Highlights IPL 2018, KKR vs RCB at Kolkata, Full Cricket Score: KKR win by four wickets

Sunil Narine: It’s good to get the ball rolling in the first game. I wouldn’t see myself as opening batsmen. Whatever role the teams wants to play, I’m happy to do it. It’s a good cricket wicket, whatever you do on the field, it’s gonna benefit you.

Sunil Narine is the Man of the Match for his 51 off 17 balls and 1/30 with the ball.

Dinesh Karthik, KKR captain: It feels very good. Nice to get to a good start. When AB and Virat were playing. They are world class players, if they get going it would been very tough. We wanted the wicket and we got lucky. We just prayed to God that Narine gets going, he has been doing it for a while, very happy for him. We all play for the crowd and we love to play for this team and this fantastic crowd.

A strong all-round performance for KKR to kick-off their campaign. Following all the pre-season chatter regarding their team combination, there was pressure on KKR to prove a point. And they did it in style. For me, the over of Nitish Rana, in which he picked up ABD and Kohli, was the turning point of the match. Also, let’s not forget the efforts of Sunil Narine and Dinesh Karthik. KKR will now travel to Chennai tomorrow to take on the high-flying CSK on Tuesday.

RCB captain, Virat Kohli: I reckon were 15 short. Myself included. I played too many too balls. And also me and ABD getting out off consecutive balls didn’t help. It’s difficult for the spinners to bowl on. The fast bowlers were in the game throughout. Yes, it has become a really good wicket.

Dinesh Karthik’s last six T20 knocks:

35*(Today), 29*, 2*, 39*, 2*, 13*

KKR have now won 41 matches at home in IPL – the joint second most among all the teams.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL opening matches in last six seasons: 

Won, Won, Won, Won, Won, Won

Kolkata Knight Riders win by 4 wickets!

After 18.5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 177/6 ( Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 35 , Vinay Kumar 6)

Vinay Kumar with the winning hit. Gets the front leg out of his way to squash it down the ground to give Kolkata a win. They start their tournament with a win in front of home fans. Happy start for Karthik as a captain. Sunil Narine changed things right at the start with a blitzkrieg of an innings smashing a half-century off 17 balls. Handy controbutions from Nitish Rana and Karthik staying on till the end to see his side to a four wicket win.

DROPPED! Oh dear! Sundar has spilled a chance. Vinay Kumar slaps it straight to deep cover, Sundar had it in his control but on the impact with the ground it just seems to have pop out of his hands. Hasn’t been his day

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 168/6 ( Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 33 , Vinay Kumar 0)

Russell falls to Woakes but KKR are just eight runs away with two overs to go. It is only them who can make a hash of this. You would have to back KKR to sail through with their captain still out there.

OUT! Don’t quite know why Russell was in such a hurry to get to the target, swinging after every delivery. Gets the top edge and it is ABD in the field again, who could have so easily collided with McCullum in an ugly way. The Kiwi was running in from long on, while De Villiers came in from long off, instead of a collision there is slight nudge with De Villiers tumbling over but more importantly with the ball safely in his grasps. 

A Russell c de Villiers b Woakes 15(11)

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 162/5 ( Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 28 , Andre Russell 15)

Despite Russell swatting the short ball to mid wicket fence of a short ball, Umesh continues with the tactic. Has him some discomfort ducking and swaying out of the deliveries way. Then pitches it up and Russell doesn’t miss out on those opportunities after the four slams a six over long on.

Andre Russell’s strike rate of 173.41 in IPL – the highest for any batsman, (Min.250 balls faced)

SIX! Length ball and once Russell middled it, the ball was heading only way. Goes deep into the stands.

FOUR! Comes off the outside half of Russell’s bat, he went straight, but there is no long off in place, clears Chahal at mid off and the ball trickles into the boundary. Umesh will have to take it with a pinch of salt.

