Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 10 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata: Nitish Rana and Andre Russell gave good fight but could not save the day for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore as the visitors registered their only second win in Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens here on Friday. Chasing 214 to win, the hosts lost 4 wickets at 79 in 12th overs, but Rana and Russell put on 118 runs in 48 balls. They needed 30 runs from the final over, but could manage 19 from it. Rana remained unbeaten at 85 in 46 balls with 5 sixes while man-inform Russell hit 65 off 25 balls with 9 sixes.

Virat Kohli notched up his fifth century in the IPL while Moeen Ali too struck a belligerent fifty to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post a mammoth 213/4 in 20 overs. Put into bat first in a must-win tie, Kohli took 58 balls to bring up his first ton of the season with the help of nine fours and four sixes.

Moeen Ali, meanwhile, bludgeoned a 28-ball 66 (4x5, 6x6), as the pair added 90 runs for the third wicket off just 43 balls. After Ali's dismissal, Kohli joined hands with Marcus Stoinis (17* off 8) for a 64-run fourth wicket partnership as the visitors amassed 143 runs in the last 10 overs to flatten the home team.

Kohli got to his 50 off 40 deliveries but stepped on the accelerator to score his next 50 in just 17 deliveries before getting out to Harry Gurney off the final ball of the innings. Among his boundaries, the most eye-catching was a square drive past point off Gurney in the 17th over.

For KKR, India's star spinner Kuldeep Yadav had a forgettable day with figures of 1/59 from 4 overs. RCB lost Parthiv Patel (11) early after the diminutive southpaw holed out to Nitish Rana at deep mid-wicket off Sunil Narine. Kohli got off to a slow start, finding the fence only in the fourth over after a horrible misfield by Shubman Gill at the deep mid-wicket boundary off Narine.

The India skipper did not look his usual self as his next boundary came off an outside edge off Prasidh Krishna through third man. RCB were 42/1 after six overs with Kohli taking on India teammate Kuldeep in the eighth over, hitting alofted straight drive and a trademark cover drive for four.

With AB de Villiers indisposed, Akshdeep Nath (13) was sent to bat at No. 3 but the move did not bear fruit as the batsman skied a Andre Russell delivery for Robin Uthappa to charge in from short cover and snaffle it. Ali then took it upon himself to up the ante by tonking Kuldeep for a six over long on in the 10th over as the RCB scoreboard read 70/2 at the halfway stage. RCB scored 70 runs for the loss of just one wicket between overs 14 and 17. After Ali was dismissed, Kohli and Stoinis continued the carnage with the last three overs leaking 45 runs. IANS

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