IPL 2019: Virat Kohli and Moeen Ali take RCB to a thrilling 10-run win
Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in a thrilling match played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Friday.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and decided to field first. Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli got off to a slow start. Sunil Narine dismissed Parthiv Patel for 11 runs. RCB captain Virat Kohli looked edgy while Akshdeep Nath struggled to time the ball. At the end of six overs, RCB were 42 for 1.
After the power play overs, Andre Russell dismissed Akshdeep Nath for 13 runs. Virat Kohli and Nath added 41 runs for 2nd wicket. Moeen Ali came to the crease and changed the momentum of the innings, scoring 27 runs off Kuldeep Yadav. Kohli reached his fifty off 40 balls while Ali just smashed KKR bowlers all over the park.
Moeen Ali reached his fifty off just 24 balls and made sure that Royal Challengers Bangalore created pressure on KKR bowlers. Ali was finally dismissed for a brilliant 66 off 27 balls. Kohli and Moeen Ali added 90 runs for the 3rd wicket. After completing his fifty, Kohli made the batting look easy and showed his class by taking on Prasidh Krishna and other bowlers.
Kohli reached his 5th IPL century off 57 balls and was dismissed on the final ball. Kohli and Stoinis added 64 runs in quick time. RCB posted a massive total of 213 for 4 in 20 overs.
Chasing the target of 214 runs to win, RCB got off to a perfect start as Dale Steyn dismissed Chris Lynn in the first over. Sunil Narine played some lovely strokes before Navdeep Saini got his wicket. Steyn then dismissed Shubman Gill cheaply. At the end of six overs, KKR were 37 for 3.
After the power play overs, Nitish Rana played some lovely strokes while Robin Uthappa struggled to time the ball. Marcus Stoinis got the wicket of Robin Uthappa for 9 runs. Rana and Uthappa added 46 runs for the 4th wicket. Andre Russell came to the crease and just hammered the RCB bowlers to give KKR hope of winning the match.
Rana showed his class with some big hits and reached his fifty off 33 balls while Russell showed his power hitting and reached his fifty off just 21 balls. With 24 runs required off last six deliveries, Moeen Ali bowled a brilliant over giving away only 13 runs. Russell was run out for a sensational 65 off 25 balls. Russell and Nitish Rana added 118 runs for the 5th wicket. RCB finally won the match by 10 runs.
Brief scores: RCB 213 for 4 in 20 overs (Kohli 100, Moeen Ali 66, Andre Russell 1/17) beat KKR 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 85*, Andre Russell 65, Dale Steyn 2/40, Navdeep Saini 1/31) by 10 runs.