Hello and welcome to Sportstar 's live blog of Friday's Indian Premier League clash between between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens.
You can follow our 2019 IPL complete coverage here.
◘ Andre Russell (66 off 25b, 2x4, 9x6) and Nitish Rana 85 not out (9x4, 5x6) almost dragged KKR over the line by adding 119 runs off just 48 balls for the fifth wicket, but RCB bowlers held their nerve to win the match by 10-runs. Earlier, Virat Kohli's 100 off 58 balls (9x4, 6x4) and Moeen Ali's 66 off 28 balls (5x4, 6x6) propelled RCB to a huge total of 213/4 in 20 Overs.
◘ Run-out! Russell is run-out by Virat Kohli off the penultimate ball. Nitish Rana hits the final ball for a six but it is not enough.
◘ DOT! A fuller length ball and Russells swings and misses. Now it will impossible for KKR to win with 17 needed off 2 balls.
◘ SIX! Who can stop this man! Moeen Ali bowls a fuller-length and Russell smacks it straight.
◘ Russell back on strike after Moeen Ali bowls a dot and then gives away a single.
◘ SIX! Another one in the slot and its too easy for Russell as the ball disappears into the sight screen. KKR needs 24 runs off the final over.
◘ SIX! Russell swats a flat six over the square leg boundary after anticipating another short ball from Stoinis. He hits another six over the bowler's head to bring up his fifty in 21 balls - the second fastest in this edition of IPL.
◘ Three dots in a row! Stoinis mixes it up to bowl two dot balls to Russell. He bowls another bouncer as Russell ducks under it.
◘ FOUR! Rana is playing a blinder here. He hits Steyn over the deep-extra cover for a one-bounce four. KKR needs 43 off the last 2 overs.
◘ SIX! Steyn bowls a half-volley, Rana gets down on one knee and smacks it over long-off for a six. He hits Steyn over the head of the bowler off the fourth ball. KKR needs 47 runs in 14 balls.
◘ Mohammed Siraj breathes easy as he bowls two slow balls to give a single to Russell. KKR needs 61 runs off 18 balls.
◘ RUSSELL GOES FOR IT AGAIN! Mohammed Siraj bowls outside offstump and Russell hits it for a four over backward point and then smacks it over the cover for a massive six. Siraj comes under pressure and bowls a wide.
◘ Missed run-out! Nitish Rana scampers for a single to bring Andre Russell on the strike. Dale Steyn throws at the batsmen's end but Mohammed Siraj gets a hand to it. The ball misses the stumps by a big margin.
◘ FIFTY FOR RANA! He's absolutely smashed that. He hits a four and two sixes off Navdeep Saini to bring up his fifty and a fifty partnership with Andre Russell in 26 balls. KKR needs 76 off 24 balls.
◘ BOOM! RCB under pressure now! Russell smacks Yuzvendra Chahal for three sixes in a row. Is this another nightmare in the making for RCB's bowlers?
◘ RUSSELL PUT DOWN! Saini bowls a short ball to Russell and the Windies all-rounder gets a top-edge over long-leg. Pawan Negi and Klassen go for it but neither of them is able to get it. Kohli is clearly flustered.
◘ FOUR! The required run rate is 17.41, but that is none of Russell's concern. He cuts Saini to a four over backward point.
◘ Andre Russell is in to bat next! Will he be able to turn the tables like he did in the previous match against RCB. KKR needs 120 runs off 42 balls.
◘ GONE! Robin Uthappa tries to hit Stoinis over mid-wicket, but is unable to control his shot and Pawan Negi takes an easy catch. KKR 79/4 in 12 Overs.
◘ Another one put down! Yuzvendra Chahal, fielding at third-man, runs in to take the catch of Nitish Rana off Marcus Stoinis. The batsmen run two in the meanwhile.
◘ What a chance! Robin Uthappa sends back Nitish Rana as Parthiv Patel sprints to square leg to get the ball and throws to Yuzvendra Chahal at the bowler's end. However, he lets the ball slip from his grasp in what should have been an easy run-out and Rana makes his ground. KKR 72/3 in 11 Overs.
◘ Time-Out! Another good over by Stoinis gives away just two singles. KKR needs boundaries as the required run rate climbs up to 15.27. KKR 46/3 in 9 Overs.
◘ Nitish Rana asks for a single but Heinrich Klassen at backward point is off in a flash. Rana is sent back and gives up, but Klassen's throws misses the stumps narrowly. KKR 44/3 in 8.2 Overs.