RCB bowlers are keep bowling bouncers and keep getting away. Meanwhile, two quick wickets have certainly given the visitors an outside chance here. Though KKR are still far ahead in the contest. Now it is up to Russell and Karthik to get the job done here. Kohli will definitely use Chahal against Russell. So, an interesting phase of play is coming up.

FOUR! Russell belts it to midwicket with all his might. One bounce over the ropes.

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 147/5 ( Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 28 , Andre Russell 1)

The over started with a boundary but then Woakes bounced back and conceded only two off the next five balls. A wicket and six runs off it.

OUT! Oh a wicket out of nowhere. Woakes bangs it short, Rinku tried to pull it and nicks it to the keeper. 

Rinku Singh c de Kock b Woakes 6(6)

FOUR! Crack!  Shot! Gets front foot out of the way, backs away to the leg side and swings his bat through the line. Over mid on for four! What an audacious shot by Rinku Singh. Must have surprised Woakes, surely surprised me!

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 141/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 28 , Rinku Singh 2)

Successful over for Washington Sundar, who didn’t have the best of his game day. He ends with figures of 48 off his four overs. Interesting to see Rinku Singh walk ahead of Russell.

OUT! That has hit Rana right in front of the middle stump. Rana went for wild slog and misses it completely. Umpire raises the finger …after a discussion with the skipper, he has reviewed it. He is dismissed on umpire’s call. Looked plumb to the naked eye, nevertheless relief for Bangalore. Good hand by Rana comes to an end.

Nitish Rana lbw b Washington Sundar 34(25)

SIX! Great footwork by Rana and even better region to hit a shot! Straight as an arrow. He comes down the pitch and whacks it into the sight screen.

Dinesh Karthik playing with Chahal’s temperament. Deliberately wasting time between deliveries. making Chahal wait for every delivery. Sharp practise to upset his rhythm. But umpires not aware to it.

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 131/3 ( Nitish Rana 28 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 26)

Rana doesn’t get the timing on the quicker ball by Chahal but is able to get to the other end. Karthik follows it up with two dazzling boundaries. A couple and single to finish.

Yuzvendra Chahal’s economy rate of 8.24 against KKR in IPL – the second worst for him against a team in IPL. (Min.10 overs)

FOUR! Chahal’s idea was to keep it wide of the batsmen but Karthik was ready, watches the ball till the end, meets it under his eyes and thumps the cover drive for back-to-back boundaries.

FOUR! Chahal offers width to Karthik and he cuts it in the narrow gap between point and backward point to collect four. Top shot!

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 119/3 ( Nitish Rana 27 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 15)

Khejroliya is brought back into the attack. Starts off by giving away couple of singles. Three singles of the first four balls. RCB has managed to dry up the boundaries. Khejroliya keeps targeting Karthik’s ribcage, strays couple of times and is called wide on both occasions. Karthik manages to get some bat on a rising delivery, didn’t look in control as he returns for two, but had the ball hit the stumps from fine leg it would brought an end to his innings. Seven runs come off the over.

100-up for KKR. Both Rana and Karthik are batting sensibly here. They are taking hardly any risk and getting 8-9 run comfortably in an over. Especially, young Rana has lived up to the expectations following the fruitful season with Mumbai last year.

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 112/3 ( Nitish Rana 26 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 12)

Karthik turns the strike off the first ball. Chahal’s wrong’un goes wrong as Rana leaves the wide ball alone. Drops the next ball short allowing Rana pull it deep mid wicket for a couple. Karthik not happy with the umpire after he didn’t deem a delivery wide. Was very little in to be honest. Choses the ball that was coming in to cut, ended up under edging it on his boots. Dot from Chahal to finish

Here is Yuzvendra Chahal. His three overs will decide which way the match will go.

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 107/3 ( Nitish Rana 23 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 11)

Very well executed inside out shot by Nitish Rana, he has played some exquisite strokes that have caught the eye. Doesn’t get sweeep right with the ball crashing into the back of his head. Rotates the strike with a well judged single. Dinesh Karthik takes four of the next ball and a single to keep strike of the last ball. 70 off 54 required.

