IPL 2018: Kolkata beat RCB by 6 wickets; Chirs Lynn scores match-winning 68

In 29th match of Vivo IPL 2018 Kolkata Knight Riders won it by 6 wickets against Royal Challengers Banglore. Chris Lynn made match-winning 62

In the 29th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 6 wickets at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. KKR pulled up a great show with the bat and chased the target of 176 runs on the last over. RCB bowlers could not get an early breakthrough and dropping Chris Lynn on 7 runs cost RCB the match as he went on for a match-winning knock. There was a little contest in the last few overs as wickets fell, but overall it looked like a one-sided match as RCB bowlers and fielders failed to perform. After winning today's match Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their position in Vivo IPL points table with 8 points.

Kolkata Knight Riders innings analysis after end of innings

Tim Southee came for the first over and conceded 5 runs, Umesh Yadav was attacked as soon as he came to bowl for the second over. Narine smashed him for a four and a six and rotated the strike after that. Yadav did get Narine's top edge but the batsmen were safe. Southee started the third over and Narine was on fire, smashing two boundaries in the first two balls. KKR were 29/0 after 3 overs. Sunil Narine 23 (14) and Chris Lynn 3(4) were at the crease.

The fourth over started with a boundary by Chris Lynn, a chance came to eliminate Lynn but he was dropped on the 4th ball. KKR picked 7 runs off it. Umesh Yadav came for the next over, Lynn smashed the first ball for a six and repeated the same on the fourth ball. Chahal came for the sixth over, Lynn smashed a boundary on the fourth ball. Mohammed Siraj just gave 4 runs in the sixth over. KKR collected 51 runs in 6 overs. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine were at the crease.

After the brief halt as rain intervened, the match started with Lynn cutting Siraj's ball for the boundary. Murugan Ashwin gave the first and the much-needed breakthrough to his team on the first ball of his over. Uthappa hit a shot on the long-off, fielder was just short of catching the ball and it went for a six. After 8 overs, KKR were 68/1. Mohammed Siraj came for the 9th over, Uthappa went for a boundary on the fourth ball. KKR collected 74 runs in 9 overs. Chris Lynn 31(27) and Robin Uthappa 12 (8) were at the crease.

Royal Challengers Banglore innings analysis after end of innings

Put in to bat first, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Piyush Chawla Chawla came to bowl the first over and gave only 1 run as he didn’t allow de Kock and McCullum to score big shots. Sunil Narine came to bowl the 2nd over and Quinton de Kock hit 2 consecutive boundaries of him, sweeping square in the leg-side region. Mitchell Johnson came to bowl the 3rd over and McCullum fast hands brought first four of the over. Quinton de Kock hit the last ball of the over for 6 to collect 14 runs from the first over of Johnson. Piyush Chawla came to bowl the 4th over and McCullum hit the first ball for 4 in the leg-side region. Chawla pulled it brilliantly and conceded only 2 runs in the remaining five deliveries. Dinesh Karthik brought back Sunil Narine to get a wicket in the powerplay but de Kock swept the 4th ball for four to show his intentions, still Narine conceded only 7 runs in his second over. Shivam Mavi came to bowl the 6th over of the innings and gave only 4 runs, brilliant bowling by a youngster.

After the end of the 6th over Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 40 runs with Quinton de Kock (24 runs off 21 balls) and Brendon McCullum (13 runs off 15 balls) on the crease.

Kuldeep Yadav started the 7th over and the over was going fine, McCullum smashed him for a six on the last ball. Piyush Chawla came for the 8th over, McCullum couldn't hit the ball and changed the strike McCullum came and smashed two boundaries, after a dot ball, he smashed the ball for a big six to the long-on. After 8 overs, RCB were 67/0. Both the batsmen have maintained a decent strike rate so far but RCB would have to increase the pace. Kuldeep Yadav got the first breakthrough and removed De kock on the first ball of the next over. Captain Virat Kohli came to the crease, took a single. Just 3 runs came from the over.

