Jason Roy. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered their third win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season after suffering four consecutive losses. The two-time finalists defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 21 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 26. With this win, the Nitish Rana-led side jumped one place up in the IPL 2023 points table.
After winning the toss, RCB stand-in skipper Virat Kohli invited KKR to bat first. Jason Roy (56 off 29) smashed a quick half-century as KKR set a 201-run target for the hosts in 20 overs. Meanwhile, skipper Nitish Rana also provided some significant contributions to his side.
RC bowlers failed to perform well with the ball in the beginning as KKR openers Jason Roy (56 off 29) and Narayan Jagadeesan (27 off 29) made a solid start for their side. Notably, KKR scored 66 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket. However, Vyshak Vijay Kumar came for the attack and removed both KKR openers in the 10th over.
Later, KKR skipper led his team from the front, smashing a quick 48 runs in just 21 balls before being dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga. His knock was studded with three boundaries and four maximums. Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer (31), Rinku Singh (18*), and David Wiese (12*) also played fine knocks as the visitors posted 200 in 20 overs. For RCB, Vyshak and Hasaranga grabbed two wickets while Mohammed Siraj scalped one.
During the chase, KKR restricted RCB to 179/8 in 20 overs. Suyash Sharma provided Kolkata Knight Riders with a massive breakthrough as he dismissed opener Faf du Plessis for just 17 runs in the third over. However, Kohli (54 off 37) managed to keep the momentum with Shahbaz Ahmed for the second wicket. Meanwhile, Suyash struck again and dismissed Shahbaz in the fifth over.
Varun Chakravarthy then came for the attack as he claimed a three-wicket haul, dismissing Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, and keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik. Kohli’s half-century provided hope for RCB, but Andre Russel struck in the 13th over to end his stay. Russel also dismissed the Sri Lankan all-rounder Hasaranga.
KKR have won two of their matches against RCB in the ongoing IPL season. In addition, the two-time IPL champions marked another record as they haven’t lost at the Chinnaswamy Stadium since 2016. RCB, on the other hand, has suffered four defeats in eight games this season.