Royal Challengers Bangalore 204 for 4 (Maxwell 78, de Villiers 76*, Chakravarthy 2-39) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 166 for 8 (Russell 31, Jamieson 3-41, Harshal 2-17, Chahal 2-34) by 38 runs
Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their Chennai leg of IPL 2021 with a hat-trick of wins, beating Kolkata Knight Riders on the back of explosive half-centuries from Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers.
Maxwell made a 49-ball 78, his second fifty of the season, while de Villiers clubbed an unbeaten 34-ball 76. Between them, they hit 18 fours and six sixes to take the Royal Challengers to 204 for 4 after Virat Kohli chose to bat in the afternoon game, and that total proved 38 runs too much for the Knight Riders.
The Knight Riders were aggressive through their chase but lost wickets regularly. Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan got starts, and Andre Russell muscled 31 off 20 balls at the back end, but the West Indian's expensive bowling spell at the death - he conceded 38 runs in two overs - ended up as his more decisive contribution. The win for Kohli's men kept them at the top of the points table while the Knight Riders ended their Chepauk run with two defeats in three games.
These are still early days in the tournament, but Kohli's men consolidate their position at the top of the points table.
Chasing a target of 205 runs, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tried to fight fire with fire by scoring nearly 10 runs an over at the start, but wickets kept falling and no batsmen was able to put up a decent score. A couple of 20s and a 30 couldn't get them home.
RCB meanwhile had a shaky start, losing captain Virat Kohli in the early stages, followed by Rajat Patidar. With the arrival of Glenn Maxwell, RCB got the much-needed stability. The Australian all-rounder slammed 78 runs off 49 balls, and had good partnerships with Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers. De Villiers gave RCB a strong finish, with an unbeaten knock of 76 runs off 34 balls, packed with nine fours and three sixes. Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets for KKR, and Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna registered a dismissal each.
De Villiers and Jamieson added 56 in last three overs at a run rate of 18.66. Among all 50+ partnerships in the IPL, only Russell-Gill's 53* off 13 vs RCB in 2019 had a higher run rate (24.46). RCB smashed 70 off the last five overs to finish with 204 for 4.
Morgan: Certainly RCB's day with the bat on a rocket-hot afternoon game. It [The Chennai pitch] certainly has stumped me, and I can't gauge the wicket. Everyone who batted on this wicket felt it played better but RCB played better. Probably not to be honest. Maxwell is a fine player, but to bowl to AB you need to have that [option]. Yeah, yeah, we struggled to kick on and got us into a position where only Andre could do it. Different wicket [in Mumbai], dew, and we have been watching those games."
Chahal: Amazing feeling to get wickets and bowling well. I was just trying to get Russell out. I got it wider, because the other side was shorter. I mostly looked to bowl dot balls and restrict the batsmen. We will be going to Mumbai. I played a couple of matches here; it had good turn. I'll try my best in Mumbai.
https://www.hirunews.lk/english/sports/268798/maxwell-78-de-villiers-34-ball-76-sets-kkr-205-target
Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their Chennai leg of IPL 2021 with a hat-trick of wins, beating Kolkata Knight Riders on the back of explosive half-centuries from Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers.
Maxwell made a 49-ball 78, his second fifty of the season, while de Villiers clubbed an unbeaten 34-ball 76. Between them, they hit 18 fours and six sixes to take the Royal Challengers to 204 for 4 after Virat Kohli chose to bat in the afternoon game, and that total proved 38 runs too much for the Knight Riders.
The Knight Riders were aggressive through their chase but lost wickets regularly. Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan got starts, and Andre Russell muscled 31 off 20 balls at the back end, but the West Indian's expensive bowling spell at the death - he conceded 38 runs in two overs - ended up as his more decisive contribution. The win for Kohli's men kept them at the top of the points table while the Knight Riders ended their Chepauk run with two defeats in three games.
These are still early days in the tournament, but Kohli's men consolidate their position at the top of the points table.
Chasing a target of 205 runs, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tried to fight fire with fire by scoring nearly 10 runs an over at the start, but wickets kept falling and no batsmen was able to put up a decent score. A couple of 20s and a 30 couldn't get them home.
RCB meanwhile had a shaky start, losing captain Virat Kohli in the early stages, followed by Rajat Patidar. With the arrival of Glenn Maxwell, RCB got the much-needed stability. The Australian all-rounder slammed 78 runs off 49 balls, and had good partnerships with Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers. De Villiers gave RCB a strong finish, with an unbeaten knock of 76 runs off 34 balls, packed with nine fours and three sixes. Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets for KKR, and Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna registered a dismissal each.
De Villiers and Jamieson added 56 in last three overs at a run rate of 18.66. Among all 50+ partnerships in the IPL, only Russell-Gill's 53* off 13 vs RCB in 2019 had a higher run rate (24.46). RCB smashed 70 off the last five overs to finish with 204 for 4.
Morgan: Certainly RCB's day with the bat on a rocket-hot afternoon game. It [The Chennai pitch] certainly has stumped me, and I can't gauge the wicket. Everyone who batted on this wicket felt it played better but RCB played better. Probably not to be honest. Maxwell is a fine player, but to bowl to AB you need to have that [option]. Yeah, yeah, we struggled to kick on and got us into a position where only Andre could do it. Different wicket [in Mumbai], dew, and we have been watching those games."
Chahal: Amazing feeling to get wickets and bowling well. I was just trying to get Russell out. I got it wider, because the other side was shorter. I mostly looked to bowl dot balls and restrict the batsmen. We will be going to Mumbai. I played a couple of matches here; it had good turn. I'll try my best in Mumbai.
https://www.hirunews.lk/english/sports/268798/maxwell-78-de-villiers-34-ball-76-sets-kkr-205-target