FOUR! Taken on the full by Karthik. Drives it through covers to earn his first boundary. Nicely placed by the KKR captain.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 98/3 ( Nitish Rana 20 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 5)

After the boundary of the first ball, Umesh comes back strongly. Keeping it back of a length has been the trick here it seems. Only two runs in last five balls. Six off the over. At the halfway stage, KKR have their noses ahead. RCB will believe they need just a wicket with an inexperienced Rinku Singh up next followed by Andre Russell and tail.

Big season for Karthik as a batsman. Being the captain and an experienced pro, he is expected to take the bulk of the responsibility in the middle-order. Along with Russell, he has to be KKR’s designated finisher with bat in hand.

FOUR! Rana hits it on the up and goes straight. Looked for a moment that the ball would sail all the way, but because Rana had simply pushed it and not bludgeoned the ball, it fell inside. ABD was again in some action as he tried to catch after running from mid on. Well, he didn’t make it, so safe to say no one would have.

Umesh Yadav is bowling the spell of this IPL. He seems focused in cranking up the pace and none of the KKR batsmen have been comfortable facing him. Narine was backing away from the pace and bounce and played on while Uthappa was hastened to play a poor shot. KKR are not out of the woods. This match is still open

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 92/3 ( Nitish Rana 15 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 4)

Good over by Khejroliya, holding it back of a length, after singles off the first four deliveries. Khejroliya bangs in a well-directed short ball, Karthik sways out of the way. Goes short again and the leg umpire calls it wide and rightly too. Karthik taps it behind square for a brace off the final ball.

Dinesh Karthik’s scoring rate of 7.05 against Royal Challengers Bangalore – his lowest against any team in IPL. (Min.15 innings)

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 85/3 ( Nitish Rana 13 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 1)

Umesh picks up his second wicket of the match and deliveries a good over giving away only four singles. Captain Karthik comes out to the center. The fast bowler needs some support from the other end. I reckon Chahal will be brought back into the attack soon.

OUT! Umesh gets Robin Uthappa’s wicket with a short ball bowled outside off. Robbie looked to pull it to mid wicket boundary gets a top edge and McCullum gets under it and takes the skier.

Uthappa c Brendon McCullum b U Yadav 13(12)

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 81/2 ( Robin Uthappa 12 , Nitish Rana 11)

A six and a four from Rana with three other singles coming off the over gives KKR 13. Khejroliya’s first over doesn’t go as he would have liked. KKR need less than 100 with 13 overs still remaining.

Kulwant Khejroliya picked up 14 wickets at a strike rate of 15.85 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2017/18.

Ok, so Narine has done his job. Asking rate under 8 now, very much achievable in modern T20 standards, especially against the wet ball. KKR bat deep, so it is their game to lose from here.

FOUR! Rana’s hands come off as he slices it past backward point for another boundary. KKR scoring runs at rapid pace here.

SIX! Short of a length delivery that gives Rana enough time to go back and pulls it over mid-wicket.

Kulwant Khejroliya comes into the attack

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 68/2 ( Robin Uthappa 10 , Nitish Rana 0)

End of the Sunil Narine show with Umesh Yadav providing the timely breakthrough to bring RCB back in the game.

OUT! Umesh Yadav to RCB’s rescue, Narine has managed to drag a full toss back on his stumps. 
End of an outstanding innings. He was backing away little too much and had to reach out for the ball angled across only manages to get an inside edge

S Narine b U Yadav 50(19)

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 65/1 ( Sunil Narine 50 , Robin Uthappa 9)

If you have just joined us, don’t be confused with RCB v KKR game of the previous edition. As Narine has once again slammed a quickfire 50 that comprised of some brilliant strokes. Sundar receiving some harsh treatment.

