RCB vs KKR, IPL 2023: Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash destroys RCB’s chase again, wins by 21 runs

36th Match, IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders 200 for 5 (Roy 56, Rana 48) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 179 for 8 (Kohli 54, Varun Chakravarthy 3-27) by 21 runs

The Kolkata Knight Riders finally put on a cohesive team performance after eight games. They were the better team on the field as well as with the bat and the ball, and they only got their third win of the season. They beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for the second time this season, which was the perfect way to start the second half of the league stage.

Jason Roy, KKR’s new opener, laid the groundwork for their 200-run victory by hitting 56 off 29 balls. Nitish Rana made 48 off 21 to keep the momentum going through the middle overs, and David Wiese and Rinku Singh (18 off 10) completed the scoring.

But while Virat Kohli was out there, RCB was on the chase. He scored 54 off 37 to keep them on course. However, regular wickets taken by Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, and Andre Russell kept them at bay, and RCB eventually ran out of steam and finished 21 runs behind.

Suyash, Varun Chakravarthy pull it back for KKR

To begin the chase, Kohli and Faf du Plessis crushed Vaibhav Arora and Umesh Yadav by 30 runs in two overs, forcing Rana to use spin in the third over. He went with Suyash Sharma, his least experienced spinner, over Varun and Sunil Narine, which paid off with du Plessis holing out to long on the second ball.

While Kohli continued to score on the boundary, he was unable to score on the powerplay because Glenn Maxwell missed Varun and Shahbaz Ahmed fell to Suyash from behind. Kohli and Mahipal Lomror stabilized the chase by running hard and taking on Sunil Narine with RCB three down in the powerplay.

Rana then went back to Varun, who caught Lomror deep. In the 13th over, Kohli was superbly caught by Venkatesh Iyer diving to his left at deep midwicket, giving KKR a clear advantage. The excusals of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dinesh Karthik in about four balls guaranteed RCB had not a chance back and Kohli, who was remaining in as skipper for du Plessis by and by, said they had “gifted” the triumph to KKR.

Rana makes RCB pay

Kohli’s blistering post-game remarks were to a great extent in light of RCB’s handling. They scored a tough caught-and-bowled chance against Roy, but Rana’s two reprieves ultimately cost RCB. As per ESPNcricinfo’s Karma List the two drops, by Mohammed Siraj in the thirteenth over and Harshal Patel in the fifteenth, cost RCB a sum of 29 runs.

Rana had his first opportunity when he was on 5 of 5 deliveries, and his second opportunity was when he was on 19 of 12. He scored 48 points from 21 balls. Rana’s innings included three fours and four sixes and it permitted KKR to wrest the force after lazy innings from N Jagadeesan and Venkatesh.

Roy sets Knight Riders up

However, KKR’s night was established by Roy’s innings. KKR finally got off to a strong start, and it was all Roy, after struggling all season to score runs from their first partnership. He drove them to 66 for 0 in the powerplay with four sixes in the fifth over from left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed.

Therefore, KKR had a foundation on which to build, and this time Rana and the others ensured that it was not wasted, despite the fact that Vijaykumar Vyshak dismissed N Jagadeesan and Roy simultaneously.