Kohli had announced at the start of the UAE leg of the league this season that he will step down as RCB captain after the 2021 season.
Here are the key highlights from the match:
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE INNINGS:
Padikkal, Kohli got off to a strong start: RCB captain Virat Kohli, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, gave his team a solid start, along with his opening partner Devdutt Padikal. Kohli (39 off 33) and Devdutt Padikkal (21 off 18) formed a 49-run stand for the opening wicket to lay the foundation for a potential big total in the crucial knockout encounter.
Virat Kohli
KKR spinners choked RCB in the middle overs: RCB’s dream start though soon turned into a real effort to try and score runs. Sunil Narine was the wrecker in chief as he put up a vintage performance. Narine first sent Srikar Bharat back for 9 runs and then got the better of the Big Three – Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Glenn Maxwell – to severely dent the RCB innings. Kohli tried to play a slog sweep, but the RCB skipper failed to judge the delivery and the ball went under the bat and crashed into leg stump. Narine dismissed AB de Villiers in similar fashion. The South African tried to defend but Narine managed to pierce a tiny gap between his bat and pad. Maxwell, while trying to sweep, got a top edge and gave a simple catch to Lockie Ferguson at third man. Narine, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant show, ended with figures 4-0-21-4. RCB crashed from 69-1 to 112-5.
Image credit: BCCI/IPL
Srikar Bharat
Glenn Maxwell
Tight bowling at the death, RCB crawled to 138/7: Apart from Narine, Varun Chakravarthy (0/20), who didn’t concede a single boundary in his four-over spell, and the experienced Shakib Al Hasan (0/24) tightened the noose around the RCB batsmen and didn’t allow them to go over the top. KKR managed to restrict RCB to 138/7. The last 5 overs of the RCB innings saw only 3 runs being scored.
Image credit: BCCI/IPL
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS INNINGS:
KKR got a steady start: Chasing a modest 139 to win, KKR were off to a magnificent start, thanks to their openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer. Gill scored 29 off 18 balls, including 4 fours and Iyer chipped in with a 30-ball 26. His innings was studded with just one six. The duo put on 41 runs for the first wicket.
Shubman Gill
RCB hit back hard with two wickets in quick succession: However RCB hit back hard- getting rid of Gill and Rahul Tripathi in the space of 1.4 overs, as KKR went from 41-0 to 53-2. The Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel got the first breakthrough when he sent Shubman Gill back to the hut for 29 runs and then got rid of Venkatesh Iyer for 26. Rahul Tripathi, who came at number 3, managed to score just 6 runs before being dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal.
Venkatesh Iyer
Narine cameo kept the required rate under control: When Iyer fell for 26 in the 11th over, KKR sent in Sunil Narine at number 5, ahead of the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Eoin Morgan. The Knight Riders needed 60 off 54 balls at that stage. The KKR innings needed some much needed impetus – something that would help them to firmly take the drivers seat in the encounter. And Narine delivered with the bat. A 15-ball 26 run cameo swung the momentum completely KKRs way. The left-hander smashed three sixes in his blistering knock.
Sunil Narine (BCCI/IPL Photo)
KKR made heavy weather of a small chase, but crossed the finish line: Mohammed Siraj’s double scalp in the 18th over gave RCB a glimmer of hope when the pacer dismissed Narine for 26 and Dinesh Karthik for 10. KKR suddenly went from 110-3 to 126-6, with Rana, Narine and Karthik falling in quick succession. The equation went from 32 needed off 42 after the 13th over to 12 needed off 12 after these three wickets fell. But captain Eoin Morgan and Shakib al Hasan kept their cool to take the two-time IPL champions home in the last over, with 2 balls to spare. KKR will now face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on Wednesday.
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