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Venkatesh, Narine help KKR defeat RCB

cricket29 March 2024 17:51| © MWP
By:CS Chiwanza
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Venkatesh Iyer © X formerly Twitter

Sunil Narine’s all-round performance and Venkatesh Iyer’s half-century inspired Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Tata Indian Premier League encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Friday. RCB batted first and scored 182 for six. KKR needed only 16.5 overs to reach 186 for three in their chase.

KKR is the first team to win an away game in the 2024 edition of the IPL. They also extended their wins over RCB at the M Chinnaswamy to 8 - 4. They now lead the head-to-head 19 - 14.

Venkatesh arrived at the crease in the seventh over and carved three fours and four sixes on his way to 50 off 30, his eighth IPL 50. He also passed the 1000 IPL-run mark during his innings. He was the main contributor in his 65-run third-wicket partnership with Shreyas Iyer which brought KKR within touching distance of victory. Venkatesh's innings was built on the foundation laid by Sunil Narine and his opening partner, Phil Salt.

Salt began his innings with a second-ball six, followed that with a four and KKR was off to a flying start. The pair's unconventional opening raced to bring up KKR's 50 in 3.3 overs. At the end of the Powerplay, KKR was on 85 without loss, batting at a rate of 14.17. Salt, the recognised batter of the partnership, sat back to enjoy the Sunil Narine show. No other batter batted as well as Narine, who was awarded the Player of the Match award for his all-round performance. He also bagged a single wicket for 40 runs in four overs.

The West Indian, playing in his 500th T20 match, threw caution to the wind and swung at everything. His innings ended two balls after the Powerplay when he was bowled by Mayank Dagar for 47 off 22. By then, his job was done, he had maximised the first six overs for his side.

Besides the damage done by Narine and Venkatesh, RCB's bowlers did not do themselves any favours by conceding 15 extras in the match. Vijaykumar Vyshark seemed to be the only RCB bowler who understood how to bowl on the surface. He went for 5.71 runs an over in his four overs. He took a single wicket.

Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli batted through the innings to lead RCB to 182. His unbeaten 83 off 59 balls is his second consecutive half-century this season, his 52nd IPL half-ton. It is the 15th time he has opened the batting and remained unbeaten. The India superstar is now the leading run-scorer in the league and is the new orange cap holder. Kohli carted four sixes, to become RCB's leading six-hitter, and complimented them with four fours on a slow pitch.

Besides the two Australian batters, Cameron Green (33), with whom he shared a 65-run partnership, and Glenn Maxwell (28), with whom he stitched a 42-run stand, no other RCB batter got going. A late cameo by Dinesh Karthik (20) in the last two overs helped the Bengaluru side read respectability, but it was not enough to help the hosts put up a winning total.

In KKR's previous match, Andre Russell was outstanding with the bat, scoring a monstrous 64 off 25 balls. In this match against RCB, the West Indies allrounder was fantastic with the ball. Russell traded in slower ball deliveries as he took two wickets for 29 runs in four overs. He was also the best bowler in the match. Harshit Rana also took a brace but conceded at a higher economy of 9.75.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Rajit Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Kolkata Knight Riders: Phil Salt (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

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