The victory also meant that KKR ended the home team’s winning streak of home-ground victories.
With 86 runs accumulated in just 6.3 overs, KKR got off to a fantastic start due to the opening combination of Philip Salt (30 off 20 balls) and Sunil Narine (47 off 22 balls).
KKR got support in finishing the assignment by captain Shreyas Iyer (39 off 24 balls) and batsman Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 30 balls).
Venkatesh, who is making a concerted effort to become relevant again in white ball formats, perfectly summed up their strategy on the night when he and captain Shreyas Iyer (39 not out) contributed 75 runs for the third wicket.
The RCB bowlers and slow pace did not slow down the KKR batsman, who chased down the target in just 16.5 overs and 19 balls.
When Royal Challengers Bangalore faced Kolkata Knight Riders for the last time, the team was still known as Bangalore. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir led their respective sides both at home and away matches. The squad boasted formidable players like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Robin Uthappa, all at the peak of their performance.
Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 83 off 59 balls and Cameron Green’s lightning-fast 33 in 21 balls helped RCB defeat KKR with a tough 182/6 from their 20 overs.
When asked to bat first, the RCB lost captain Faf du Plessis for only 8 runs. But in the power- play, Cameron Green and Virat Kohli batted with dominance. After scoring 33 runs, Green fell victim to Sunil Narine, and the explosive pair added 65 runs for the second wicket. When it looked like RCB would score a huge total, Narine came through and got rid of the dangerous Green. Even though KKR had a tiny advantage, Kohli continued to hold his ground and anchor the innings with his brilliant stroke play.
Even though RCB started losing wickets frequently, Kohli kept adding runs to his impressive career, achieving yet another fifty. But the KKR fielders were not at their best, dropping Glenn Maxwell twice, giving the RCB batsmen crucial lifelines.
But Maxwell, who scored 28 in 19 deliveries but was unable to capitalise on these opportunities, left the game after a light cameo. Anuj Rawat and Rajat Patidar both left for three, so it was up to Kohli to stay in the middle and lead RCB to a respectable total. After he did so, he discovered an able comrade in veteran campaigner Dinesh Karthik, who once again showed his mettle in the last overs. Karthik helped RCB beyond 180 runs with a scorching 20 in 8 deliveries, setting a difficult goal for KKR. Bengaluru ended with a strong performance with two late runs from Kohli and Dinesh Karthik. Bengaluru reached 182 runs thanks to 29 runs each from him and Kohli in the last two overs.
Kolkata’s batting Power-play began poorly as they were dismissed for 61 runs with only Faf du Plessis taking a wicket. For KKR, Sunil Narine claimed a single wicket, but Harshit Rana and Andre Russell each claimed a pair of wickets. In order to win this match and become the first team to win an away game in the IPL 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders now need to score 183 runs.
