IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 10th Match - Who Said What?

Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets at the M Chinnawamy Stadium. It was a day full of fireworks as Virat Kohli gave the hosts a brilliant start, but KKR bowlers showed a lot of courage and bounced back towards the backend, bringing the momentum back to the visitors. Harshit Rana and Anukul Roy were incredible, to say the least as RCB posted 182 runs in the first innings.

Kohli made 83 runs off 59 deliveries but none of the other batters supported him in the middle, which complicated things for RCB. Cameron Green and Dinesh Karthik played quick cameos but RCB failed to build a partnership, which helped KKR restrict them to 182 runs.

When it came to the chase, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt gave a breathtaking start to KKR. Salt smashed 18 runs in Mohammed Siraj’s first over and after which, Narine took care of the business. The veteran all-rounder smacked 47 runs off 22 deliveries to set the tone for KKR. After he got back to the pavilion, Venkatesh Iyer took over the responsibility and hit a brilliant half-century. 

Also Read - Sunil Narine takes life out of RCB with 22-ball 47 in Bengaluru

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer played to his merit and made 39* runs off 24 deliveries as they won the match by seven wickets and moved to number two on the points table.

1. Virat Kohli - One-man Army

It was once again Virat Kohli who rose to the occasion and helped RCB post a healthy total on the board. On a two-paced surface, it wasn’t easy for any batter but the 35-year-old managed to get going and made 83* runs in the middle. However, his strike rate of 140.68 seems to be an issue but the cricketer shouldn’t bother much as there was very little support from the other end.

2. Narine show resumes

Sunil Narine, the batter, made his emphatic return in the Indian Premier League. KKR surprisingly sent him to open against Hyderabad but the cricketer couldn’t make the most of it. However, against RCB, he wreaked havoc and smacked sixes for fun, which played a massive role in helping the visitors win the game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

3. Domestic bowlers walked the walk

On a night in which a total of 368 runs were scored, domestic bowlers in the form of Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy and Vijaykumar Vyshak stepped up and showed their calibre. Rana picked up two crucial wickets of Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat, while Roy gave away just six runs in his two overs. Vyshak meanwhile gave away 23 runs in his four overs and picked up the wicket of Phil Salt.

Losing skipper Faf du Plessis said:

Strange one, first innings we thought that the wicket was two-paced, you could see that when the guys bowled the cutters, the guys really struggled. We thought it was a decent score knowing that it gets a little easier in the evening, there was a little bit of dew coming in. Looking at the way we batted in the first innings, even Virat was struggling to hit the ball due to the lack of pace. You can always say after the game, try one or two things but the way the two of them (Narine and Slat) batted, they put pressure on our bowlers. They hit strong cricket shots and pretty much took the game away. With Narine there, you can't go to spin, you want to use pace upfront. That's also a really good match-up for Salt and the way he plays. They were excellent, really broke the game in the first six overs. Spinning options with Maxi and finger-spinning can be effective here, but at night there wasn't too much spin, With left-hand, right-hand combination, it's one of those things, you can bowl a spinner. We saw when Venky was playing, it felt like an easy hit against left-arm spin. Ideally you want someone who can spin the ball both ways but with the set-up of our team tonight, we didn't have that option. (On Vyshak) Very good, he hasn't had opportunities. We had a look in the first innings and thought about bringing in Karn Sharma. But we felt someone who could bowl really good slower balls is probably the most difficult bowler to face on this pitch. Dre Russ bowled 80% of his balls cutters. We took some learnings from that and he was the best bowler of the evening.

Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer said:

Coming here, getting those two sessions of practice, we were in a good shape from the previous game. Coming and hitting few balls, it felt comfortable from within. The way Russell came in and realised the wicket wasn't giving much from bowlers, and went to slower ones, analysing the conditions on the spot was pleasing to the eye. The communication was brilliant. See when Narine comes in to open, he knows he has one job which is to clear the infield. Today we were contemplating whether to start with him or not but he did a brilliant job. From one end, it was good to bat on. From the other end it was two paced. That was the communication we had in the middle and we passed it onto others. Would be spending a day tomorrow in Bangalore, and then go to Vizag. I'm not expecting much at this point of time - it's just the start of the tournament. Want to enjoy each other's success - that's the plan for now.

POTM Sunil Narine said:

It's a nice milestone (500 T20s). Hopefully 500 more to come. It's just the self belief and the support staff giving the encouragement. Also the hard work. Powerplay over is the hardest over - just have to let that go and keep it tight. Helps when you win. Players have full freedom to do what they want to do.