IPL 2018: Knight Riders beat RCB by 4 wickets; Narine, Karthik shine

Light to moderate rain and thundershowers are expected in Kolkata on Sunday as the cricketers and fans will have their fingers crossed for the marquee IPL clash

 

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Banglore by 4 wickets chasing 177. Narine's magnificent fifty and Dinesh Karthik's mature innings helped KKR to win comfortably in the end. RCB failed in the bowling department and could not capitalise on the faliing of wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders innings report

After 15 overs

Nitish Rana and Captian Dinesh Karthik rebuilt the innings. Scoring a tad above run a ball, both roasted the strike well and did not miss on hitting a loosner. Chahal was hammered when he came back into the attack. Washington Sundar took Rana's wicket. Rana was dismissed for 34 off 25 balls. Karthik was joined by Rinku Singh. By the end of 15 overs, KKr was at 141-4.

After 12 overs

KKR were cruising towards victory as the RCB bowlers looked clueless. After the fall of Uthappa's wicket, Nitish Rana and Captian Dinesh Karthik rebuilt the innings. Sloppy fielding and failure to convert half chances cost RCB. At the end of 12 overs, RCB was 112-3

End of powerplay: KKR

Sunil Narine did for KKR what Lokesh Rahul had done in the previous match for KXIP. Narine blasted the RBC bowling and scored 50 of just 17 balls. He smashed the blowers all across the park and brought down the asking rate heavily. He made 50 off 19 and was dismissed by Umesh Yadav. Nitish Rana joined Uthappa. Earlier, opner Chris Lynn was dismissed by Woakes for 5. At the end of powerplay, KKR was 68-2.

Opener Chirs Lynn was dismissed by Chris Woakes for 5 after Sunil Narine bashed Chahal's first over.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's innings report

End of innings

RCB batsmen failed to capitalise on the foundation built by McCullum and deVilliers. Constant fall of wickets kept the run rate in check. However, Mandeep Singh played a brilliant cameo in the death overs and smashed Vinay Kumar for 16 runs in the last over. He eventually was dismissed for 37 from 18 balls. In the 20 allotted overs, RCB managed to score 176-7.

After 15 overs

AB deVillers wen on a rampage before being dismissed by Nitish Rana. He made 44 runs off 23 balls. Kohli was dismissed on the very next ball as he struggled to face the spinner. RCB was at 132-4 after 15 overs.

After 10 overs

After giving a decent start to the team, Brendon McCullum was dismissed for 43 by Sunil Narine. A B de Villiers joined Virat Kohli. Despite hitting a few boundaries, Virat seems to be struggling to score runs. On the other hand, de Villiers hit Yadav for two back-to-back sixes. At the end of the 10 overs, RCB was at 82-2.

Story till powerplay

Put into bat by Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Banglore was off to a flying start as T20 specialist Brendon McCullum smashed 14 runs off the very first over by Vinay Kumar. Opener Quinton de Kock was dismissed cheaply by Piyush Chawla. Captain Virat Kohli came into bat kept the scoring rate going, while McCullum was busy punishing the bowlers. They had a partnership of 38 runs in 26 balls. McCullum did the bulk of the scoring as Dinesh Karthik tried variety of slower bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla.

At the end of the powerplay, RCB was at 52-1.

Team head to head:

Overall: Matches – 20, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 11, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 9

At the Eden Gardens: Matches – 8, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 3

Trivia ahead of KKR vs RCB match: The captain winning the toss opted to chase in each of the 7 IPL matches played at the Eden Gardens last season.

Kohli scored 1,750 runs as an opener from 43 innings at an average of 53.03

In the seven IPL matches played at the Eden Gardens last season, quick bowlers picked up a total of 61 wickets (at strike-rate of a wicket every 16.5 balls), while the spinners collected 24 wickets at a strike-rate of a wicket every 23 deliveries.

Only 3 players have captained the Kolkata Knight Riders in the ten seasons of the IPL so far – namely Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum and Gautam Gambhir. Dinesh Karthik will become the 4th player to lead the franchise.

Click here: IPL 2018