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TATA IPL 2024: Narine, Iyer Lead KKR to Smooth Win Over RCB by 7 Wickets
Sunil Narine blazed a 47 off just 22 deliveries, Venkatesh Iyer notched his maiden half-century of the season, and skipper Shreyas Iyer found his form as Kolkata Knight Riders secured a seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This win at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium disrupted the prevailing trend of home-team dominance in the Indian Premier League 2024.
Following Narine's explosive innings that set the pace for KKR on a pitch that had become more favorable for batting in the second innings, aided by the presence of dew, Venkatesh (scoring 50) and Shreyas (remaining unbeaten on 39) ensured KKR's victory with some firepower to spare.
It was an emphatic victory for KKR as they won with 19 balls to spare and maintained their domination of Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy, winning their sixth successive match at RCB's home. This is their second win in as many matches this season. KKR thus moved to the second spot on the points table behind Chennai Super Kings. RCB suffered their second defeat in three games and how they lost will leave them disappointed.
KKR bowled superbly on a good pitch, using short-of-the-length off-cutters to restrict RCB to 182/6 boosted by a superb unbeaten 83 by former skipper Virat Kohli, who batted through the innings. Cameron Green and Dinesh Karthik contributed breezy cameos and with Kohli anchoring the innings, hitting four boundaries and four maximums, RCB recovered well to put up a decent total. Andre Russell was the best KKR bowler with 2-29.
In pursuit of 183, KKR launched their chase with full force, led by West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine who smashed 47 runs off 22 balls in his 500th T20 appearance. Phil Salt also made a significant contribution with a quickfire 30 off 20 deliveries. The dynamic duo propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to a staggering 85 runs during the Power-play phase, leaving the RCB bowling attack bewildered. Narine initiated the onslaught by hitting five sixes and two boundaries right from the first over. Salt complemented Narine's aggression by striking two fours and two sixes, providing valuable support.
Despite his recent low scores, Narine seized the moment and showcased his prowess by aggressively dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground. Pacers Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, and Alzarri Joseph bore the brunt of his onslaught. Joseph was hit for 34 runs in two overs, while Siraj leaked 46 runs in three overs, and Dayal finished with figures of 1-46 from his four overs.
Narine fell victim to a brilliant yorker from Mayank Dagar, which crashed into the off-stump, sending him back to the pavilion. Shortly after, Salt was caught by Cameron Green off the bowling of Vijaykumar Vyshak, who emerged as the standout RCB bowler of the night, ending with figures of 1-23 from his four overs.
Down 92/2, KKR were in a spot of bother, but Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer came together to raise 74 runs for the third wicket, with Iyer doing the bulk of the scoring. He scored 50 off 30 balls, despite being hampered by back trouble, as he struck three boundaries and four maximums. Shreyas gave him good company, scoring 39 off 24 balls. Venkatesh, who blasted a 106m six during his innings, was out in the 16th over as he tried to hit Yash Dayal out of the ground but managed only to find Virat Kohli at the cow corner, dragging the shot as Dayal cut the pace and picked short of length outside off-stump.
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