Fastest fifties for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL: (By balls) 

15 – Sunil Narine v RCB, 2017

15 – Yusuf Pathan v SRH, 2014

17 – SUNIL NARINE v RCB, 2018* 

19 – Chris Lynn v GL, 2017

19 – Andre Russell v KXIP, 2015

17 balls fifty for Sunil Narine today – the joint fourth fastest fifty in IPL.

RCB haven’t figured out how to bowl to Sunil Narine. He creamed them last year and now even their new-look bowling unit is struggling to bowl a dot ball to him. Narine has been slamming sixes and fours at will to completely upset RCB’s plans. Narine’s 50 have come off a mere 17 deliveries.

Interestingly, for RCB, apart form their five front-line bowlers, there is hardly any part-time option. So, if anyone has a bad night, they don’t have much back-up option. Meanwhile, Narine is taking the game away from Kohli’s team.

FIFTY! Narine has smashed 50 off just 17 balls! He has done it again and that too agaisnt the same opponent. A single to deep mid wicket to reach to his landmark.

SIX!  Mandeep Singh takes the catch but touches the boundary ropes as he tumbles. Narine wasn’t in complete control but had enough bat on it.

SIX! Raining sixes here! Narine skips down the wicket, takes it on the full and smacks it over long off fence.

FOUR! Narine has decided he is going to go after the bowling. Comes down the wicket and slaughters this one past mid-off

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 46/1 ( Sunil Narine 33 , Robin Uthappa 8)

Twenty runs off the over! This is some unreal hitting by Sunil Narine. Woakes leaves the bowling crease quickly after the over.

SIX! Wow! Another sparkling shot this! Woakes digs it in short, it was a change of pace as well, Narine has the measure of that one, blasts it over midwicket.

Lynn’s wicket might have pegged back KKR a little bit but Narine is looking in good touch. He is enjoying the pace on the pitch and hitting through the line. KKR are off to a decent start.

FOUR! No. Not even Kohli’s despairing dive can stop the ball racing off the turf. Woakes goes full and Narine brings down his blade in such a fierce fashion that the ball speeds past Kohli at cover and beats it to the fence.

FOUR! In the aiirrr and just about clears the fielder at covers, he is standing right at the edge of the circle. Narine makes room and slaps it with a corss bat.

SIX! Narine making a case to be selected in the team only as an opener, let alone his accurate bowling. Fabulous shot over long on for another six!

Robin Uthappa is one of the two keepers to score 3000-plus runs in IPL. The other one is MS Dhoni.

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 26/1 ( Sunil Narine 13 , Robin Uthappa 8)

The six of the last ball will hurt Sundar, especially after bowling five tidy deliveries giving away only four singles it.

SIX! As easy as you like! Uthappa goes downtown and it is a clean strike for six over Sundar’s head.

Washington Sundar into the attack

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 16/1 ( Sunil Narine 11 , Robin Uthappa 0)

“I am old man these days, but still love it when the ball goes up in the air,” says ABD who is wired in on the field while talking to the commentators. He is honest about the later part of his statement, do not be fooled by the first half of it. Woakes provides RCB with an early wicket.

Brilliant catch by ABD. Lynn sliced at the cut shot. Mistimed it very badly. Only an ABD with his fleet-footedness could have got to that skied shot. Big blow for KKR. Lynn was expected to be the hard-hitting opener who’d go hard at the bowlers

OUT! Only ABD could have made the catch look so simple. Slower ball by Woakes that deceives Lynn, doesn’t get the timing but still clears the infield, ABD tracks from mid off and reaches before the ball crosses him, settles under it and grabs it. First wicket for RCB!

Chris Lynn c de Villiers b Woakes 5(8)

FOUR! Lucky! French cut to third man boundary. Lynn was eyeing the offside, gets the inside edge, Woakes must be feeling hard done there.

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 12/0 ( Sunil Narine 11 , Chris Lynn 1)

Unbelievable start to the first over of the chase. Two stunning shots by Narine. He takes a single of the next ball prodding forward with conviction and taking a single on the off side. 12 of the first over.

