Explosive performances with the bat and a clinical bowling effort saw the Knights complete a league double over the Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Put into bat once again pretty much like the reverse fixture, the Knights put on a score of 200 for the loss of 5 wickets with Jason Roy and Jagadeesan adding 82 runs for the first wicket in KKR’s best opening partnership of the season. Roy continued his purple patch with the bat with another dominating 50 which put KKR in command during the powerplay.
Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana steadied the ship after the loss of Roy’s wicket putting on a 80 run stand that took KKR into touching distance of the 200 mark. Rinku Singh and David Wiese’s late pyrotechnics helped KKR get to the 200 mark.
With a sizable score on the board, the Knights bowlers responded by picking up 3 wickets in the powerplay to put the Royal Challengers under immense pressure right at the start. Youngster Suyash Sharma was impressive once again picking the prized wicket of Faf Du Plessis in his first over and then dismissing Shahbaz Ahmed in his next. Varun Chakravarthy who picked up 3 wickets on the night then got rid of Glenn Maxwell in the 6th over. Virat Kohli and Lomror got together to put up a 55 run stand to keep the Royal Challengers in the game but Varun Chakravarthy first got rid of Lomror and Russell then dismissed Virat Kohli the very next over as Venkatesh Iyer took a phenomenal catch in the midwicket region to derail the Royal Challengers chase. The Royal Challengers could manage 179 in their 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets.
Speaking post the match, Skipper Rana credited the boys for the collective effort on display in the win against the Royal Challengers. The skipper also said the impetus Jason Roy provides at the start is a massive boost for KKR and added that this will be a massive asset for the team as the season progresses.
Varun Chakravarthy who was awarded the Player of the Match expressed his delight on getting back among the wickets after having a tough couple of games. He dedicated the win to his newborn son and wife.
With 2 crucial points in the bag, the Knights go upto 7th position in the table 2 points shy of the playoff race. The Knights will now look to keep the winning momentum when they host defending champions Gujarat Titans on Saturday at the Eden Gardens.