up a couple of wickets apiece.
An 18-ball 24 by Suyash Prabhudessai on his maiden IPL 2024 match, followed by an 18-ball 25 from Dinesh Karthik, took the game to the last over, but commendable death bowling from Harshit Rana and Andre Russell always kept the Knights ahead in the game.
When Bengaluru required 21 runs off the last over, the outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion, except Karn Sharma turned the tie on its head by hitting three sixes off the first four deliveries. However, Bengaluru could not only score one run off the last couple of deliveries.
Combined Batting Efforts Took KKR to 222/6
Earlier, Shreyas Iyer struck a 36-ball fifty, also his first half-century in IPL since May 2022, while Phil Salt and Ramandeep Singh smashed quick cameos in propelling KKR to 222/6.
Iyer smashed seven fours and a six to be the top run-scorer for KKR, while Salt sizzled with a 14-ball 48 and Ramandeep produced fireworks in the end with an unbeaten 24 off just nine balls to get the 16th 200+ total IPL 2024.
For RCB, Cameron Green and Yash Dayal took two wickets each, while Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Siraj had a scalp apiece, though they were expensive in conceding 73 runs off the last five overs.
Electing to bowl first, RCB didn’t have an ideal start as Salt swivelled Mohammed Siraj’s short balls for a six and four respectively. With Sunil Narine kept quiet by a yorker plan from Siraj and Dayal, Salt continued to deal in boundaries – taking back-to-back fours off the latter, before hitting four boundaries and two sixes off Ferguson in the fourth over yielding 28 runs.
Salt could have taken the record for the fastest half-century of IPL 2024, but was caught at deep mid-wicket in the pursuit of going for another boundary off Siraj, falling after hitting seven fours and three sixes.
In the next over, Narine fell after lofting a slower ball from Dayal to long-off. RCB ended the Power-play with a back-pedaling Green taking a one-handed leaping catch at mid-wicket to give Dayal the wicket of Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
Post that, RCB brought out a slowdown on KKR’s batters, though Iyer kept the scoreboard ticking with occasional boundaries. After Venkatesh Iyer pulled to the deep off Green, the all-rounder kept Rinku Singh quiet with his short balls. Rinku would break free by lofting to get three boundaries, before heaving off the glove to fine-leg a slower ball from Ferguson.
Iyer reverse swept Karn for a boundary before he and Andre Russell took 23 runs off Dayal in the 17th over to get his fifty in 23 balls. Shortly after, Iyer went for a loft off Green but was caught by long-off diving across to his left.
Ramandeep smashed Siraj for two sixes and a four in the 19th over before he and Russell hit three fours collectively off Dayal in the final over as KKR went past the 220 mark.
(With inputs from IANS)
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