Sunil Narine is a big bowling disrupter. Hardly pays to bowl line deliveries  to him. Better to keep it wide of the stumps and get him to reach out to the deliveries. RCB also opening with the leg spin of Chahal, probably to keep Narain and Lyn in check when the ball was still new and hard

Chris Lynn’s strike rate in T20 cricket:

Career – 148.35
Opening the batting – 169.47

Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 70 wickets in IPL for RCB – the second most by any bowler.

SIX! Gee! What a hit! Bang! Narine sweeps it long over mid wicket. This is a phenomenal approach. 10 runs off the first two balls!

FOUR! Wowzza! No look-ins for Narine. What a start! Sunil Narine goes down on his knee and absolutely smokes it over Chahal’s head.

KKR openers Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn make their way out.

RCB captain, Virat Kohli has tossed the ball to Yuzvendra Chahal to start the innings.

Good strong finish by Mandeep here. His blitz has helped RCB to reach a fighting score. Though KKR have the fire-power to chase this down. However, for me, not bowling Russell in the death overs has been a poor decision by skipper Karthik.

Mandeep SIngh made the last over count. Vinay Kumar’s bowling was awfully poor.Ill-directed and of bad length for the first three balls. 16 runs came off the first 3 balls. Vinay pulled back to get Mandeep’s wicket. But RCB achieved the task of getting to 176. A challenging target. Something to bowl with

Kolkata Knight Riders have not lost a match while chasing against Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. They have played four and won all of them.

After 20 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 176/7 ( Washington Sundar 0 , )

After 16 off the first three balls, Vinay Kuamr manages to deliver three dot balls including two wickets of the final two balls. What a fightback by the home side especially after AB show with Kohli provided the supporting act. The over by Nitish Rana will be remembered for the ages and perhaps will be saved for trivia as well. RCB will feel they missed a chance to get to 190-200. Kohli has stressed about their depth in bowling and how this is one of their most balanced side over the years…well we will see, join us for the chase after the break.

OUT! Woakes has hit high! Very high! Takes aeons to descend but the fielder, Andre Russell, does extremely well to catch that. Woakes fall of the final ball and Vinay kumar finishes with two wickets of two balls.

c A Russell b Vinay Kumar 5(5)

OUT! Kumar keeps it wide off the off stump as Mandeep follows it and attempts to carve it over deep covers. Despite getting a good connection, he could manage it only to the fielder in the deep.

c Kuldeep Yadav b Vinay Kumar 37(18)

SIX! Short of length delivery and Mandeep pulls it away for another six! That is 16 off the first three balls!

FOUR! Vinay Kumar goes round the wicket and bowls a full toss on the pads as Mandeep takes four more. Kumar under pressure.

SIX! Mandeep starts the final over with a six over long on. Just the start they wanted.

After 19 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 160/5 ( Mandeep Singh 21 , Chris Woakes 5)

Sarfaraz walks back after scoring six off 10 balls. Chris Woakes walks in and carves a boundary on the off side. Despite the boundary RCB can collect a total of six runs off the penultimate over.

FOUR! Full ball outside off and Woakes squeezes it through backward point.

OUT! Sarfaraz’s struggle comes to an end. He aimed to clear the long on boundary, but didn’t get it from the middle of the bat giving a simple catch to Rinku Singh. Virat Kohli isn’t impressed and lets it known in the dug out.

Sarfaraz Khan c Rinku Singh b Johnson 6(10)

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 154/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 6 , Mandeep Singh 20)

Couple of really poor deliveries from Narine leaking two boundaries in the over. Sarfaraz tries the reverse sweep, which looked premeditated off the last ball, doesn’t get any bat on it and he didn’t look in good shape when he attempted it, gets a leg bye.

RCB’s finishing ability leaves a lot to be desired. Sarfaraz does not look the part as he is really struggling with Johnson’s pace. Running between wickets is also hit pretty badly. A lot depends on Mandeep. RCB would be lucky if they get to 175. At one stage they seemed destined to get to a total in excess of 200

FOUR! Another bad ball by Narine. Straying in line once again. Mandeep taking advantage of the freebies dished out to him as he tickles it down to fine leg boundary.