◘ SUPERB CATCH BY KOHLI! Shubman Gill tries to hit it over the offside but finds Kohli on the edge of the circle. There was never a question of the RCB skipper putting it down, he spills it on the first attempt but keeps an eye on the ball and holds on with his left hand. KKR 33/3 in 5 Overs.
◘ SAINI STRIKES! Navdeep Saini bangs it short and Narine is unable to get a clean hit. The top-edge flies to the keeper. Parthiv Patel takes two steps back and takes a comfortable catch. KKR 24/2 in 3.5 Overs.
◘ Narine goes big! The left-hander has taken up the responsibility after Lynn's early dismissal. He hits three boundaries off Steyn's second over. KKR 23/1 in 3 Overs.
◘ OUT! Steyn is successful in the second attempt. Lynn is unable to clear the inner circle and is caught by Kohli at mid-off on the final ball of the first over. KKR 6/1 in 1 Over.
◘ DROPPED! Dale Steyn's swinging delivery gets a thick edge off Chris Lynn. But Marcus Stoinis at he first slip drops it. What a start it would have been for RCB.
================================================================
◘ The early impetus for a huge score was given by Moeen Ali who blazed away to a 28-ball 66 which included 26 runs off Kuldeep Yadav's 16th over. Virat Kohli shited gears only the way he can as RCB scored 93 off the final five overs.
◘ HUNDRED FOR VIRAT KOHLI! Fifth IPL ton for the RCB captain. He rolls his wrists off the penultimate ball of the innings and Kuldeep Yadav is unable to stop it on the square-leg boundary. He overtakes David Warner in the centuries list to second, one behind Chris Gayle who has six centuries. He goes for the big shot on the last ball is caught at deep-midwicket. RCB 213/4 in 20 Overs.
◘ A fuller-length delivery on the offstump and Kohli nudges away on the offside for a single. Gurney bowls short on the next two balls and Stoinis hits it for a four and six. RCB 209/3 in 19.4 Overs.
◘ 6,4,2,1 off Prasidh Krishna Kohli moves to 95. Dinesh Karthik shuffles his field a bit too much, but it only results in Stoinis hitting Prasidh for a four over deep-extra cover.
◘ Kohli on song! The RCB skipper hits Harry Gurney for two boundaries and a huge six over the mid-wicket. A hundred looks surely on the cards with him in this kind of touch. RCB 168/3 in 17 Overs.
◘ 4,6,4,6,WD,6,WICKET!27 runs from the over and wicket! Ali goes for the big shot over the bowler's head on the last ball, but Prasidh Krishna at long-on takes a comfortable catch. RCB 149/2 in 16 Overs .
◘ FIFTY FOR ALI! Ali has taken Kuldeep Yadav to the cleaners. He hits a boundary over extra-cover, then a six over the mid-wicket to bring up his fifty. It does not stop there as he hits him for a four and two sixes.
◘ FIFTY FOR KOHLI! Kohli scampers for a single inside the circle to bring up his third IPL fifty of the season in 40 balls. Just like in his earlier over, Prasidh Krishna manages to get a top-edge off Kohli, but Piyush Chawla at third man is not the quickest fielder on the ground and lets it run away for a four. Moeen Alli gets an another top-edge, but to Prasidh's frustration, it runs away for a four. RCB 122/2 in 15 Overs.
◘ Ali and Kohli are keeping the run rate up with a boundary in each over and running singles. He hits Kuldeep Yadav for a third six and then cuts him for a boundary over the thirdman. Kuldeep's strays his line once again with a ball pitching wide of the offstump and Ali takes a single to bring up the 50-run partnership between him and Kohli in 31 balls. RCB 110/2 in 14 Overs.
◘ Brilliant stop by Russell! Virat Kohli hits it down the ground, but Russell gets down quickly to stop it and throws it at the stumps. Kohli makes a comeback on the next ball, as he hits Russell for a six over the mid-wicket. Ten off the over. Ultra Edge seems to have picked up an outside-edge off Moeen Ali, but Dinesh Karthik does not even appeal for a catch. Missed a wicket there! RCB 79/2 in 11 Overs.
◘ Kuldeep Yadav is able to trouble to Moeen Ali with his turn after being hit for a six off the first ball, but Kohli looks comfortable against his Indian teammate. RCB 70/2 in 10 Overs.
◘ GONE! Andre Russell strikes at the right moment. His short-pitch delivery skids off the surface and gets a top-edge from Akshdeep Nath. Russell calls for a return catch, but Robin Uthappa reaches out to latch on to the catch. RCB 60/2 in 9 Overs.
