Virat Kohli 83 in vain as Kolkata beat Bengaluru to end IPL 2024 home streak
Star batter Virat Kohli’s masterful 83-run knock went in vain as Kolkata rode on the batting heroics of Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer to hammer Bengaluru by seven wickets in the IPL 2024 clash at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
With this thumping win in Bengaluru, Kolkata became the first away side to win a game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Kolkata have maintained their dominance against Bengaluru, securing sixth consecutive victory at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium since 2016. Before this, Bengaluru held a 4-2 winning record against Kolkata at home between 2008 and 2015. But the tables have turned in the past eight years as Kolkata have been formidable, winning five out of their last six matches against Bengaluru.
Chasing 183 for the second successive win, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine gave Kolkata a flying start as the star duo added 86 runs for the first wicket. Salt and Narine also helped Kolkata post 85 for 0–their second-biggest Powerplay score– in IPL history. Left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar removed Narine for 47 and Vijaykumar Vyshak dismissed Salt for 30 to give Bengaluru some breathing space. However, Venkatesh Iyer then joined hands with captain Shreyas Iyer to forge a 75-run stand for the third wicket. Venkatesh Iyer slammed a 30-ball 50 while Shreyas Iyer with 39 took his side home and stayed unbeaten in the end.
Bengaluru’s bowling was well below par with their usual standard. The home team bowled too many loose balls and gave away freebies to the opposition batters. Vijaykumar Vyshak and Mayank Dagar were the pick of the bowlers, but the rest of the attack took a real beating at the hands of Kolkata batters. Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, and Alzarri Joseph all went for over 11 runs in the over and the home side failed to defend their score. With this loss, they also broke the record of the home side winning all their matches so far in the competition. Bengaluru will go back to the drawing board and hope to prepare well before their next game.
KOHLI, KARTHIK LIFT BENGALURU TO 182
Earlier, Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 83-run knock lifted Bengaluru to a competitive total of 182 for six against Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match on Friday. Kohli, who scored 83 runs off 59 balls with four boundaries and four sixes, alongside Cameron Green (33 off 21 balls), shared a crucial 65-run partnership for the second wicket, steering RCB’s innings. Dinesh Karthik’s late cameo of 20 runs, including three sixes, bolstered RCB’s total in the final overs. After being invited to bat, Bengaluru lost skipper Faf du Plessis early as Harshit Rana struck after getting hit for a six. After du Plessis’s dismissal, Kohli and Green joined hands to keep RCB on track, reaching 61 for 1 during the PowerPlay. Kohli played an array of shots, including drives, lofts over covers, sweeps, and slog-sweeps, to score his 52nd IPL fifty. Kohli’s flick off Starc for a six stood out as the shot of the night, reflecting his constant quest to innovate and dominate bowlers.
However, Andre Russell broke the promising partnership as Green’s attempt to pull him ended with the ball crashing onto his stumps. Despite being dropped twice, Glenn Maxwell managed to score 28 runs off 19 balls before falling victim to Sunil Narine, caught by Rinku Singh at deep point after a 42-run stand with Kohli. Rajat Patidar, struggling with confidence following the Test series against England, failed to make an impact, managing only 3 runs off 4 balls. Meanwhile, Kohli continued his onslaught even as KKR bowlers effectively slowed down the pace of the game with their pace-off strategy.