This IPL is bringing back old memories for me. Sunil Narine led from the front to help Kolkata Knight Riders upset Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets in the Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday, a day after Mahendra Singh Dhoni the finisher once again came to the fore. On Wednesday, KKR will face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2.
Virat Kohli’s goal of winning the IPL as a captain was dashed by the West Indians’ all-round performance, and he has chosen to stand aside after this season.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Kohli came into the attack in the 10th over of the RCB innings and not only put a stop to the run rate, but also took a wicket in each of his four overs.
Later, he fulfilled the pinch-hitter job to perfection, hitting three sixes off Daniel Christian’s first over for 22 runs to help KKR win the match.
Harshal Patel of the Royal Challengers Bangalore might have became the IPL’s greatest wicket-taker in a season if Devdutt Padikkal hadn’t grounded a skier off Narine. The bowler finished with 32 wickets, tying him with Dwayne Bravo, who had the same total in 2013.
KKR’s decision not to risk star allrounder Andre Russell paid off as the spin combination of Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Shakib Al Hasan suffocated the opposition.
RCB were reduced to 138 for seven after racing to 53 for one in the first six overs, owing to some tight bowling in the middle overs. After the powerplay, the scoring dried up, with 17 runs coming in the following four overs as KKR handed up just 85 runs in the next 14 overs, scooping up six wickets.
The fact that a team containing some of the best batsmen in the world, including Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and AB de Villiers, failed to hit a single six said eloquently about the quality of the attack on the day.
Narine began by getting RCB’s last-match hero KS Bharat caught at long-off boundary by Iyer, who battled to collect nine runs off 16 deliveries. In his next three overs, he claimed the valuable scalps of Kohli, De Villiers, and Maxwell. As the RCB captain sought to break away, the spinner castled him, getting one through his bat and pad. In the same over, De Villiers reverse-swept Narine for a four, but the spinner retaliated by bowling the South African with a beauty that caressed the batsman’s pad before dislodging the stumps.
Dangerman Maxwell added to Narine’s score when he top-edged one to Ferguson at short third base while going for a wild swing.
Despite Shakib and Chakravarthy returning wicketless, the allrounder, who finished with four for 21, praised the significance of his spinning partners. “I believe that bowling with good spinners makes it simpler. The spinners did a terrific job today since there was more grip than in the previous game “After the innings, he said. Only 65 runs were scored by the RCB batsmen in their 12 overs of spin.