Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders locked horns in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League 2021 in Abu Dhabi. This was the game when this season got derailed back in May as it got postponed before the whole tournament was suspended.
Virat Kohli won the toss in his 200th IPL game but that was the only thing that happened in his favour. Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a poor start as Kohli got out in the second over of the game to Prasidh Krishna.
Also Read: Varun Chakravarthy strikes twice in an over to sink RCB, watch
Debutant K Bharat came out to bat at number three and scored few runs with Devdutt Padikkal, who got out, after scoring 22 runs, on the last ball of the powerplay. Bharat also followed him in the pavilion very soon.
AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell were in the middle and they had the uphill task of building the RCB innings. But Andre Russell bowled an outstanding yorker to De Villiers and disturbed his stumps. Maxwell couldn’t get going and got out to Varun Chakravarthy.
RCB eventually got all out for 92 in 19 overs. Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell got three wickets each while Lockie Ferguson bagged two wickets.
In response, Shubhman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer got KKR off to a flying start. Gill in particular scored boundaries at will and didn’t allow RCB bowlers to make early inroads.
Also Read: AB de Villiers gets a searing yorker from Andre Russell to get out for golden duck, watch
Both batsmen scored stroke-filled 82 runs for the first wicket in eight overs. Yuzvendra Chahal, then, dismissed dangerous-looking Gill for 48 and stopped him from getting to a personal milestone. Venkatesh Iyer finished the formalities in no time as he scored unbeaten 41 runs in just 27 balls, where he hit seven fours and one six.
KKR chased the target down by nine wickets with 10 overs to spare. This win will give KKR’s net run rate a boost going deep into the tournament.
See how Twitter reacted to this game;
Prasidh Krishna is rated highly on the circuit in spite of a slightly higher economy rate. It is because he can deliver breakthroughs like this. He is the next in line, across formats
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 20, 2021
You have to love the cool, matter of fact reaction from Varun Chakravarthy when he gets a big wicket. As if to say, I'm a bowler, it's my job, no big deal! Love watching him bowl.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 20, 2021
People are now figuring why Varun Chakravarthy is in that World Cup squad.
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) September 20, 2021
All part of the experience of being an #RCB fan….
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 20, 2021
#KKR had the second worst NRR (-0.494) among all teams before this match. Only SRH (-0.623) were behind.
After this win against RCB, their NRR has gone up to +0.110 — the third best among all teams.#KKRvRCB | #IPL2021
— Prasenjiit Dey (@CricPrasen) September 20, 2021
What year was @QuinnyDeKock69 born in?
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) September 20, 2021
92 all out. This will big time hamper their net run rate also. @KKRiders should close this out in 10-12 overs and add to the NRR. Poor from RCB.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 20, 2021
Morgan putting Kohli to immediate test using Varun Chakravarthy in the power play
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 20, 2021
The three defeats in this season has shaved off a massive -3.297 from RCB's net run rate. Three of their five wins came by a margin under 10 runs.
RCB's NRR of -0.706 is now the worst of all teams in #IPL2021
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) September 20, 2021
Dismal batting performance by #RCB. To lose this match, KKR will have to bat worse or RCB bowlers something truly spectacular
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 20, 2021
Who wins tonight other than @KKRiders ? Or @KKRiders #ipl
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) September 20, 2021
