What a match! What a thriller! Kolkata Knight Riders have prevailed by just one run in a game that ebbed and flowed throughout 40 overs and the home team sneaked through the finishing line after Mitchell Starc came back well to bowl the last two deliveries, taking Karn's wicket and conceding just one run off the final delivery.
21 runs off the final over with no Dinesh Karthik and everyone thought that the match was done? But Karn Sharma had other ideas as the left-hander smashed three sixes in the first four balls from Mitchell Starc to keep RCB in the game. However, Starc struck back.
Suyash Prabhudessai started well but just struggled towards the end and was eventually dismissed by Harshit Rana.
RCB has suddenly gone from 137/2 to 155/6 losing wickets in clumps as both Mahipal Lomror and Cameron Green have gotten out in the same over.
Andre Russell has broken the game open with wickets of both the set batters in the same over. Will Jacks handed a straight catch to the long-on fielder before Rajat Patidar mistimed to the point fielder as Russell broke the colossal 102-run partnership.
Varun Chakravarthy dismissed RCB skipper Faf du Plessis soon after Virat Kohli's wicket as RCB lost two big ones in the same over.
Virat Kohli was absolutely miffed and furious with the umpiring decision as the delivery which looked like a possible no-ball was given out as a high full toss from Harshit Rana was lobbed up off the batter's bat and the bowler took it. The third umpire on replay suggested that it would have been under the waist had Kohli been in the crease. Kohli was fuming, in the umpire's face as not just him, even Faf du Plessis was not happy with the call.
Andre Russell and Ramandeep's finish has handed KKR a few more runs than they anticipated in the last two overs to end up with a good score of 222 runs.
Cameron Green has capped off a brilliant day in the field with a stunning catch and a couple of wickets. Green bowled a full-length delivery to Shreyas Iyer, who played it straight but RCB skipper Faf du Plessis ran quickly to cover the distance and take a good catch as KKR lose their sixth wicket.
Captain Shreyas Iyer has slammed the first fifty of the season for Kolkata Knight Riders. With KKR losing four wickets for 41 runs, Iyer had to mix caution with aggression has done a decent job to score his first fifty of the season.
Lockie Ferguson has bowled well in his last two overs and now has foxed Rinku Singh with a knuckle ball as he has handed a straight catch to the short fine-leg fielder.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have continued to chip at wickets as they have now taken 4/41 since the assault from Phil Salt, which seems a long ago now. Cameron Green continues to shine in green kit for RCB as after taking a sensational grab at mid-wicket, he has sent back Venkatesh Iyer as KKR need someone to hold one end up.
Cameron Green has just help RCB gain a huge advantage helping Yash Dayal get his second wicket of the over with a stunner at mid-wicket. Only Green could have taken that catch as he used his height to the fullest to leap high and take a stunner as KKR have gone from 56/0 to 75/3. Can RCB make a comeback?
RCB's bowling came with a plan for Sunil Narine and even though a bit late, they were able to execute it as Yash Dayal got his first wicket and the Men in Green got both the openers in quick succession.
Mohammed Siraj, who came back into RCB's XI, was on the money from the start against KKR, got the big fish Phil Salt, immediately after his 28-run assault against Ferguson. RCB have gotten the big breakthrough.
6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4 - Phil Salt smashed RCB pacer Lockie Ferguson for 28 runs in an over as KKR got off to yet another sensational start in the powerplay.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Himanshu Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Phil Salt and Sunil Narine are out for Kolkata Knight Riders and will be keen to give their side another good start against an underconfident RCB side.
Dinesh Karthik becomes only the third cricketer in IPL history to play 250 matches after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. While both Dhoni and Rohit have played for just two franchises each, Karthik has played for six teams in the IPL.
Phil Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana
Playing XI: Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj
Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Faf du Plessis called it right at the toss and decided to field despite the overhead conditions in Kolkata. Du Plessis said that the heat factor was taken into consideration but given that Eden Gardens is a chasing ground, he mentioned that conserving energy will be key before coming in to bat later on.
61m on one side and 66m on the other side with the straight boundaries being 73m, Eden Gardens does have one short side for the KKR vs RCB. Most of the pitch looked even and flat apart from one patch where the spinners generally get their balls to land as the grass has been shaved off completely. The pitch will be dry but the heat could have a say in what the captain winning the toss would want to do.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will sport the green kit as part of the 'Go Green' initiative where they play one match wearing green instead of their traditional red jersey. This is the first time in 11 instances that the green game will take place outside Bengaluru (when the tournament has taken place in India).
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have landed themselves in a rather unwanted yet familiar position of wanting to win every game in the 2024 edition of the IPL. This time, the run has started at the halfway mark with the side losing six of the seven matches already and would want to turn a corner on Sunday, April 21 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Welcome to our live coverage of Match No.36 between KKR and RCB from Eden Gardens.
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