In a see-saw, a low-scoring thriller in IPL 2022, where bowlers called the shots, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets.
After bowling out Kolkata for just 128, RCB lost their first three batters in the powerplay. But critical knocks from Sherfane Rutherford (28), David Willey (18), Shahbaz Ahmed (27), Dinesh Karthik (14 not out), and Harshal Patel (10 not out) took Bangalore home with four balls remaining.
Tim Southee kept KKR interested whenever he came on to bowl and ended up picking three wickets. Umesh Yadav once again proved to be lethal in the powerplay and got two wickets. The spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy picked one wicket each.
For RCB, it was the spin magic from Wanindu Hasaranga that blew away the KKR batting lineup. The Sri Lankan picked up four wickets in his four overs. He was helped by young Akash Deep’s three wickets and Harshal Patel’s sensational bowling spell that saw him bowling two consecutive maidens and picking a wicket in each of those overs.
For Kolkata, Andre Russell top-scored with 25 off 18 balls that included three sixes and a four. The next batter was Umesh Yadav, who scored 18 runs and pushed the team total close to the 130-run mark.