As IPL 2018 is reaching its second half, the competition is getting more intense and all teams are now fighting for every win. On Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered another setback as they lost Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets at Bengaluru. With the latest loss, RCB are in danger of missing out on a playoff spot and KKR once again prevailed over Virat Kohli led side.
Here’s five crucial moments from the game:
1. RCB’s slow and steady start:
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Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday tried another opening combination due to AB de Villiers’ absence, Quinton de Kock opened with Brendon McCullum. McCullum and de Kock both took their time and at the end of the powerplay, RCB were 40/0. Bengaluru pitch has always been full of runs and somewhere the slow start again hampered RCB and it was all down to Virat Kohli once again to resurrect the innings.
2. Virat Kohli leading from the front:
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RCB captain Virat Kohli has become so used to playing rescue innings and on Sunday, he once again proved his mettle and scored an unbeaten 68 off 44 balls. Kohli first took his time and then accelerated as the innings progressed and in the end hit some big shots to take RCB to 175 to give his bowlers something to bowl at.
RCB also missed de Villiers a great deal and that’s why Kohli couldn’t take chances and had to play within himself.
3. Did KKR’s bowlers actually contain RCB?:
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When KKR won the toss and elected to field first, they knew that the pitch would be full of runs and Dinesh Karthik must be pretty happy at the break that his team restricted strong RCB batting-line up below 200. All KKR bowlers bowled within themselves and never allowed Bangalore’s batsmen to get away. West Indian Andre Russell was the most successful bowler on the night and picked up 3/31.
4. Lynnsanity returns:
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Australian hard-hitting batsman and T20 journeyman Chris Lynn had a quiet tournament so far and it looked like teams had figured him out. Lynn against RCB returned to his best and struck an unbeaten 62 off 52 balls and showed his range and class once more. This was not a typical Lynn innings as he played with calmness and was happy to rotate strike and got a big support from Sunil Narine (27), Robin Uthappa (36) and Dinesh Karthik (23).
Chris Lynn batted with maturity and stayed till the end and as long as he was there, it looked very easy and this innings also showed another side to Lynn’s batting.
5. Bangalore’s bowlers again struggling:
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RCB’s bowlers again had a disappointing night and had to defend a below-par score on a beautiful batting track. Virat Kohli again changed his bowling attack and New Zealand’s Tim Southee made it into the side and also leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin came in place of Washington Sundar.
RCB bowlers again looked short of ideas and had no answer to Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine in the early overs. Ashwin was the most successful bowler with the figures of 2/36, but again the bowling attack couldn’t deliver and the problem of not bowling economically or taking wickets continued for Virat Kohli and his troops.
Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Chris Lynn (C-L) hugs his partner Shubman Gill after winning the match against Royal Challenegers Bangalore with 6 wickets in hand during the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on April 29, 2018.
Kolkata Knight Riders are chasing a target of 175 runs scored by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 20 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. / AFP PHOTO / Manjunath KIRAN / ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE----- / GETTYOUT