Kolkata annihilate Bangalore in a one-sided encounter
Kolkata Knight Riders put on a sensational display to dismantle Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine wickets. With only 93 runs to get, Bangalore finished off the run chase with ten overs to spare.
Bowling first, Kolkata demolished the Bangalore batting lineup for just 92 runs. The winner will be a sigh of relief for Eoin Morgan who has been out of form. The Englishman was coming into this tournament with all sorts of pressure.
He hasn’t been at his best batting form and his tactical ineptness on the field drew heavy criticism too. However, today’s win will be welcomed by him with open arms.
Chakravarthy, Russell too much to handle for RCB
There were many dark clouds over the Royal Challengers before their match against the Knight Riders. Two days ago, Virat Kohli announced that he will be stepping down as Bangalore’s captain at the end of the 2021 IPL edition. Just last week, the right-handed batsman had also decided to step down as Indian Cricket Team’s T20 captain after the T20 World Cup.
With such huge decisions, it was only inevitable that the 2016 IPL runner-ups would struggle in their first match since the restart of the 2021 edition. Kohli was sent packing after just scoring five runs, which set a bad tone for the rest of the Royal Challenger’s innings.
Only four Bangalore batsmen went into double figures. Devdutt Padikkal was the pick of the batsmen as he scored 22 runs off 20 balls. However, it was all about the brilliance of Kolkata’s bowling attack.
Even though Prasidh took the all-important scalp of Kohli, Chakravarthy and Russell were the ones who kept the Royal Challenger’s innings at bay. The leg-spinner took three wickets and conceded only 13 runs in his four overs. On the other hand, Andre Russell also chipped in by sending AB De Villers back to the pavilion on his first ball. Apart from that, he proved to be the key to finishing the tail of Kohli’s men.
Gill and Iyer ensure an easy run chase for Kolkata
With requiring just 93 runs for victory, the Knight Riders’ run chase started off exactly how they wanted. Both of the openers (Gill and Iyer) gave their team a flying start with 35 runs scored off the first five overs.
With a minute target on the board, the opening pair found it very easy to match the required run rate. The duo didn’t bother to take many risks and eventually got their team over the line. The opening partnership was worth 82 runs before Shabnam Gill fell to the bowling of Yuzvenda Chahal. However, that wicket was just a consolation as the two-time IPL champions got over the line with nine wickets remaining.
Gill was the most reliable batsman of the run chase as he scored 48 runs off 34 balls, with six fours and one six. Venkatesh Iyer gave great support to his fellow opener by scoring 41 runs off 27 balls, including the winning runs. He hit seven fours and a six in his innings.
