Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in a low scoring thriller at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, RCB managed to bundle out KKR for 128 in 18.5 overs. Wanindu Hasaranga took four wickets and won the Player of the Match award. While Akash Deep also clinched three wickets.
Like the Kolkata batting, the Bangalore batters also struggled but managed to chase down the total and win the game by three wickets. Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed were the picks of the batter as they scored 28 and 27, respectively. But it was wicket-keeper and batter Dinesh Karthik, who hit the winning runs.
Changes in the points table
After the sixth match of the tournament, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are sixth on the table after registering their first win against KKR. They have two points after two games with a net run rate of -0.048. Whereas the Kolkata Knight Riders are one place above the Bangalore-based franchise at the fifth spot. After suffering their first loss, they have two points from two games with a net run rate of +0.093. RCB will face Rajasthan Royals in their next match on 5 April while KKR will take on Punjab Kings on 1 April. Both games will be played at the Wankhede Stadium.
Today’s Matchup
The Lucknow Super Giants will take on the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in today’s game of the Indian Premier League. The match will be played at the Brabourne Stadium at 7:30 P.M. Both teams enter this match after losing their opening games of the tournament.
What did the captains say?
RCB captain Faf du Plessis expressed his elation after winning his first game. He said, “Very happy. Close small margins game(s) are very important at the start. Small score, we just tried to be positive but very good bowling from their seamers. The ball swung a little more earlier but today there was seam and bounce.”
“Two-three days ago, it was 200 and today it was 130. We would like to be more convincing. Just the experience. The runs were never a problem. We just needed to have wickets in hand. DK is as close as it gets to MS Dhoni when it comes to being ice cool. I rely on other people for help. We have great people in the camp. There is good communication in the group. The guys have been great. They have been supportive. They are coming to me with ideas”, Faf added.
On the other hand, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer talked about the positives from the game and then also explained the pitch conditions during this game. He said, “I really found this game exciting. Before getting in, I spoke with my boys and told them that this game is going to define our character and attitude on the field no matter we defend or not. The way we fight it on the ground, that is really going to reflect our mentality in the next few games. I am really proud the way we played this game and took it till the last over. It was really tough at that moment because I wanted to get my best bowlers up there and get a few wickets early on but it didn't work out really well.”
“The wicket was looking a bit dicey at the start, it was two-paced, variable and the bounce was odd. We wanted to get off to a really good start and that's what we planned. The execution part was tough. We are going to come back with the same mindset, we are not going to chicken out. That's what we want to focus on and that's what we spoke about coming into the tournament that we'll be someone who'd be taking risks,” Iyer added.