Kohli and KKR’s largesse help RCB post competitive total

The star batter carries his bat for a 59ball 83 and Karthik’s yet another cameo provides the final flourish as Royal Challengers reach 182 for six; Russell and Anukul put the skids on the hosts’ innings

Asloppy Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) allowed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to reach 182 for six in their IPL encounter at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.

KKR, guilty of dropping three catches and missing a run out, let RCB off the hook. RCB star Virat Kohli (83 n.o., 59b, 4x4, 4x6) carried his bat, even if he was not in full flow. On a sticky pitch, Kohli and his partners struggled when the pace was taken off by the KKR bowlers.

Kohli was only able to free his arms when the ball was full or on the pads.

Cameron Green (33, 21b, 4x4, 2x6) and Glenn Maxwell (28, 19b, 3x4, 1x6) supported Kohli in tidy partnerships, but overall, none of the RCB toporder batters were able to fully break the shackles. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis raised hopes with an inventive scoop over thirdman, but fell in the very next ball when he paddled a slower delivery from pacer Harshit Ran.

For the third successive outing, Dinesh Karthik came to the rescue in the death overs. Karthik came in to bat in the 18th over, and provided late momentum with an 8ball 20.

It was a forgettable night on the field for the visitor. The worrying trend was set when Ramandeep Singh fluffed a run out chance early in the essay to hand Cameron Green a life. It got worse for Ramandeep when he put down a skier at deep midwicket when Glenn Maxwell was on 11.

KKR was further embarrassed when Sunil Narine completely made a mess of a sitter a short while later to give Maxwell another reprieve. In the 17th over, the virus spread to Varun Chakravarthy, who failed to hold on to a low catch offered by Anuj Rawat.

Pacer Andre Russell was the standout bowler, picking up two wickets and conceding 29 runs in his four overs. Leftarm spinner Anukul Roy, playing his first match of the season, troubled RCB with his flat trajectory. The 25yearold gave away just six runs in his two overs.

Knight Riders romped home, reaching the target in 16.5 overs for the loss of only three wickets. Venkatesh top scored with 50 while openers Salt and Narine made 30 and 47 respectively. Shreyas (39 n.o.) and Rinku (5 n.o.) took the team past the finish line