Eight games passed until Kolkata Knight Riders managed to perform as a cohesive unit. They only managed their third victory of the year, but they shined with bat and ball and were the superior team on the field as well. They defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore for the second time this season, which was the ideal way for them to begin the second half of the league stage.
Jason Roy, the new opener for KKR, laid the groundwork for their total of 200 by slamming 56 off 29 balls, paving the way for their victory. In order to maintain the momentum through the middle overs, Nitish Rana smashed 48 off 21, and Rinku Singh (18 off 10) and David Wiese (12 off 3) added the finishing touches.
However, while Virat Kohli was on the pitch, RCB was pursuing. To keep them on track, he scored 54 points off of 37. Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, and Andre Russell consistently took wickets, bringing them back, but eventually, RCB ran out of steam and dropped 21 short.
Rana makes RCB pay
RCB’s fielding was a major factor in Kohli’s critical post-game remarks. They offered Roy a difficult caught-and-bowled opportunity, but it was Rana’s two reprieves that truly cost RCB. The two errors—Mohammed Siraj’s in the 13th over and Harshal Patel’s in the 15th—cost RCB a combined 29 runs, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index.
Rana received his first opportunity while he was on 5 off 5 deliveries, and his second chance came while he was on 19 off 12. In the end, he made 48 points on 21 balls. After lethargic innings from N Jagadeesan and Venkatesh, Rana’s effort, which featured three fours and four sixes, gave KKR the opportunity to regain the initiative.
Roy sets Knight Riders up
The stage for KKR’s night, however, was set by Roy’s innings. Throughout Roy was responsible for KKR’s excellent start after their opening duo had a difficult time scoring runs all season. He hit four sixes in the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s fifth over to help them reach 66 for zero during the powerplay.
Therefore, KKR had a foundation to build on even if Vijaykumar Vyshak removed N Jagadeesan and Roy in the same over, and this time Rana and the rest made sure that it was not wasted.
Kolkata Knight Riders 200 for 5 (Roy 56, Rana 48) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 179 for 8 (Kohli 54, Varun 3-27) by 21 runs