Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders faced off in Match 36 of IPL 2023 on Wednesday, April 26 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. After being put to bat first by RCB stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, KKR posted a massive score of 200/5 in the first innings courtesy of brilliant knocks from Jason Roy (56 off 29) and Nitish Rana (48 off 21). Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers for RCB as he picked up 2/24 in four overs.
In reply, RCB lost the big scalps of Faf du Plessis (17 off 7) and Glenn Maxwell (5 off 4) inside the powerplay. But Virat Kohli (54 off 37) and Mahipal Lomror (34 off 18) kept the side in the hunt with their 55-run stand off 33 balls. However, after their dismissals, no other batter rose to the occasion and took their side home. Let’s take a look at the talking points of the match:
Jason Roy’s blitzkrieg at the top
Jason Roy got KKR off to a flying start in the powerplay. He took on Shahbaz Ahmed in the sixth over and smacked four sixes in his over as KKR finished the powerplay on 66/0 after six overs. The England opener brought up his fifty in just 22 balls and ended up scoring 56 off 29 balls with the help of fours and five sixes in his innings.
RCB’s fielders dropping catches
After a good start for KKR, RCB were back in the game as both openers were back in the hut. At a stage where they could’ve further exerted pressure on the opposition, they ended up dropping KKR captain Nitish Rana twice which backfired for them big time as he ended up scoring 48 off 21 balls and was involved in a crucial 80-run stand for the third wicket with Venkatesh Iyer.
KKR’s spinners once again rule RCB’s batting
Continuing their magic from the last match against RCB, KKR’s spin duo of Suyash Sharma (2/30) and Varun Chakaravarthy (3/27) once again made RCB batters dance to their tunes. Sharma drew the first blood for his team as he dismissed the dangerous Faf du Plessis and Shahbaz Ahmed in the powerplay. On the other hand, Chakaravarthy got the prized scalps of Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, and Dinesh Karthik at crucial stages of the game and played a pivotal role in his team’s 21-run victory.
Losing Skipper, Virat Kohli said:
To be honest we handed them the game. We did deserve to lose. We handed them a victory. We were certainly not up to standard. If you look at the game, we didn’t capitalize our chances. We dropped a few chances which cost us 25-30 runs. We set up ourselves really well. We ended up hitting the fielder to balls which weren’t wicket taking. It is what’s on the scoreboard and how to get them. Even while chasing, despite losing wickets we were one partnership away from being in the game. We needed one partnership to get us home. We need to be switched on and not give away soft plays. We have won one and lost one on the road. It is not something that is making us nervous. We need to win some away games to be in good shape for the later stages of the tournament.
Winning Skipper, Nitish Rana said:
Last three-four matches, I have been saying if we start performing as a collective, we will get the results. We have enough character in the dressing room for not giving up the belief despite being where we were in the table. Today we wanted to put up a total and hope for spin to come in. We thought it was dry and it would turn. As such it didn’t quite turn but our bowlers turned up. Suyash has always been the first to out his hand up and say I will do it for you. We hope to keep repeating what we did today.
Varun Chakravarthy, Player of the Match said:
That’s how the game of cricket is. Last match I went for 49, today I get this award. My focus is on my accuracy, not to add variations. I have been working a lot. I would like to thank AC Prathiban and Abhishek Nayar. I would like to dedicate this to my newborn son and my wife. I will see him after the IPL.