Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to register second win

Bengaluru: Virat Kohli’s effort went in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 7 wickets to register their second win in the Indian Premier League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday night.

Chasing a challenging total of 182 runs, the visitors reached the target in 16.5 overs losing 3 wickets.

Opening duo Philip Salt and Sunil Narine put on 86 runs in 39 balls to build the foundation. West Indian left hander Narine was first to go after scoring 47 runs from 22 balls with 5 sixes. Salt (30 runs from 20 balls) was next to go. Venkatesh Iyer struck 50 runs from 30 balls with 4 sixes. Captain Shreyas Iyer (39 from 24) remained unbeaten with Rinku Singh.

Earlier, Virat Kohli's unbeaten 83 off 59 balls and a quick-fire 33 in 21 balls by Cameron Green propelled RCB to 182/6 in 20 overs.

Asked to bat first, RCB lost their skipper Faf du Plessis for a mere 8 runs. However, Virat Kohli and Cameron Green played with authority in the Power-play, the dynamic duo added 65 runs for the second wicket, with Green falling prey to Sunil Narine after scoring 33 runs. Just when it seemed like RCB was set for a massive total, Narine struck, dismissing the dangerous Green. The momentum swung slightly in KKR's favour, but Kohli stood tall, anchoring the innings with his masterful stroke play.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Kohli continued to pile on the runs, reaching yet another fifty in his illustrious career. However, the KKR fielders were not at their sharpest, dropping Glenn Maxwell twice, providing crucial lifelines to the RCB batsman.

Maxwell, however, failed to capitalise on these chances and departed after a breezy cameo, scoring 28 in 19 deliveries. With Rajat Patidar and Anuj Rawat departing for three each, the onus was on Kohli to stay in the middle and guide RCB to a competitive total. He did that and found an able partner in Dinesh Karthik, the seasoned campaigner, who once again proved his mettle in the dying overs. With a blazing 20 in 8 deliveries, Karthik propelled RCB past the 180-run mark, ensuring a challenging target for KKR. Kohli and Dinesh Karthik's late surge helped Bengaluru finish on a high note. He and Kohli scored 29 runs in the final two overs as Bengaluru reached 182 runs.

It did not start well for Kolkata as they went for 61 runs with the solitary wicket of Faf du Plessis in the batting Power-play. Harshit Rana and Andre Russell bagged a couple of wickets each for KKR, while Sunil Narine celebrated a solitary wicket. Kolkata Knight Riders now need 183 runs to win this contest and become the first team to win an away match in IPL 2024.

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 182/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 83 not out, Cameron Green 33; Andre Russel 2-29, Harshit Rana 2-39) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 186/3 in 16.5 overs (Philip Salt 30, Sunil Narine 47, Venkatesh Iyer 50, Shreyes Iyer 39no. Agencies

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