IPL 2018: Match 3, KKR vs RCB, Review - All-round effort from Sunil Narine helps KKR tame the visitors

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept their strong home record intact as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 4 wickets. While Sunil Narine’s blitzkrieg got them off to a great start in the powerplay overs, KKR needed the calm head of their skipper Dinesh Karthik to win them the game after they lost wickets late in the chase. However, RCB were once again left wondering with their bowling line-up which leaked runs and failed to defend a formidable score of 176 runs.

Dinesh Karthik won the all-important toss on his captaincy debut in the IPL and opted to bowl first in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Eden Gardens. Interestingly, they included Rinku Singh in the team who had rocked the domestic season with the bat this year and also picked Mitchell Johnson purely on the basis of pace. The visitors also went in with the attacking mindset and included Quinton de Kock at the top along with Brendon McCullum. Also, Chris Woakes was tipped to play ahead of Colin de Grandhomme following the former’s decent bowling skills.

Brendon McCullum, as usual, started off the innings in spanking fashion by scoring 14 runs in the very first over off Vinay Kumar. Though Piyush Chawla got better of his partner who tried to be cheeky by playing a reverse sweep very early in the innings. The skipper Virat Kohli then came to the middle and Dinesh Karthik cleverly handed over the ball to Sunil Narine against whom he has generally struggled. Once again the skipper failed to score runs off his bowling as he scored his runs at a strike-rate of around 60 for his first 16 deliveries.

ABD changes the course

While it was crucial for RCB to keep the momentum going amidst the control which spin bowlers had gained, McCullum freed his arms as soon as the pace bowler Johnson was introduced. But Narine castled him with a short delivery which held back a bit. But the former Kiwi did his job by scoring 43 off just 27 balls. The wicket, however, brought AB de Villiers to the middle who started to tonk the ball from the word go.

He shuffled around the crease superbly to disturb the length of the bowlers, especially Kuldeep Yadav by hitting him for two back-to-back sixes. The first of which was hit over the covers and then stepped out the very next ball to hit it straight back over the bowler’s head which is easily cleared the long on fence. He was seriously in the mood to create mayhem and it was the test of Karthik’s captaincy

Masterstroke from Karthik

The most surprising moment of the day came in the 15th over when Karthik handed over the ball to Nitish Rana in the 15th over. De Villiers welcomed him with a huge six but the move paid off soon as he top-edged the next ball which hurried on the batsmen. RCB fans were shell-shocked when Virat Kohli yorked himself off the very next delivery to give the part-time bowler yet another crucial wicket. What a masterstroke it was from Karthik as he was praised a lot by cricket experts on air.

RCB, much like they always do, lost the momentum completely and the scoring rate came down considerably. Sarfraz Khan failed to get going and it was only due to Mandeep Singh that they were able to post a competitive total of 176 runs after their 20 overs.

Narine storm hits RCB bowlers

Everyone was in anticipation of Chris Lynn to come out and tonk the ball but all the hopes were thrashed when Chris Woakes scalped him with a cleverly bowled change of pace delivery. Though it was Narine who caught the bowlers off guard by smashing them all over the park. He just hit through the line and took the toll of Woakes by scoring 20 runs in a single over. The Caribbean cricketer didn’t stop here and he also out-thought Washington Sundar who was bowling well until then.

Narine brought up his half-century of just 17 deliveries with 4 fours and five hits over the fence only to be castled by a pacy delivery from Umesh Yadav. Until then, the job was done though as KKR raced away to 65 in the sixth over. Umesh struck again in his next over and he sent back Robin Uthappa to bring back RCB in the game. The short of a length delivery was skied by the batsmen which was taken smartly by McCullum.

Karthik and Rana calm the nerves

Quick wickets of Narine and Uthappa would’ve set a panic mode in the KKR camp but the arrival of their skipper into the middle settled all the nerves. He took some deliveries to get his eye in and played a few crafty shots to keep the pressure away in the tight chase. They added 55 runs for the fourth wicket even as Rana played some delightful strokes to justify his talent with the bat. Though Sundar pinned him in front, the game was never in threat for the home side.

While Karthik stayed calm until the end, Andre Russell walked in after the fall of Rinku Singh and just thrashed the bowling to end the slim hopes of the visiting side. He launched an assault on Umesh Yadav in the 17th over and eked out 15 runs off the over. The wicket of Russell could only bring smiles on the faces of RCB fans as Karthik stayed put like a rock between them and the victory. He eventually won them the game by 4 wickets and made sure there were no further hiccups on the way.

Brief Scores

Royal Challengers Bangalore 176/7 after 20 overs (AB de Villiers 44, B McCullum 43; N Rana 2/11)

Kolkata Knight Riders 177/6 after 18.5 overs (S Narine 50, D Karthik 35*; C Woakes 3/36)

Result: RCB won by 4 wickets

Man of the Match: Sunil Narine

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