IPL 2023, RCB vs KKR: After one-man shows, a multi-starrer

Par score too much for RCB

For a while, it seemed as if Nitish Rana’s presence in the middle was working more for the opposition than his own team, judging by the number of times RCB fielders refused to take the chances he offered. But from a time the innings seemed to be going nowhere, the KKR skipper finally came to life with a flurry of boundaries. His innings of 48 off just 21 balls was just the shot of adrenaline the team needed, and though Rana and Venkatesh Iyer got out in the same over and Andre Russell continued his disappointing season, a few big hits from Rinku Singh and David Wiese took them to 200.

Back to winning ways, the @KKRiders 💜@RCBTweets came close to the target but it’s #KKR who clinch a 21-run win in Bengaluru 👏🏻👏🏻

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/o8MipjFKT1 #TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/VIUY9EzXMA

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023

But that score was no more than par for the course in Bengaluru, and KKR needed regular wickets to stay in the game as they knew RCB would keep coming. Three wickets inside the Powerplay – including those of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell – gave them a foothold. But with Virat Kohli still in the middle, the home team felt they were in with more than a shout. And with Mahipal Lomror finally pulling his weight, they were always up with the required run rate.

Kohli looked intent on taking his team home. His fifty came off 33 balls but soon after Lomror departed, the prize wicket came courtesy a stunning catch on the boundary by Iyer as Andre Russell returned for his second over.

Spin has been the go-to option for KKR for a long time, and was so again on Wednesday, but they needed something from their pacers, especially given that Sunil Narine is not the bowler he was in his prime. But luckily for KKR, the other bowlers made up for the West Indian’s dismal day. Russell (2/29) came to the party when the team needed him. Given that he isn’t getting many runs, it could turn around his season as he contributed in some way to the team’s success.

ICYMI!

6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣.6️⃣

When Jason Roy went berserk in the powerplay 🔥🔥

WATCH 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR https://t.co/V0GjgY8HuQ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023

Roy fires opening salvo

In a team where most players have either seen better days or still to reach their peak, Jason Roy is one player who can inspire Kolkata Knight Riders to turn around their campaign. A 50-over World Cup winner with England, he is the batsman with the best pedigree in the line-up. He forced a couple of boundaries in the first over bowled by Mohammed Siraj, RCB’s prime threat in the Powerplay, but the shot that really caught the eye was a nonchalant flick for six off compatriot David Willey.

But that was just the beginning. After surviving a few anxious moments against Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and just as concerns started to surface that they were going too slowly for the high-scoring venue that is the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Roy roared with four sixes in the last over of the Powerplay bowled by left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, the first one no more than a check-drive that landed beyond the long-on boundary.

Half-century for @JasonRoy20 🔥🔥

He’s playing a blinder knock at the moment in Bengaluru!

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/o8MipjFd3t #TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/5Ir8ZBN2Gt

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023

Even as opening partner Narayan Jagadeesan consumed deliveries, slowing the momentum when it needed to be maintained from both ends, Roy took just 22 balls to reach a second successive fifty. Jagadeesan tried his best to hit out or get out, but it seemed RCB preferred to have him out in the middle. His torturous knock of 27 off 29 balls finally ended with a catch on the boundary, and KKR may have been the happier side at the wicket which fell with the team score at 83 and brought in the in-form Iyer. Why wasn’t he sent to open the batting is anybody’s guess.

But the slowdown and frustration had already taken its toll as Vijaykumar Vyshak got his second wicket of the over when Roy walked too far across his stumps and saw his leg-stump being hit by a pinpoint yorker. It seemed that with the Englishman’s dismissal, the air also went out of the KKR balloon for a while.

No fear

There’s something about Suyash Sharma, everyone who has seen him this IPL season would agree. And it begins with his big heart, being unfazed regardless of the task assigned to him. So, with 30 smashed in the first two overs, and Kohli and du Plessis making the target seem like 25 runs too few, the leg-spinner was called upon and got the South African immediately.

Wicket number 2⃣ for Suyash Sharma & @KKRiders 👌🏻👌🏻

Shahbaz departs for 2.

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/o8MipjFKT1 #TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/CPOfoSCgzK

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023

He got Ahmed in his next over, even as the scoreboard kept rollicking. A look at the bowling figures will suggest Varun Chakravarthy (3/27) was the better bowler on the day, but two of his wickets came off rank long hops. It was Suyash who kept KKR in the game when they were under the pump.

With long hair and a bandana, he exudes attitude and fearlessness. He has a good googly and his figures of 2/30 were worth the weight in gold. His RCB counterpart Wanindu Hasaranga returned figures of 2/24, but it was Suyash who had the lasting impact, as the designated Impact Player.