RCB vs KKR clash at DY Patil stadium in Mumbai was a low-scoring game in which RCB came out on top to register the first two points in the tournament.
RCB bowlers heavily impressed with their skill set to wrap up the Knight Riders’ innings on a paltry 128 runs. In reply, RCB was in all sorts of trouble after losing three early wickets but somehow managed to chase down the total with contributions from Shahbaz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel.
At the toss:
Royal Challengers skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first, an expected decision in the IPL 2022 by toss winning captains.
KKR Innings:
Invited to bat first, Knight Riders did not have a great start, with their openers departing without any significant scores. Akashdeep Singh was the first one to strike for Royal Challengers. He dismissed Venkatesh Iyer by hurrying him on a short ball. Mohammed Siraj joined in the party with the dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane, also on a short ball in the RCB vs KKR clash.
None of the Knight Riders batters showed any application and patience to stay on the crease. In the bid to keep the scoring rate high, the KKR batters self-destructed and kept getting out in quick succession. Wanindu Hasaranga worked his magic in the middle overs to send back Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine and Sheldon Jackson.
Russell tried showing his muscles, and Billings attempted to bill the RCBians heavily, but both were too hasty in their approach to counter the Challengers’ bowlers. Andre Russell scored 25 off 18, including three massive sixes, before being dismissed by Harshal Patel in a wicket-maiden over in the RCB vs KKR battle.
The last-wicket pair between Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy frustrated the RCBian bowlers and added 27 runs to finish the Knight Riders innings on 128/10 in 18.5 overs.
RCB Innings:
Chasing a meagre 129, Royal Challengers Bangalore stuttered in the powerplay, with Anuj Rawat, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli departing with only 17 runs on the board. Umesh Yadav removed Rawat and Kohli while Tim Southee sent back the RCB captain du Plessis.
RCB promoted David Willey and Sherfane Rutherford in the batting order at numbers 4 and 5 to disrupt the Knight Riders’ momentum. Willey and Rutherford put up a 45 run stand for the fourth wicket to frustrate KKR bowlers for a few overs. David Willey notched up 18 off 28 before Sunil Narine sent him back into the dressing room in the RCB vs KKR game.
Shahbaz Ahmed succeeded Willey and changed the match circumstances by depositing Andre Russell in the stands for two huge sixes. However, Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Ahmed on 27 off 20 on the last ball of the 16th over. The equation stood at 28 off 24 balls for RCB to win the match with Rutherford and Karthik on the crease.
Sheldon Jackson pulled off a blinder behind the wickets to remove the well-set Rutherford on 28, and Hasaranga followed Sherfane back into the pavilion only two balls later. In the last two overs, RCB required 17 runs to secure victory in the game, with Karthik and Harshal on the crease. Harshal Patel sent two balls to the boundary in the 19th over to reduce the equation to 7 off 6 balls to win. Karthik smashed Russell for two back to back boundaries in the final over to win the match for RCB.
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