◘ Kohli hits Kuldeep Yadav for two boundaries in the seventh over. Akshdeep Nath has provided some able support with a run-a-ball 12. RCB 57/1 in 8 Overs.
◘ Andre Russell in the attack! He manages to surprise Kohli with extra-bounce, but bowls a loose ball on the pads and Kohli guides to to the fine-leg boundary. RCB 47/1 in 7 Overs.
◘ SIX! Akshdeep picks up Prasidh Krishna's length ball and smacks it over the mid-wicket for the first maximum of the match. Virat Kohli gets lucky as he tries to drive on the leg-side but manages to get an outside edge. However, there is no third man in place and the ball runs away to a boundary. RCB 42/1 in 6 Overs.
◘ Gurney goes over the wicket to bowl to the new batsman Akshdeep Nath and angles it wide off his pads. The Englisman almost manages to get an outside of Kohli off the final ball. RCB 30/1 in 5 Overs.
◘ OUT! Parthiv skies Sunil Narine's turning delivery, Nitish Rana at deep-midwicket keeps his eyes on the ball, fumbles and then manages to hold on to it. RCB 18/1 in 3.2 Overs
◘ Oh boy! Prasidh Krishna in the attack and Parthiv Patel picks the ball off is pads towards fine leg. Narine tries his best to stop the boundary but it rolls away to hit the rope. Prasidh bowls a bouncer to Kohli, who hooks it away for a single towards midwicket. Parthiv reaches out to the next one, another short ball, and cuts it to the boundary over the point fielder. RCB 17/0 in 3 Overs.
◘ KKR asks for a review! Sunil Narine bowls on the middle stump and it spins to hit Virat Kohli on the pads. Umpire Ian Gould says Not Out, but Dinesh Karthik wants a review. Hawkeye shows that the ball is missing the leg stump by a mile and the umpire's decision stays.
◘ First runs off the bat. Parthiv Patel nudges Harry Gurney towards deep square leg for a single. Virat Kohli takes another single to get off the mark. RCB 3/0 in 1 Over.
The bell is rung and the players are on the field. English pacer Harry Gurney gets ready to bowl the first ball.
Teams:
Team news: KKR going in with the same XI while RCB has two changes with an unwell AB de Villiers missing out and Klaasen replacing him. Dale Steyn is back in RCB colours after nine years.
Dinesh Karthik wins the toss and Kolkata Knight Riders opts to field.
Pitch report: Graeme Smith says the track would be a lively one and expect good new ball bowling and great hitting.
Russell with one pad on and hitting balls around, is definitely great news for host KKR. Toss in five minutes.
Just before the toss, how about a quick video review of the KKR vs RCB clash, by Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya.
Coming into the match, Andre Russell's fitness would be a concern as KKR looks to change its fortune after three successive losses. The Windies all-rounder too missed the practice session on the eve of the match. Stay tuned to this space with the toss not far away.
There has been a lot of debate on Indian players' IPL workload with the 2019 World Cup beginning just two weeks after the IPL. However, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik feels that the players are professional enough to take care of themselves. Read the full report here | Workload management is more off the field, says Dinesh Karthik
According to Simon Katich, it is finally time for Dinesh Karthik and Kolkata Knight Riders to lift the IPL trophy for the third time after winning it in 2012 and 2014. KKR's batting coach is also not concerned about Karthik's as the team's top-order is doing its job. Read the full report | It’s time for Dinesh Karthik to lift the IPL trophy, says Simon Katich
After being top of the table ten days ago, Kolkata Knight Riders has slipped to sixth in the table after losing three matches in a row. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore has been at the bottom of the table with a solitary win from eight matches and has nothing to lose when it takes to the pitch at the Eden Gardens. Read the preview by Y.B. Sarangi | Kolkata looks to reverse three-match losing streak
Teams:
Dinesh Karthik (C) (WK), Carlos Brathwaite, K.C. Cariappa, Piyush Chawla, Joe Denly, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Matthew Kelly, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Lynn, Shrikant Mundhe, Nikhil Naik, Sunil Narine, Prasidh Krishna, Prithvi Raj, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Robin Uthappa, Sandeep Warrier.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli (C), Akshdeep Nath, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Shimron Hetmyer, Himmat Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Heinrich Klaasen, Milind Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel (WK), Prayas Ray Barman, Navdeep Saini, Tim Southee, Dale Steyn, Marcus Stoinis, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav.
Match starts at 8pm (IST).
( The match will be streamed live on Hotstar )
Comments
SHARE