Dinesh Karthik stated on Saturday that specialist spinner Karn Sharma was unable to participate in the last two matches because Bengaluru needed to introduce a batsman as an Impact player because of RCB’s batting problems. Sharma nearly pulled off a heist for his team on Sunday with 15 runs left in the last over. He smacked three sixes off Mitchell Starc but eventually fell to the speedster as KKR defeated RCB by only one run.
It appeared to be easy sailing for the RCB between the fifth and eleventh overs as Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar tore up the KKR bowlers all over the pitch, reaching their respective fifties quickly and leading their team to 137/2 in 11 overs. With the arrival of Andre Russell in the twelfth over, Bengaluru’s tendency to collapse back with a fury, as he dismissed both of the well-set batters in the same over.
In the 13th over, Sunil Narine would also score twice, sending Mahipal Lomror and Cameron Green back for low scores as the RCB faltered at 155/6. After scoring 25 off of 18 deliveries, Dinesh Karthik would offer the RCB some hope at the end, but Russell also put an end to him.
Jacks proved what all the hype was about as he took Kolkata’s 24.75 crore signing Starc for a ride, crashing 22 runs off his second over that featured two sixes and two fours as the Australian kept leaking runs at critical moments. Jacks was acquired by RCB for Rs 3.20 crore following a fierce bidding war with Rajasthan Royals in the auction. The bowlers from Kolkata would have no response to the onslaught, and he would hit his half century in 28 balls.
In contrast, Rajat Patidar, who had struggled to start the IPL, turned things around. He hit Suyash Sharma for 22 runs in the 10th over and reached his 50th run in only 21 balls as the RCB raced to 223—a total that would ultimately prove to be one run too much.
Harshit Rana’s final chuckle
While cheers of “Kohli, Kohli” filled the air, Virat Kohli began Sunday in the same vein, smashing Harshit Rana for a four off the first delivery he faced. The last time he was here at the Eden Gardens, he had tied Sachin Tendulkar’s record by scoring his 49th century in the 2023 World Cup. When he hit Rana for a six in the same over, he would further enthral the 54,00 spectators.
But Rana would have the last laugh when he caught Kohli off guard with a dipping full toss that allowed the spinner to capture the follow-through. After it was reviewed, Hawk-Eye verified that the ball had dropped below the waist, and the dismissal was upheld. An irate Kohli then spoke with the umpire before hobbling away.
Knights’ uneven batting
Most experts predicted that the team that won the toss would choose to bat first because it was reaching 41 degrees in Kolkata. However, RCB captain Faf du Plessis chose to bowl first because he believed the pitch was better suited for chasing, just like his counterpart Shreyas Iyer had done in the final day game against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden.
The match started with Phil Salt hitting Mohammed Siraj for a six and a four in the opening over, raising doubts about the strategy as the RCB fielders were exhausted by the relentless sun. Salt then hit two more fours in the second over.
The Englishman continued to wreak havoc, hitting Lockie Ferguson as the third bowler to fall, taking KKR to 50 in 3.5 overs. Still, he would miss his fifty by only two runs when Rajat Patidar caught him off Siraj for forty-eight (14).
While wickets were falling all around him, Shreyas was forced to assume the pivotal role for his team once more as he steadily rebuilt the Knights’ innings. Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Narine, who scored three and ten runs respectively, were unable to help. Venkatesh Iyer would do the same because, prior to the tenth over, KKR was already four down.
Although Shreyas’s fifty-six from thirty-six balls may not seem like a conventional Twenty20 innings, it was a major factor in stabilising the struggling Knights. Soon after attempting to clear the long off boundary, he would stumble and eventually hole out to Faf, who made a fantastic diving catch.
Ramandeep Singh, who had hit two sixes and a four in the 19th over to help KKR reach 200, once again shown why the team had purchased him. Singh had produced a scorching 35 off just 17 balls in the opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad here. Alongside him was Russell, who amassed 27 runs without conceding an error, and Singh, who needed just 9 deliveries to score 24 to propel the team to 222.
