KNIGHTS IN ONEDERLAND
Kolkata ekes out a heart-stopping one-run win over RCB
Karn Sharma’s scarcely believable last-over assault on Mitchell Starc gave Royal Challengers Bengaluru a glimmer of hope but the Kolkata Knight Riders kept its nerve to eke out a dramatic one-run win off the last ball in their IPL match here on Sunday.
The Royal Challengers required 21 runs off the last over bowled by left-arm pacer Starc while chasing a daunting 223-run target set by the Knight Riders. The result seemed a foregone conclusion with Karn and Mohammed Siraj at the crease, but the former nearly turned the match on its head. Karn, a leg-spinner with no real pedigree with the bat, hammered three sixes off Starc to reduce the margin to three runs off two balls. But Starc redeemed himself taking a return catch to dismiss Karn (20, 7b, 3x6) and Lockie Ferguson was run out off the last ball as RCB ended up at 221 all out in 20 overs.
However, in a match with more twists and turns than a hilly road, it was KKR which first snatched the initiative making 222 for six around opener Phil Salt’s aggressive 14-ball 48 and skipper Shreyas Iyer’s composed 36-ball 50.
But the Royal Challengers was not bogged down by the imposing nature of the chase. Will Jacks (55, 32b; 4x4, 5x6) and Rajat Patidar (52; 23b, 3x4, 5x6) laid a fine foundation through a 102-run alliance for the third wicket that came off just 48 balls.
But from 137 for 2, RCB soon slipped to 155 for 6 with Andre Russell inflicting a double blow dismissing both Jacks and Patidar inside three balls with his clever variation of slower balls.
Sunil Narine (2/34) also claimed two wickets in his final over to reduce RCB to 155 for six but Dinesh Karthik kept their hopes alive in a splendid partnership with Impact Sub Suyash Prabhudessai.
Returning to bowl in the penultimate over, Russell dismissed Karthik with a slower ball to make the equation tougher for RCB -- 21 runs off six balls.
But RCB had its moments as Jacks was at his furious best against Starc, spanking him for 22 runs in an over en route his 29ball fifty, his second in four matches.
Earlier, on a day when Narine (10, 15 balls) failed to get going, Salt, the world’s No. 2 T20I batter, was on fire smashing three sixes and seven fours to give KKR an explosive start, which later was exploited to the hilt by Iyer who hit seven fours and one six. Andre Russell (27 not out, 20b) and Ramandeep Singh (24 not out, 9b) gave the home side some late impetus.
However, the under-fire RCB bowling unit made a spirited effort to reduce KKR to 75/3 at the end of power play, as KKR lost four wickets in 26 balls in that crucial middle-phase.
BRIEF SCORES: KKR 222/6 in 20 overs (S Iyer 50, P Salt 48) bt RCB 221 in 20 overs (W Jacks 55, R Patidar 52, A Russell 3/25)