At the end of the final over, Kolkata’s unbelievable victory against Bangalore. In a thrilling match that saw sixteen sixes, the team from West Bengal clinched victory by one run. Despite the drama, Bangalore couldn’t solve the equation, even with two balls left. The anticipation for a Kohli-led victory increased once more.
On Sunday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders faced Bangalore Royal Challengers. Losing the toss, Kolkata batted first, losing six wickets for 222 runs at the welcome.
By the end of the 20th over, Bangalore scored 221 runs before being all out. This marked their sixth loss in a row.
With a target of 223 runs set by Kolkata, Bangalore needed 21 runs in the last over. Despite Kohli Sharma hitting three sixes in the first four balls, when 3 runs were needed off the last 2 balls, Karn brought it back with a return catch. There was still a chance in the last ball, but Lockie Ferguson’s double took down Fergusson. Thus, Bangalore’s heartbreak.
Kolkata received a thunderous welcome with Phil Salt’s bat on the home ground. By the second ball of the fifth over, 56 runs were on the scoreboard for the welcome. Despite playing 15 balls, Narine scored only 10 runs. Raghvanshi was out on the last ball of the power play (3).
Despite a good start, Venkatesh Iyer couldn’t continue. He scored 16 runs off 8 balls. However, captain Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship, partnering with Rinku Singh (24) to add 29 runs off 27 balls. He further added 40 runs with Andre Russell in the next 27 balls. Taking the score to 36 runs off 50 balls before being out.
But then came the storm. In a partnership, Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh took 43 runs in 16 balls. Ramandeep scored an unbeaten 24 runs off 9 balls, while Russell remained undefeated with 27 runs off 20 balls.
With a big target to chase, Virat Kohli tried to lead the charge. He scored 18 runs off 7 balls before falling victim to a run-out. Captain Faf du Plessis managed only 7 runs. Wheeling back to bat were Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar. They added 102 runs in 48 balls at the third wicket.
Russell broke the partnership by dismissing Jacks. Jacks scored 55 runs off 32 balls. In the same over, Russell sent Patidar back too. He scored 52 runs off 23 balls. Sunil Narine took Sunil Narine and Mahipal Lomror for 4 runs each in 27 balls.
At 17.2 overs, with 187 runs, Suyash Prabhudessai was dismissed by Harshit Ranam. He scored 24 runs off 18 balls. At this point, Bangalore needed 36 runs off 16 balls. Even though wickets fell under pressure, Dinesh Karthik hoped. In the last ball of the 19th over, he scored 25 runs off 18 balls. Bangalore still needed 21 runs.
For Kolkata, Andre Russell took 3 wickets in 3 overs, conceding 25 runs. Sunil Narine took 2 wickets in 4 overs, giving away 34 runs. Harshit Ranam also took 2 wickets, giving away 33 runs.
