Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) completed a hat-trick of victories in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 after comprehensively defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 38 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Sunday, 18 April.
Glenn Maxwell (78 in 49 balls) did not let the early wickets affect his progression as he punched his way through to a scintillating half-century. AB de Villiers’ blitzkrieg in the death overs helped RCB put up 204/4. De Villiers’ 76 came off just 34 balls, with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
KKR tried standing toe-to-toe but the loss of wickets at regular intervals derailed their chase. While Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi got them off to a rollicking start, none of them could stay long enough to change the complexion of the game. Harshal Patel (4-0-17-2) was once again the most efficient bowler for Bangalore.
Varun spins a web
Eoin Morgan trusts his spinners. Perhaps more than they themselves do. For the third successive game, and perhaps the last time as action shifts to Mumbai for their next game, Harbhajan Singh came on to kickstart the proceedings on a slow, sluggish Chepauk surface. He was crisp, posing frequent questions to Devdutt Padikkal in his second over. Unluckily, he had no wicket to show for.
In between Harbhajan’s first two overs, another spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, wreaked havoc with the ball. Varun got a wicket out of nowhere, with a juicy, tossed-up delivery that Virat Kohli decided to take on. Three balls later, he bowled Rajat Patidar, reducing RCB to 6-2.
Maxwell counterattacks in the middle
Varun did not return for the next five overs. Meanwhile, Maxwell had already got into his zone, helped by loose, inviting bowling from Shakib Al Hasan in the Powerplay. Shakib struggled to find control as he kept swinging to and fro between too short and too full.
Varun’s second over went for 14. He even overstepped. The free hit, was pulled away over the deep mid-wicket for six. When Chakravarthy compensated by pulling the length back, Maxwell waited to help it behind square for another boundary. This marked the beginning of a cat-and-mouse game between Maxwell and the Kolkata bowlers. Maxwell completed his half-century in 28 balls.
AB de Villiers overpowers Andre Russell
Morgan has been predictable in his utilisation of bowlers. He has started with spinners and finished off with two overs from Andre Russell. The ploy has worked for KKR so far. Even today, the spinners did a decent job. But Russell, who failed to execute his plan against de Villiers, let Morgan down.
De Villiers seemed to have a response – more, usually – for every situation. He thrashed every bowler who came his way, and took special care of Russell, who conceded 38 runs in just two overs. He completed his fifty in 27 balls with a straight six over the long-off in the penultimate over of the innings.
When Russell came on to bowl the next, de Villiers welcomed him with a powerful punch down the ground, followed it with a six off a full-toss, and finished the innings with a boundary to guide RCB to a mammoth total of 204/4.
KKR kept losing wickets
Halfway through the innings, KKR were almost level with RCB in terms of runs scored, though they had lost a couple of extra wickets. There was no lack of intent either as their top-order exploded immediately, not wasting any time to settle in and set their eyes.
A rush of adrenaline cost Shubman Gill (21 in 9 balls) his wicket just after he launched two humongous sixes off Kylie Jamieson in the second over. Dan Christian, who came on for Maxwell, took a stunning catch at mid-on. Rahul Tripathi (25 off 20), the next batter, got off the mark instantly, with a boundary through the cover.
Tripathi played some exquisite shots. He hit five boundaries before a top edge was pocketed by Mohammed Siraj. Rana soon joined his colleague in the dugout after giving away an easy catch to Padikkal. Morgan and Shakib hit a six each, but they could not keep up with the asking rate. A change of pace from Harshal brought him his first wicket in the form of the KKR skipper.
With 79 needed off the last four overs, Russell smashed a six followed by three consecutive fours off Yuzvendra Chahal to keep KKR in the hunt. They then lost two wickets in the next over, bowled by Jamieson, and Russell turned down five consecutive singles in the 19th. In the end, they could only manage 166-8 and lost their second game in a row.
Brief Score:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 204/4 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 78, AB de Villiers 76*; Varun Chakravarthy 2-39) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 166/8 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 29; Kyle Jamieson 3-41) by 38 runs. Player of the Match: AB de Villiers.