THREE OUT OF THREE FOR RCB
De Villiers and Maxwell hammer half-centuries to power Bangalore past Kolkata in Chennai
Chennai, India - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ended their Chennai leg of IPL 2021 with a hat-trick of wins, beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the back of explosive half-centuries from Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers on Sunday.
Maxwell made a 49-ball 78, his second fifty of the season, while de Villiers clubbed an unbeaten 34-ball 76. Between them, they hit 18 fours and six sixes to take the Royal Challengers to 204 for four after Virat Kohli chose to bat in the afternoon game, and that total proved 38 runs too much for the Knight Riders.
The Knight Riders were aggressive through their chase but lost wickets regularly.
Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan got starts, and Andre Russell muscled 31 off 20 balls at the back end, but the West Indian's expensive bowling spell at the death - he conceded 38 runs in two overs - ended up as his more decisive contribution.
The win for Kohli's men kept them at the top of the points table while the Knight Riders ended their Chepauk run with two defeats in three games.
A topsy-turvy day for Chakravarthy
The Knight Riders began with Harbhajan Singh for a third straight game after Bangalore chose to bat, and Kohli underedged a free-hit in the first over, which nutmegged the wicketkeeper and went for four. However, he was out in the next over to Varun Chakravarthy, mistiming an attempted drive to be caught by Tripathi running back from cover. Four balls later, a slider from Chakravarthy bowled Rajat Patidar.
Morgan did not continue with after that two-wicket over, even though Devdutt Padikkal and Maxwell were new at the crease. When he returned for his second over after the powerplay, the duo hit him for 14. And in his last spell, he conceded a further 22 off 12 balls.
Maxwell opens the floodgates
Maxwell settled in with seven runs in his first seven balls, and rode a bit of luck when he insideedged a Pat Cummins delivery for four past his leg stump. But that opened the gates for Maxwell, and the Royal Challengers, who had made a slow start until then, having been 19 for two after four overs. Maxwell capitalised on Shakib al Hasan's wayward lengths, shanking a six and switch-hitting a four over point in the sixth over. That 17-run over from Shakib helped the Royal Challengers reach 45 for two after the powerplay, and Maxwell clobbered five more fours and another six off the next five overs. When Padikkal was out for a 28-ball 25 in the 12th over, Maxwell had raced to 60 in 34 balls.
However, Cummins got the better of Maxwell off the last ball of his spell when the batter top-edged a pull to fine leg to depart with 78 off 49 balls.
De Villiers blasts off late
When de Villiers walked in, Bangalore were 95 for three with 8.5 overs remaining. He began his onslaught with consecutive fours off Chakravarthy in the 15th over. He followed up with backto-back boundaries off Krishna to reach 31 in 18 balls. With 18 balls to go, de Villiers tore into Andre Russell, clobbering him for a six and two fours.
He then launched Harbhajan - entrusted with bowling the 19th - with a six to reach his half-century in 27 balls. In the last over, he muscled another 21 runs off Russell over.
With Kyle Jamieson chipping in with 11 off 4, Bangalore hit 56 in their last three overs, finishing on 204 for four with de Villiers unbeaten on 76 off 34 balls.
Knight Riders’ top order falters
Gill got the chase underway by crashing Mohammed Siraj to the cover boundary in the first over. He then smacked Jamieson for a four and two sixes in the space of four deliveries to race to 21 off just eight balls. But he paid the price next ball, when his uppish drive found Christian at mid-on.
Tripathi was out for 20-ball 25, and Nitish Rana , who hit Yuzvendra Chahal for two fours in three balls, found deep midwicket for 18. Dinesh Karthik's stay was short-lived as he was trapped lbw by Chahal.
Too much for Russell to do
Morgan and Shakib tried to keep the momentum going. Morgan hit two sixes and a four in his 23-ball 29, but Shakib struggled and was eventually bowled by Jamieson for26 off 25.
After Morgan's dismissal to Harshal Patel, the Knight Riders needed 91 off 38 balls. Russell gave the Royal Challengers a brief scare. He swatted Yuzvendra Chahal for 6, 4, 4, 4 in the 17th over. Jamieson's 18th didn't go for enough, and Mohammed Siraj kept hitting the blockhole in a 19th over peppered with refused singles from Russell. With six balls to go, Knight Riders needed 43, and Russell soon dragged Patel onto the stumps. Patel finished with two for 17 in his four, and Jamieson with three for 41.