Virat Kohli is out to prove that he has “still got it” to succeed in the T20 format. His effort on Friday, however, wasn’t enough for Royal Challengers Bengaluru as Kolkata Knight Riders romped to a seven-wicket victory.
It was the Knights’ second triumph in as many matches and the first away win for any franchise in IPL 2024. Since 2016, KKR have not lost at Chinnaswamy, winning 6 out of 6 games.
Chasing 183, KKR openers gave them a flying start as they raced to 85/0 in the six Powerplay overs. The Knight Riders gave Sunil Narine the licence to blast his way at the top and he performed the pinch hitter’s role to perfection.
Narine struck 47 off 22 balls with five sixes and two boundaries while Phil Salt contributed 30 off 20. Their quick dismissals didn’t make an impact though as Venkatesh Iyer complemented them with an innings of controlled aggression.
Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 83 off 59 balls but the Knight Riders overturned his hard work on Friday. PTI
Iyer made 50 off 30 balls and had to battle cramps in the early part of the knock. His coming into form bodes well for the side, along with captain Shreyas Iyer who remained unbeaten on 39 off 24.
Venkatesh repeatedly came down the wicket to crack the pacers over the infield and helped the Knights reach the par target with 19 balls remaining.
The first half, however, belonged to Kohli. Much like his 77 off 49 balls against Punjab Kings in their first home match of the season, Kohli held the innings together
with an unbeaten 83 off 59 balls on Friday.
While Cameron Green (33 off 21 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (28 off 19) provided support, it was Kohli who gave momentum to the innings. Dinesh Karthik played a cameo (20 off 8 balls) towards the end.
The Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru is known for its batting-friendly pitches. The average first-innings total last season was 196. But in the first game here on Monday, Punjab Kings almost defended 176.
Kohli’s task was a bit difficult with the wicket denying him the pace to work with but he manipulated the gaps well. As KKR tried to restrict his shot-making with spin, he came down the wicket to tonk Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy for six. Kohli’s propensity to hit the ball in the air has been one of the standout features of his batting in this IPL.
But it was Kohli’s battle against Mitchell Starc that remained the talking point. Kohli was the outright winner — 33 off 17 balls, including three boundaries and two sixes.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis went back early when his attempt to scoop pacer
Harshit Rana ended in the hands of Starc inside the circle. But Kohli ruled supreme since.
When the boundaries were hard to come by in the middle overs, Kohli constantly kept rotating the strike, never allowing the bowlers to build pressure. Andre Russell (2/29) and Harshit Rana (2/39) used the slower balls intelligently to rattle the batters.
KKR’s fielding, however, left a lot to be desired with at least three regulation chances being put down in the deep.
