KKR 222/6 in 20 Overs (Shreyas Iyer 50(36), Phil Salt 48(13); Cameron Green 2/35 in 4 overs) won against RCB 221/10 in 20 Overs (Will Jacks 55(32), Rajat Patidar 52(23); Andre Russell 3/25 in 3 overs) by 1 run.
An afternoon blockbuster contest awaited the Eden Gardens as the Kolkata Knight Riders clashed against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an exciting contest. KKR looked to do the double over RCB this season as they looked to bounce back from a close, hard-fought loss from the previous game. Two teams packed full of superstars were on a collision course as the fans were exhilarated to support their favourites and looked forward to seeing another incredible game.
After being put into bat first, KKR got yet another rollicking start courtesy of Phil Salt. The Englishman blasted 48 runs of just 13 balls as KKR were on the march eyeing a huge total. Despite losing a couple of quick wickets, KKR batters kept taking an aggressive route. At one point, they looked in a bit of trouble at 97/4 but it was the skipper Shreyas Iyer who held the batting together from one end. He continued to build the innings and played some stylish shots. Rinku Singh provided a great cameo in the middle order to keep the momentum in KKR’s favour. Late in the innings, it was Ramandeep Singh’s blistering strokeplay which guided KKR to a big total. Raman, scored 24 crucial runs of just 9 balls alongside Andre Russell who also played a beneficial cameo as KKR stormed towards a huge total of 222 at the end of their innings.
KKR commenced the defense in a commanding fashion as they were able to get key wickets of Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis early. KKR looked to apply pressure on the opposition batters and take the momentum in the game. However, a solid partnership between Rajat Patidar and Will Jacks helped RCB get ahead in the game. Just when the game looked to slip away from KKR’s grasp, their two most experienced & valuable players came to the rescue as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine both picked up 2 wickets in back-to-back overs to bring KKR back into the game. The momentum of the game totally shifted after those couple of overs as KKR looked to seal the game. Despite losing those 4 wickets, Dinesh Karthik kept RCB in the hunt, but Andre Russell had different plans as he knocked over Karthik in the penultimate over to turn the game completely into KKR’s favour. KKR aimed to finish the game off yet there was another twist pending in the game as Karn Sharma carved 3 sixes of Mitchell Starc in the last over to shift the momentum again. However, Starc held his nerve and sealed the deal for KKR as they clinched victory by the skin of their teeth with just 1 run. A tremendous game of cricket where KKR propelled and ended up on the right side of the result. All in all an outstanding game of cricket, filled with an incredible run-fest as well as a nail-biting finish with KKR clinching another important win.
