For the second game in a row, Virat Kohli (83 not out) flexed his batting muscle, treating a massive gathering at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to a sumptuous feast of delectable shot-making. Against old foes Kolkata Knight Riders, Kohli began like a man on a mission, teeing off from the get-go with Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell for company in the first half of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s innings.
However, it was left to Dinesh Karthik to provide the final push with three sixes off eight deliveries on a track where playing shots freely became a little more difficult against the older ball, and especially when the bowlers took the pace off. Karthik’s cameo and Kohli—he batted through the innings—muscled the home side to 182 for six after they were asked to bat first by Shreyas Iyer. KKR will reflect on their effort in the field and wonder what might have been had they held their chances. Maxwell was reprieved by Ramandeep Singh at deep mid-wicket off Sunil Narine when 11 and then by Narine himself off Harshit Rana when 21, and while the ground fielding was electric, the catching left a lot to be desired.
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For all that, though, this was largely about Kohli, some of the spectacular shots on the up over the off-side and muscular slog-sweeps against Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Only left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, strangely taken off after two special overs that yielded only six, and Russell kept the former skipper quiet. Otherwise, Kohli had his fans eating out of his hands, four fours and as many sixes cascading off his scything willow.
The brightest phase of the RCB innings came when Green, pushed up to No. 3, exploded without warning, the odd streaky stroke overshadowed by stunning ball-bashing. His second-wicket alliance of 65 with Kohli set the foundation for a seemingly large total and Maxwell then helped Kohli put on 42 for the third wicket, but KKR never allowed the game to get out of hand as they kept picking up wickets at opportune moments.
Brief scores
RCB 182-6 in 20 overs (V Kohli 83*, C Green 33; A Russell 2-29, H Rana 2-39) v KKR (scores incomplete)
