KOLSCORERS: Roy, Rana, Varun help KKR end four-match losing streak

BENGALURU: Kolkata Knight Riders snapped a four-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League 2023 with a 21-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.

Invited to bat first, Kolkata put 200 for five on the board, riding on fine knocks from opener Jason Roy (56 off 29 balls, 4 fours, 5 sixes) and skipper Nitish Rana (48 off 21 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes). KKR then restricted RCB to 179 for eight in the second essay, thanks to match-winning spells from spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3/27) and Andre Russell (2/29).

Kolkata, which has now secured six points from eight matches, moved to seventh on the table while Bangalore is fifth with eight points from as many games.

In the first innings, Roy led the show with a fiery fifty as Kolkata got its mojo back to notch a fighting 200 for five on a good batting surface. In the company of Narayan Jagadeesan, who never got going during his 29-ball 27, Roy gave Knight Riders its best start of the season with an 83-run partnership.

Roy showed KKR how it is done in the powerplay, blazing his way to a 22-ball fifty, his second in a row. The Englishman showed his intent against the likes of Mohammed Siraj and David Willey and unleashed his fury when left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed was introduced in the last over of the powerplay. Roy smoked him for four sixes in five balls in a 25-run over as KKR cruised to its highest powerplay score of IPL 2023 – 66/0.

Bangalore leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga delivered two terrific spells as he returned figures of 4-0-24-2. His miserly spell after the powerplay gave the impetus for Vijaykumar Vyshak’s (2/41) double blow – Jagadeesan and Roy were the victims.

But, Rana then ensured that the tourist did not lose momentum, making full use of his two reprieves – on five and 19 – to race to 48. KKR’s new-found hero Rinku Singh (18 not out off 10 balls) then took charge as he smashed two fours and a six to take the team close to the 200-run mark. David Wiese smacked two sixes to make an unbeaten 12.

In the chase, opener Virat Kohli (54 off 37 balls, 6 fours) and Mahipal Lomror (34 off 18 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) kept the home team in the hunt, adding 55 runs for the fourth wicket after RCB stood at 58 for three in the sixth over. But, none of the other batters could make a positive impact as Varun, Russell and rookie leg-spinner Suyash Sharma (2/30) shared seven wickets between them. While Russell removed Kohli and Hasaranga, Varun accounted for Glenn Maxwell (5), Lomror and Dinesh Karthik (22).

BRIEF SCORES: Kolkata Knight Riders 200/5 in 20 overs (J Roy 56, N Rana 48) bt Royal Challengers Bangalore 179/8 in 20 overs (V Kohli 54, Varun 3/27)