FOUR! Poor start to the new spell by Sunil Narine. Perhaps a losener. Halfway down the pitch on the leg stump and all Mandeep did was guide it to backward square leg fence.

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 142/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 5 , Mandeep Singh 10)

Madeep guides it to third man for a single. Johnson might have retired for international cricket but he is still express, more than what most Indian ‘fast’ bowlers could bowl during their prime. Brilliant piece of fielding by Rinku Singh in the deep after Sarfaraz’s pull looked certain to cross the boundary. Mandeep doesn’t get hold of the last ball as he cross bats it to long on fielder for one. Five runs off the over.

Only an over for Nitish Rana after taking those two wickets. Mitchell Johnson is back into the attack.

Nitish Rana became the third bowler to dismiss Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers off consecutive balls in the same over in IPL. The other two are Jacques Kallis and Thisara Perera.

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 2 , Mandeep Singh 8)

Russell causing some trouble with his raw pace. Five singles of the over before umpire points to his watch signalling the time out. Take a couple of minutes to understand what has just happened. I need to repeat… Nitish Rana got the wickets of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli of successive deliveries when the two batsmen were hammering others for fun!  Onus on Sarfaraz and Mandeep to take RCB to competitive score.

Do you agree? 

This might be a once-in-a-lifetime moment for Nitish Rana. Wickets of ABD and Kohli in successive balls.

— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) April 8, 2018

NITISH RANA take a bow. Wickets of ABD and Kohli in back to back deliveries for this part-timer. What a surprise this has been! With just five overs to go, RCB have two new batsmen at the crease. KKR are back in the game with a bang. But in the death overs, they need to be careful. I expect Kuldeep, Narine and Russell to be their front-line death bowlers here.

Meanwhile, KKR have not lost an opening match of the last five seasons.

ABD must be kicking himself for throwing away his wicket to the part-time bowling of Nitish Rana. That delivery looked like a donkey drop till ABD threw his wicket away with a skied shot. Next delivery Kohli was bowled off a straight delivery that he missed. Suddenly RCB don’t look all that comfortable. Skipper Dinesh Karthik’s gamble has paid off big time.

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 132/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 0 , Mandeep Singh 5)

I don’t know what Karthik was thinking or what Rana did there. It is dream, please tell me it is dream! This is a huge surprise. Suddenly KKR are back in it. In a space of an over the game has changed upside down. Sarfraz and Mandeep the two new men in the middle, with five overs remaining

OUT! Nitish Rana clean bowls Virat Kohli! A statement I never thought I would say! Nitish Rana is the answer most teams are looking for. he has got the wickets of AB anf Kohli off consecutive deliveries. Full delivering that ended up as a yorker that leaves Kohli befuddled in the middle of Eden Gardens. Rana is off in celebration! Wow he has done the impossible!

Kohli b Nitish Rana 31(33)

OUT! Karthik makes the world look foolish! It is captain’s masterstroke. The gamble has paid rich dividends with the wicket of ABD. AB’s slog doesn’t come off skies it high in the air and Mitchell Johnson does well to hold on to it.

SIX! Rana drops it short and ABD strikes it with disdain over mid wicket for a 80 meters six! Don’t know what is the logic behind the move.

Nitish Rana is given the ball he will start against ABD

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 121/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 31 , AB de Villiers 38)

Andre Russell makes a late appearance into the bowling attack and bowls the best a bowler can bowl to ABD, couple of full yorkers which can be only worked around for a single. Changes it up for the fourth ball by pulling the length back, Kohli pushes it for single on the onside. ABD goes for the pull as Russell drops it short misses. Single to long on to finish. Super stuff from Russell giving away only five runs of his first over.

15th 50-plus stand between Kohli and AB in IPL – the joint third most among all the pairs.

