Royal Challengers Bangalore huffed and puffed to a three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 6 of the Indian Premier League 2022, at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Wanindu Hasaranga ran through Kolkata, claiming 4-20 to bowl them out to 128. Bangalore then recovered from early setbacks, thanks to Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed, to complete the chase with four balls remaining.
It is never easy to make a comeback after getting shot out for 128, but Kolkata must be credited for staying in the game until the very end. Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav made early inroads before Sunil Narine turned on the screw with a parsimonious spell.
In the end, Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel scored 21 runs in nine balls between them to guide their team to the first win of the season.
Kolkata Knight Riders 128 in 18.5 overs
Mohammed Siraj and David Willey did allow any room to the Kolkata openers early in the innings. They kept hitting the right length around off stump, never straying down the leg, preventing Venkatesh Iyer from playing his go-to shots – the flick and the pull. Introduced in the third over, Akash Deep struck with his first ball to cut Venkatesh's agonising stay short.
Akash, however, struggled to maintain his line and length, and was targeted by the Kolkata batters. He conceded three fours and a six before getting Nitish Rana, who, while attempting to clear the field over mid-wicket, holed out to Willey. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane hooked Siraj's bouncer to deep square leg.
Wanindu Hasaranga then removed Shreyas Iyer to reduce Kolkata to 46/4 in seven overs. Narine struck a six and a four but holed out to Akash in Hasaranga's next over. Hasaranga then cleaned up Sheldon Jackson with a googly next ball.
At 67/6, it came down to Andre Russell to take Kolkata to a par total. He smashed three sixes and a four during his short stay before edging to Karthik off Harshal, who bowled two maidens and and 18 dot balls to finish with 2-11. Akash conceded a six and a four in the penultimate over before bowling out Umesh to wrap up Kolkata's innings for 128.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 132/7 in 19.2 overs
Chasing 130 should not have been a problem for Bangalore, but three wickets in the first three overs spiced up the chase. Umesh got the ball to rise awkwardly at Anuj Rawat, who could only edge to Jackson. In the next over, Southee justified his inclusion with an outswinger that took Faf du Plessis's edge and flew to Rahane. Virat Kohli started with two sumptuous fours before falling to Umesh.
With eight overs of spin bowling from Narine and Varun Chakravarthy to follow, Kolkata seemed to have given themselves a decent shot at the game. David Willey and Sherfane Rutherford did well to survive 17 balls from Umesh and Southee. At this point Shreyas could have bowled them out. Instead, he brought on Russell, who conceded 11 in the sixth over.
Rutherford then hit a six and Willey two fours off Varun, whose first two overs went for 17 runs. At the other end, Narine kept things tight. He dismissed Willey with the last ball of his third over. With 67 needed in nine overs, and Karthik yet to come, it was Bangalore's game to lose.
And yet, Kolkata held Umesh back and and instead went for Russell, who was taken apart by Shahbaz Ahmed. Russell bounced twice in the over, and Shahbaz effortlessly deposited both in the stands. Umesh finally came into bowl the next over, and came close to taking a wicket when Rutherford's strike landed just short of long on.
Shahbaz hit a towering six off Varun before getting stumped on the next ball. With 28 needed in 24 balls, Narine signed off on a perfect note, conceding just four runs to keep the game alive. Jackson then produced a brilliant full-stretch dive to catch an inside edge off Rutherford (28).
In the 19th over there was a mix-up between Karthik and Harshal, when both batters found themselves at the same end. But Umesh's wayward throw allowed Karthik to stroll back to his end. Harshal struck two fours in the over to reduce the target to seven from the last over.
Russell came on, but Karthik nailed a pull over mid wicket and followed it with a drive down the ground for four.
Brief scores
Kolkata Knight Riders 128 in 18.5 overs (Andre Russell 25; Wanindu Hasaranga 4-20) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 132/7 in 19.2 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 28; Tim Southee 3-20) by 3 wickets with 4 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Wanindu Hasaranga.