Before the start of the season, there was an air of optimism surrounding the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) camp. Despite having some of the best batsmen in their ranks in the last few years, the Royal Challengers could not deliver as per expectations.
The biggest reason behind their failure was their weak bowling lineup. In the last season (2017), they finished at the bottom. And it looked like the franchise hadn’t learnt its lessons.
The franchise had invested big in signing up some quality bowlers in this year’s auction. But seven games into the brand new season and the story has remained the same.
On Sunday (April 29), Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed the Bangalore-based outfit by six wickets. It was Bangalore’s fifth defeat in seven games this season, thus putting them on the verge of losing out on a playoff berth.
On the expected lines, Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik opted to field first after winning the toss. The visitors went in with an unchanged eleven while the beleaguered hosts made as many as four changes.
However, those changes did not change their fortunes as they once again ended up on the wrong side of the result.
On a Chinnaswamy track that was gripping and turning sharp, Bangalore openers Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock could not quite manage to get going from ball one.
In fact, the duo played as many as 17 dot deliveries during the powerplay. What made their task even tougher is the absence of their talismanic batsman AB de Villiers.
Quick Read: IPL 2018: Match 29, RCB vs KKR – Knight Riders Players Ratings
But despite his absence, de Kock and McCullum showed no signs of scoring quickly and instead focused on saving their wickets.
They managed to add 67 runs but it came off 8.1 overs. Within the next 8 runs, they lost two more wickets to find themselves reeling at 75 for three from 67 for no loss. They huffed and puffed to 100 for three in the 14th over.
Kohli, who had faced 18 balls by then, took the onus on himself from thereon. He hit the first ball of the 15th over towards the cover fence for four. Next, he took on young Shivam Mavi, hitting him for two fours before Mandeep Singh hit two sixes off Sunil Narine‘s final over.
In the last six overs, Bangalore managed to hit seven sixes and two fours, collecting 75 runs to finish with 175 on the board. Kohli remained unbeaten on 68 off 44 balls.
The score looked more than challenging on the tough pitch. But in the end, Knight Riders reached home quite comfortably. With Sunil Narine partnering Chris Lynn at the top, Kohli did not start with any spinner.
Instead, he gave the responsibility to Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav to contain the duo. However, the pacers hardly caused any trouble for the openers. They ended conceding 40 in their first four overs combined which pretty much set the tone for the chase. At the end of the sixth over, the score was 51 for no loss.
Narine finally departed after scoring 27 off 19. It, however, did not bring any respite for the hosts as Robin Uthappa came out all guns blazing.
The right-hander Uthappa hit three fours and as many sixes during his 36-run knock to keep Kolkata in the hunt before being sent back by M Ashwin.
The equation was finally down to 52 off 30 deliveries. With Lynn not at his usual best and the pitch not easy to bat on, the game could have gone either way.
However, Dinesh Karthik‘s quickfire knock settled the deal. The skipper attacked right from ball one, scoring 23 off just 10.
On the other hand, Lynn made sure that the team does not buckle under pressure, scoring a calm and composed 62 not out for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Also, Read: IPL 2018: If We Field Like That, We Don’t Deserve To Win – Virat Kohli