Virat Kohli was back to his best in a chase, and this was for the umpteenth time. He has done it before and did it again in Raipur. Virat Kohli scored his 9th IPL ton and guided RCB past the finishing line and topped the points table now. But it was not all smooth and straightforward for RCB after they put KKR into bat first. KKR, after being asked to bat first, posted 192/4 in 20 overs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi leading the way with his 71 off 46 balls and others chipping in with valuable contributions, including Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 49.
In reply, chasing 193 for the win, Virat Kohli stole the show with a perfect run chase as he has so often done in the past. He paced his innings perfectly and nailed the chase as he carried his bat for his unbeaten 105 off 60 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes to his name as others like Devdutt Padikkal played around him. RCB won the contest by 6 wickets with 5 balls to spare to go top of the points table and are almost through to the playoffs.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s masterful 71 powers KKR to a competitive 192/4
Put into bat first after a lengthy rain delay of an hour and 15 minutes, captain Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen came out to bat for KKR while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the ball in hand for RCB. It was a solid, steady start for KKR as Bhuvneshwar started well while Jacob Duffy went for a bit with the new ball. Allen took the attack to the opposition. The opening duo added 23 inside the first three overs before Allen fell for a quickfire 18 off 8 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Keeper batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi came out to bat next. Raghuvanshi started well and got his eye in, but looked fluent from the start. Rahane was playing his way as KKR were going along nicely on a pitch that played a lot better than the game against MI. The duo of Rahane and Raghuvanshi added 25 runs for the second wicket before Rahane fell for 19 off 13 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Josh Hazlewood. Cameron Green came out to bat next.
The duo of Green and Raghuvanshi started to build a partnership to take KKR forward in this first innings. At the end of the power play, KKR were 56/2 in 6 overs and well-placed despite losing both the openers inside the field restrictions. It was the Raghuvanshi show in Raipur, and Green gave him good company out there. They played the middle phase of the game quite well and set it up for the others to follow in the end overs.
The duo put on a valuable 68 runs off 46 for the third wicket before Green was cleaned up for 32 off 24 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Rasikh Salam. Rinku Singh came out to bat next with 7.4 overs left in the innings. The platform was set up now for KKR to target a total close of 200, if not beyond it. Raghuvanshi looked good out there and took the attack to the opposition, while Rinku started to get his eye in and flourish out there. Both Raghuvanshi and Rinku complemented each other really well.
Both were going great, but credit to RCB as well for making sure they don’t leak too many runs and kept KKR under check somewhat. The end overs came, and it was smooth for the duo with Raghuvanshi completing his fifty and converting it into a significant score while Rinku provided the final finishing kick. The duo added 76 runs off 46 balls before Raghuvanshi fell for a magnificent 71 off 46 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name as he was run out off the final ball of the innings.
Rinku stayed unbeaten on 49 off 29 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name as KKR ended with a competitive 192/4 in 20 overs. 3 extras given by the fielding side.
From RCB’s point of view, their bowlers bowled decently out there. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with figures of 1/34 in 4 overs. Josh Hazlewood finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Rasikh Salam finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Jacob Duffy gave away 48 runs in 4 overs, while Krunal Pandya finished with 0/39 in 4 overs. This meant that RCB’s target was 193 runs in 20 overs to make it 8 wins in 12 games.
Virat Kohli’s masterful 9th IPL ton powers RCB past the finishing line by 6 wickets with 5 balls left
Chasing 193 for the win, Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli came out to bat for RCB while Impact Player Saurabh Dubey had the ball in hand for KKR. The RCB openers got off to a solid start as Virat Kohli, fresh from his two ducks, came out all guns blazing for the home side. Bethell got a start as well, and he got a few boundaries away. The opening duo put on 37 runs for the first wicket before Bethell fell for 15 off 12 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Kartik Tyagi. Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal came out to bat next.
KKR had their chances with Virat being dropped, a tough drop at short extra cover by Rovman Powell when batting on 21. While Devdutt Padikkal was batting on 22 was dropped in the deep by Vaibhav Arora. The duo made KKR pay, and it was this partnership that put the game beyond KKR. At the end of the power play overs, RCB were 66/1 in 6 overs.
The duo carried on from there and took the game completely away from KKR. Virat’s drop was a tough one, but Padikkal’s one really cost KKR the game. They forged a match-winning partnership to set it up for the other batters to follow. The duo batted close to 10 overs and added a vital 92-run stand for the second wicket before Padikkal fell for a well-made 39 off 27 balls with 7 fours to his name to Kartik Tyagi. Captain Rajat Patidar came out to bat next. Patidar was rattled as he was hit on the head by Tyagi.
Patidar managed to hit a maximum as well. Kohli went about his merry ways as well and got closer to his ton. The duo of Kohli and Patidar put on 28 runs for the third wicket before Patidar fell for 11 off 8 balls with one six to his name as RCB were 157/3 in 16 overs. Tim David came out to bat next. David came and picked singles, but it was now fully the Kohli show as he was hitting exquisite shots and clearing the boundary.
The duo added 23 runs for the 4th wicket before David fell for 2 off 3 balls to Tyagi, thanks to a jaw-dropping catch at backward point from Manish Pandey as RCB needed 13 runs to win at this stage. Jitesh Sharma came out to bat next and soon gave the strike over to Virat Kohli. Then came the moment that all of RCB and India were waiting for. Virat Kohli is getting a single to get to his 9th IPL ton and 10th overall.
Kohli hit another boundary to take the side close to the target, and then, with 3 needed off 6 balls, Jitesh hit the winning runs with a boundary as the duo added an unbroken 14-run stand for the 5th wicket. Virat was unbeaten on 105 off 60 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes to his name, while Jitesh was unbeaten on 8 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name. 14 extras given by the fielding side as RCB finished with 194/4 in 19.1 overs.
From KKR’s bowling point of view, Kartik Tyagi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/32 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Saurabh Dubey, the Impact Player, finished with 0/21 in 2.1 overs. Vaibhav Arora finished with 0/48 in 4 overs. Cameron Green finished with 0/22 in 2 overs. Anukul Roy finished with 0/36 in 3 overs. So, RCB beat KKR by 6 wickets with 5 balls to spare to go to the top of the points table. Virat Kohli, for his sublime innings, was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, RCB with that win goes to the top of the points table with this win with 16 points. They will next face PBKS in Dharamsala on Sunday afternoon, while KKR hosts GT in Kolkata on Saturday evening. More cricket coming our way with PBKS hosting MI in Dharamsala on Thursday evening. PBKS needs a win to get back to winning ways. While MI has nothing to lose and will play for pride. Let’s see how this game pans out.
Also Read: RCB vs KKR: KKR’s Spin vs RCB’s Firepower!