Royal Challengers Bangalore [RCB] succumbed not only to defeat on Sunday night but also the lowest ever total in the history of the Indian Premier League [IPL] as they were bowled out for just 49 by Kolkata Knight Riders [KKR].
Chasing a modest target of 132, the Royal Challengers batsmen struggled against some brilliant fast bowling from the Eden Gardens hosts. All ten wickets were taken by quicks as none of the batsmen from the Bengaluru-based team reached double digits.
Nathan Coulter-Nile – later named the Man of the Match – started the procession with a brilliant first over which saw him get rid of Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli for a golden duck.
Mandeep Singh fell in the very next over as he was dismissed for just one. In the absence of the injured KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, the form of Mandeep is a concern for RCB as he has managed just one run in his last three innings.
The usually reliable AB de Villiers [8 off 6 balls] was the next batsman dismissed and soon after, Kedar Jadhav was out for nine as the visitors found themselves 39-4 at the end of the Powerplay.
Chris Gayle’s dismissal in the seventh over, more or less, ended whatever hopes the Royal Challengers had of a fightback. The last six wickets would fall for just nine runs to end a miserable day for the visitors.
Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes, and Colin de Grandhomme picked up three wickets each for Kolkata as they completed a memorable 82-run win at the Eden Gardens.
Earlier, there was a delay to the start of the match due to rain and when rains cleared, Kohli won the toss and as he has done so often in the past, elected to field first.
Kolkata’s strategy of opening with Sunil Narine [34 off 17 balls] paid off once again as he got the hosts off to a flying start. The West Indian would be the only batsman in the entire match to register a score above 20.
The Knight Riders had scored as many as 52 runs in the first four overs, but their batters found the going tough after the dismissal of Narine.
Royal Challengers leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal wreaked havoc in the Kolkata ranks as he took three wickets and conceded just 16 runs from his four overs. He was well supported by fellow spinners Pawan Negi [2-15 from three overs] and Samuel Badree [1-33 from four overs].
Kolkata were bowled out for 131, a total that ended up proving more than enough to register a comfortable victory.
With this win, Gautam Gambhir’s side now have 10 points from seven matches and are second in the table while the Royal Challengers, on the back of this huge loss, have moved bottom.
BRIEF SCORES
Kolkata Knight Riders 131 all out, 19.3 overs [Narine 34, Chahal 3-16] beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 49 all out, 9.4 overs [de Grandhomme 3-4, Woakes 3-6, Coulter-Nile 3-21] by 82 runs.
Player of the Match – Nathan Coulter-Nile
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