Virat kohli scored 31 off 33. (Source: BCCI)
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 4 wickets to open their IPL 2018 campaign on a positive note. Playing under new skipper Dinesh Karthik, KKR chased dwon the target of 177 runs with 7 balls to spare. Talking about the encounter, RCB skipper Virat Kohli admitted that his team did fell short of 15 runs and missed out on gaining momentum.
“I think we were 15 short with the bat. I played too many dot balls and couldn’t get any momentum going. Me and AB getting out in 2 balls to a part-timer was a game-changing event. Sunil took the game away from us with the way he batted. If you are giving 13 an over in the first overs on that sort of a wicket, it’s very difficult to comeback. It’s difficult for the spinners to bowl on this pitch, the fast bowlers get some purchase and you can score runs as well. It has become a really good cricket wicket over the last couple of years. We made a pretty good game out of it, to drag it till the 19th over and take those wickets was a big positive,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation.
KKR’s new skipper Karthik hailed Sunil Narine’s efforts with the bat. “Feels very good. Nice to get to a good start. I felt it was coming too well against the pacers. When AB and Virat were playing it was tough. We just prayed to God that he [Narine] gets going. We all play for the crowd and we love to play for this team and this fantastic crowd.”
Sunil Narine was awarded with the man of the match award for his 19-ball 50. Narine insisted, “It’s good to get the ball rolling in the first game. The support staff and everyone giving me a chance to open the batting. Whatever role the teams wants to play, I’m happy to do it. It’s a good cricket wicket, whatever you do on the field, it’s gonna benefit you.”