Virat Kohli's 83 went in vain as the Kolkata Knight Riders pummelled the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday in what proved to be the first loss for the home side in IPL 2024. KKR openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine set the tone for the 183-run-chase, while Venkatesh Iyer struck a half-century to fashion their 2nd win of the season.
Virat Kohli's unbeaten 83 led the way for Royal Challengers Bengaluru's total of 182-6 in their stipulated 20 overs. There were also contributions from Glenn Maxwell (28) and Cameron Green (33) as they helped Kohli in stitching vital partnerships. Andre Russell proved to be KKR's pick of the bowlers, taking figures of 4-0-29-2.
Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss and have elected to field first against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the IPL 2024 clash on Friday. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer hilariously forgot his team combination during the toss as they have made changes. By contrast, du Plessis announced that they are playing the same team.
With both sides squaring off in 32 matches thus far, the Knight Riders are marginally ahead, winning 18 of them. Kolkata also famously bowled Bengaluru out for 49 in the 2017 edition when defending a paltry 132, while the league's inception saw the Knight Riders smash 222 against the opposition.
Toss update:
At the toss, Iyer spoke about how the curator expects the ball to spin and hopes to carry on the momentum from the thrilling
"We are going to bowl first. Had a brief chat with the curator, she was like the ball will spin as well. (Morale) It is fantastic, everyone is in high spirits. We have to carry forward the same momentum. It is important to be in the present. My role is to play an anchor role. It's always good to have a lethal bowling line-up. It is important to stay in the present. We have to see to it that we capitalize on the start. The bowling - Anukul comes in. I am seriously confused. There are two teams given to me."
Du Plessis said they would have chosen to field first as well, but underlines that it's all about adjusting to conditions. He stated:
"The same (would have bowled first). It's a fresh wicket, looks a good wicket, you have to see how it plays in the first innings. It's important to close games early in the season. All the great crickets adapt, it's important to assess the conditions. We love the support and atmosphere. Same team."
RCB playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat(wK), Dinesh Karthik, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal.
KKR playing XI: Philip Salt(wK), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
