Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulled off a thumping seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 10 of the IPL 2024 season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday (March 29).
Riding on Virat Kohli’s 83 not out off 59 balls, the hosts posted 182/6 on the board after being asked to bat first.
In response, KKR overhauled the target with 19 deliveries to spare, mainly thanks to Sunil Narine’s explosive 47 off 22 balls at the top of the order.
Following the win, Venkatesh Iyer lauded Narine for taking off pressure from other batters with his whirlwind knock in the powerplay.
Venkatesh also slammed a half-century but he seemed to have injured his back during the knock while playing a shot.
"Let us see how my back is. I will know after a scan. The ball was coming on well in the evening. Credit goes to Sunil Narine, whose runs took the pressure off us. We just had to finish the formalities. With a platform like that, you have to maximise (on his mindset). Also, my fiance was here today so it was a special day. (Facing Vijaykumar Vyshak) Pace-off in totality was tough but if fast bowlers bowled pace-on, it was easy to take them to the cleaners. It happened with us in our bowling innings too," said Iyer in the post-match presentation.
Kohli’s knock drew sharp criticism after KKR chased down RCB’s stiff target with so much ease. However, Venkatesh revealed that the pitch was two paced, slightly slower in the first innings.
"The wicket was two paced and double bounce in first innings. And it was very difficult to hit bounderies in first innings. And pitch getting better to bat in second innings in yesterday's match at Chinnaswamy," he added.
During the chase, Sunil Narine and Philip Salt (30 off 20) made a mockery of RCB’s bowling attack, adding 86 runs for the opening wicket in just 6.3 overs.
After their dismissals, Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 30) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (39* off 24) stepped up to seal the deal.
It was KKR’s second successive victory in the ongoing IPL. They are currently holding the second spot on the points table, featuring 10 teams.
Kolkata Knight Riders will next face Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday (April 3).
(With ANI Inputs)
