Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finally ended their 4-match losing streak after registering a stylish victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 36 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, the Knight Riders started off their innings with a bang, with opener Jason Roy smashing a tremendous half-century, scoring 56 runs off 29 balls, including 5 sixes. Skipper Nitish Rana also played a crucial role with 48 runs off 21 balls featuring 4 sixes. Other batters chipped in with some useful contributions as KKR finished at 200/5 in 20 overs.
For the Challengers, ace Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was the most successful bowler, taking 2 wickets for 24 runs in his 4 overs. Vijaykumar Vyshak also shined with the ball and bagged a couple of scalps.
In response, RCB got off to a decent start, with stand-in captain Virat Kohli leading his side from the front and scoring 54 runs off 37 balls. However, none of the other batters could contribute significantly, and RCB lost wickets at regular intervals.
Mahipal Lomror‘s 34 runs off 18 balls and Dinesh Karthik’s 22 runs off 18 balls were the only other notable contributions from RCB’s batting lineup. Eventually, the hosts only managed to score 179/8 in their 20 overs, falling short of the target by 21 runs.
For KKR, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was their pick of the bowlers, picking up a sensational three-wicket haul while conceding only 27 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Suyash Sharma also bowled well, taking 2 wickets for 30 runs in his 4 overs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 💜 pic.twitter.com/WWXLnFMipj
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2023
A setback today but we’ll dust ourselves off and bounce back. 🙌
Those #AaaarCeeBee #AaarCeeBee chants even when we needed 24 off the last ball will be our motivation as we prepare for our long away leg. #PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/Rfg3DAN3me
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 26, 2023
Well done @KKRiders what a win . Top knock captain @NitishRana_27 and Varun superb bowling @chakaravarthy29 ⭐️❤️
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2023
All batsman other than Faf,Kohli and Maxwell in RCB #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/SQ2CVX4gkh
— Anurag Dwivedi 🏏 (@AnuragxCricket) April 26, 2023
RCB Never Win IPL Trophy.. Haarcb#ViratKohli #RCBvKKR #IPL2023#KKRvRCB #KKRvsRCB #RCBvsKKR pic.twitter.com/2Bi4CcYT0G
— Vishwajit Patil (@_VishwajitPatil) April 26, 2023
KKR vs RCB in the last 5 games in Chinnaswamy:
KKR won
KKR won
KKR won
KKR won
KKR won— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 26, 2023
Liked the way Nitish Rana led the side. On the Bangaluru pitch using spin to the best effect. Well done spinners too #KKR
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 26, 2023
Varun Chakravarthy dedicates his Player Of The Match award to his new born baby and wife.
– When Harsha asked when he’d see his newborn, Varun replied “after the IPL”. pic.twitter.com/Cm5VqL4MEW
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 26, 2023
Strong performance by Kolkata Knight Riders:
#cricket #RCBvKKR #ipl2023 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/nX9rjyxXrC
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) April 26, 2023
#KKR against Haarcb be like :
Eat
Sleep
Repeat &
Defeat !!😂#RCBvKKR #IPL2023#IPLonJioCinema #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/TMD5XyJQca— sʜᴜʙʜᴀᴍ ᴋᴜᴍᴀʀ | ɪɴᴅɪᴀ🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@_Mr_Shubham__) April 26, 2023