Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played out a completely one-sided affair as they resumed their respective campaigns in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Morgan-led KKR avenged their defeat to RCB in the first phase with a thumping nine-wicket victory in Abu Dhabi. Kolkata edged past a lackluster Bangalore side to give themselves the perfect start.
An elated Eoin Morgan had nothing but words of praise for his bowlers who wonderfully set the game up for them. The England limited-overs captain claimed that dismissing RCB’s big three is a “really rare” feat as the two-time IPL champions made light work of the Challengers, who were nowhere close to being their best on Monday.
Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first. However, losing the toss proved to be a blessing in disguise for KKR as they skittled a power-packed Bangalore line-up for a mere 92 runs. The Challengers failed to bat their entire quota of 20 overs. Kolkata’s openers needed no second invitation to go all guns blazing as they got the job done with ease and comfort, requiring just 10 overs to wrap up the proceedings.
Courtesy of a big win, the men in purple made a massive stride to go two places up to the fifth spot. Despite the loss, RCB currently retain their position, standing third in the table.
“The timing of it (win) is excellent. The talent we have within our squad sometimes that counts for nothing. You have to go out there and show how good you are. Was 50-50 about the toss. Bowlers have had an outstanding day today,” Eoin Morgan said post their scintillating win.
The special occasion of playing his 200th IPL game turned out to be a disaster for skipper Kohli and his entire team. He was sent back to the pavilion in the very second over, which set the tone for KKR. Padikkal (22) stood out in the middle for a while. However, he too followed Virat back to the hut in quick time as Lockie Ferguson got the better of him.
To make things worse, Andre Russell struck twice in the ninth over to see the back of KS Bharat and Ab de Villiers. The ship had already sunk as all hopes were then pinned on Maxwell. The Australian batsman failed to find any rhythm and was dismissed by Varun Chakaravarthy to add to the misery.
“Maxwell, AB, Virat – we got on top of them which is fantastic and really rare. Have a long way to go. Need a lot of things to go right for us. Today was the perfect start. Maybe makes us a dangerous side – we haven’t turned up in the tournament so far,” KKR’s captain added.
Chakaravarthy received the cut for India’s T20 World Cup squad and he justified his selection with a brilliant performance. Deemed as the “Mystery spinner”, he returned with match-winning figures of 3/13 that included two scalps in successive deliveries.
“It was flat (pitch) only. There wasn’t much in the pitch. Wasn’t much spin on offer so I had to keep it on the stumps. I thought it was out (the hat-trick ball) but just saw the replay that there was an inside edge. Started very late in my career. Now, me getting picked for India gives me a sense of acceptance,” said Chakaravarthy, who was also declared the Player of the Match.