Andre Russell is brought into the attack for the first time in the 14th over of the innings.

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is providing the sell-out Eden crowd a value for their money. He is almost middling everything. 33 off 15 including 4 sixes and 1 four already for him. Virat is just enjoying the show from the other end. KKR need to find a solution quickly here. Russell is yet to bowl. May be they can try him against ABD.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 116/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 29 , AB de Villiers 35)

With the help of a six and four single, RCB take 10 more runs of the over. KKR need a wicket otherwise these two will run away with the game and set anything in excess of 200 for them to chase.

Chawla completes his spell giving away 31 runs and picking lone wicket of QdK

SIX! Fifty run partnership for Virat Kohli and ABD. Kohli comes down the track and whips it over wide long, the fielder at mid wicket tried his best to get a hand on it.

ABD’s creaming of Australian bowlers continues. He hammered them in the Test series in South Africa and is now blasting Mitchell Johnson at will, blasting fours and sixes. His 33 is off just 14 deliveries. Cricket’s Mr 360 continues to delight

Most sixes in IPL:

265 – Chris Gayle 

173 – Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma 

161 – AB de Villiers*

160 – David Warner 

159 – Virat Kohli

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 106/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 21 , AB de Villiers 33)

AB has been given out but he’s reviewed it. The ball flapped the pad and didn’t come in contact with the bat. Nothing on UltraEdge. AB smashed four and six with Johnson managing to bowl three dots in the over.

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 96/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 21 , AB de Villiers 23)

Expensive over for KKR. These two have decided to take on Narine as well.  Could be a tough period for KKR as these two are looking to blaze away, especially AB.

FOUR! High time Kohli joined the party. he launces Sunil Narine over covers and collects a boundary.

SIX! ABD is some mood. Moves around in his crease as Narine tries to follow him and De villiers gets inside the line to sweep it over square leg.

Piyush Chawla has dismissed AB de Villiers four times in IPL – the joint-most he has been dismissed by any bowler. KKR should bring back Chawla.

There is a pattern emerging in this Kohli-ABD show. Kohli seems to be wanting to bat through 20 overs while ABD is taking on the bowlers and smacking the bowlers. In between they are also running superbly between the wickets

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 82/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 14 , AB de Villiers 16)

After four singles off the first four balls, Kuldeep is treated by AB’s brilliance. Two sixes off the fifth and the sixth ball. AB pushed the third ball of the over softly to long on for one, the players did think about the second run but Kohli decides against it.

A timely wicket for the hosts. The partnership was looking threatening. Before the game, Narine’s form was a cause of concern for the KKR team management. So, it must be quite satisfactory for them to see their prime spinner finding his feat early in the competition. However, now ABD has come out to join Kohli at the crease. It seems the skipper will try to play the role of a sheet anchor whereas others will bat around him.

SIX! ABD announces his arrival! Skips down the pitch and goes straight down the ground! BANG! Two sixes in a row!

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have added 2212 runs in IPL before today – the third most by any pair.

RCB’s best pair of Kohli and AB de Villiers are at the crease. Watch out for their sharp running between the wickets and breath taking strokeplay,

SIX! Incredible shot this by AB De Villiers! Plays with so much ease. Kuldeep bowled it slightly wide and AB slices it over extra cover boundary.

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 66/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 12 , AB de Villiers 2)

Narine gets it through McCullum off the second ball after he played a vital knock of 43 off 27. AB de Villiers joins Kohli and gets off the mark with single on the offside. Kohli seems to be struggling as he misses another ball on his pads (12 off 21 balls, so far). With AB taking a single of the final ball Narine completes another good over. Three runs and a wicket off the over.

Sunil Narine now needs four wickets to become the first overseas spinner with 100 wickets in IPL history after the wicket of Brendon McCullum.

ABD is in at number four!

OUT! And Narine has his man! McCullum goes for a wild cross bat pull shot and misses it completely. The ball turns back in sharply crashing into middle and off stump.

