IPL 2018: Sunil Narine”s 17 balls fifty fires KKR to a comfortable win against RCB at Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders started their 2018 IPL campaign on a winning note by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 4 wickets at Eden Garden’s, Kolkata just a few minutes ago. KKR new captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Despite strong contributions from Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and cameo knock by Mandeep Singh, RCB posted 176 for 7 in 20 overs. Chasing 177, Sunil Narine smashed the RCB bowlers and scored 50 off 17 balls. Nitish Rana scored 34 while captain Dinesh Karthik remained not out on 35.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a poor start losing an early wicket of Quinton de Kock. Brendon McCullum and Virat Kohli steadied the innings. At the end of first 6 overs, RCB scored 52 for 1. Both McCullum and Kohli added 45 runs for a 2^nd wicket.

McCullum scored 43 off 27 balls and laid a strong foundation for the big total. Captain Kohli played too many dot balls and could not score at a quick pace.  AB de Villiers smashed the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers. AB de Villiers looked in great touch with big hitting. Both Kohli and AB de Villiers added 64 runs for the 3^rd wicket. In the 15^th over, both Kohli and AB de Villiers were dismissed in quick succession. Royal Challengers Bangalore lost momentum with Sarfaraz Khan and Mandeep Singh at the crease. In the last 2 overs, Mandeep Singh played a cameo knock scoring 37 off 18 balls to post 176 for 7 in 20 overs.

Chasing 177, Kolkata Knight Riders also lost an early wicket of Chris Lynn in the 2^nd over. Sunil Narine came to all guns blazing and smashed RCB bowlers to all parts completed his half-century off just 17 balls. Soon after completing his fifty, Narine was dismissed. At the end of six overs, KKR posted 68 for 2.

Robin Uthappa could not contribute many runs and was dismissed cheaply. Captain Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana played with positive intent adding 55 runs for the 4^th wicket. Nitish Rana made 34 off 25 balls. Andre Russell made 15 runs off 11 balls. Despite losing wickets, captain Dinesh Karthik helped KKR reached the target.

Kolkata Knight Riders 177 for 6 in 18.5 overs (Sunil Narine 50, Dinesh Karthik 35*, Nitish Rana 34, Umesh Yadav 3/36) beat

Royal Challengers Bangalore 176 for 7 in 20 overs ( AB de Villiers 44, Brendon McCullum 43, Mandeep Singh 37*, Vinay Kumar 2/30, Nitish Rana 2/11) by 4 wickets.

Captain Virat Kohli said: It was a difficult wicket to bowl on as we were 15-20 runs short. Me and AB de Villiers getting out to part-timer was also the turning point of the game.

Captain Dinesh Karthik said: Great start to the tournament. AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli played with positive intent, if they batted together they would have got a massive total. We were lucky and the crowd at the stadium was brilliant.

Man of the match Sunil Narine said: It was a great effort by the team to restrict such a strong batting line-up to just 176. I never see myself as an opening batsman. I am happy with the way I timed the ball.

Rajasthan Royals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad tomorrow at Hyderabad.