Kolkata Knight Riders winning run came to a halt as they went down against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Chasing 195 runs, Dinesh Karthik & Co managing to score only 112 runs failing short of 82 runs.
Chasing a mammoth total of 194 runs, Kolkata Knight Riders never looked on course. Tom Banton, who was making his IPL debut didn’t look in rhythm as Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers dominated the proceedings. Shubman Gill was their only hope but an unfortunate run-out ended his stay.
Bangalore go past Kolkata in the points table
Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar were spot on in the middle overs sharing three wickets between them for only 32 runs. It accounted for Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, and Dinesh Karthik. Andre Russell tried to unleash a carnage but once he was out, it was all over for Kolkata Knight Riders.
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Batting first, Royal Challengers Bangalore openers – Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal got off to a brilliant start. Kolkata Knight Riders put a real squeeze on during the 9-15 over phase, where they conceded just 42 runs. Kamlesh Nagarkoti looked to be most impressive bowler on show until his third over, but he also let RCB off the hook by conceding 18 off his final over which set the perfect platform for a late flourish for AB de Villiers.
Once he got his eye in, de Villiers, never looked back and whacked Kolkata bowlers to all corners. He provided the much-needed momentum for his side with 33-ball 73 as he stitched a 100-run unbeaten stand with Virat Kohli. Royal Challengers Bangalore posted 194 runs which were enough to seal the victory.
AB de Villiers knock made the difference – Dinesh Karthik
Speaking at the end of the game, Dinesh Karthik admitted that the AB de Villiers made the difference. He also stated that it is very difficult to stop when someone of his calibre is on a run-scoring spree.
“He (de Villiers) is a world-class player and hard to stop him on a ground like this and at the end of the day his innings was the difference between both sides,” Dinesh Karthik said.
Adding further, Dinesh Karthik said that they need to go to the table and start fresh. Batting has been a weak link in Kolkata Knight Riders, and Karthik stressed on it and vouching to improve it.
“We need to sit down and make sure there are new things we need to do better. Batting is one area we didn’t do well today and that’s something we gonna try and improve. We have three days break and we need to start fresh after that,” Dinesh Karthik added.