RCB lose second wicket. Players break for strategic time out.

Brendon McCullum b Narine 43(27)

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 63/1 ( Brendon McCullum 43 , Virat Kohli (C) 11)

McCullum shows intent with couple of lusty blows. RCB looking to up the ante. Johnson concedes nine runs off his first over.

IPL should insist on bowlers wearing half-sleeve shirts. That would remove doubts about their bowling action. Sunil Naraine was called for chucking in the Pakistan Super League last month and here he is bowling to RCB batsmen as though it was business as usual. His full-sleeve shirt hides any slight illegal straightening of the  bowling arm. There are other bowlers too in IPL with questionable action.

FOUR! McCullum making up after the last over yielding only two. Shimmies down the pitch and thwacks it past mid off.

FOUR! Powerfully driven by McCullum! Johnson goes full and the Kiwi is quick to hammer it through the covers. There was sweeper in position but all he could manage is couple of paces before the ball crashed into the advertising hoardings.

Virat Kohli’s strike rate of 92.98 against Sunil Narine in IPL – his lowest against a bowler in IPL.

Mitchell Johnson comes into the attack. Will start round the wicket to McCullum.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 54/1 ( Brendon McCullum 34 , Virat Kohli (C) 11)

Superb first over by Narine. Watchful approach by Kohli and McCullum as Narine shows his variety. Should be aninteresting baatle.

Virat Kohli v Sunil Narine in IPL:

Runs – 53

Balls – 57

Dismissals – 2

S/R – 92.98

Sunil Narine introduced into the attack straightaway after the Powerplay.

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 52/1 ( Brendon McCullum 33 , Virat Kohli (C) 10)

Last over of the Powerplay, and Chawla starts well. Two dots followed by a single to point to McCullum. Single to Kohli on the fifth ball and Mccullum tonks it way back in the stands.

SIX!: Out comes McCullum on the last ball of the Powerplay over, and deposits Chawla back in the stands.

KKR using double spin at the top is a good maneuver to stem the flow of runs. McCullum likes pace on the ball at the start and spin has put a check on his rate of scoring. Later, when the ball gets softer it is not as easy to get after the bowling. RCB are going at near 9 runs an over. But with someone like McCullum opening RCB would have liked a run rate of 13 or 14 runs.

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 44/1 ( Brendon McCullum 26 , Virat Kohli (C) 9)

Yadav is bowling well here; mixing his stuff. He tossed some, bowled a googly that deceived McCullum and also varied his trajectory. KKR has done well after the expensive first over.

Piyush Chawla has dismissed Brendon McCullum four times in IPL – the joint most times a bowler has dismissed him in IPL.

Have to say, bowling wrist-spinners inside the powerplay against the likes of McCullum and Kohli, is a bold move by Karthik. But he is taking gamble just to keep the opposition guessing. Karthik knows wickets at regular intervals is the only way KKR can have a check on RCB’s run-rate.

FOUR! Yadav did beat McCullum with that googly, but the Kiwi just went through with the shot to send it sailing over in-field.

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 39/1 ( Brendon McCullum 21 , Virat Kohli (C) 9)

Another tidy over, this time from Chawla. Only six runs from it, despite a boundary from McCullum. He mixed his deliveries quite nicely in that over.

FOUR! Slightly short and some width there from Chawla, and McCullum’s fast hands place that cut in the gap.

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 28/1 ( Brendon McCullum 16 , Virat Kohli (C) 8)

Tidy start by Kuldeep Yadav, 7 from that over. Virat Kohli looks in sublime touch.

Virat Kohli’s scoring rate of 7.15 against KKR in IPL – his second lowest against a team in IPL. (Min.15 innings)

Teams have discovered the importance of using spinners at the top as a means to disrupt the batting unit. Quinton must have sweated seeing a leg spinner coming at him so soon in the match. He was pushed out of his comfort zone, lost his poise, tried something alien so early and paid for it. Double wrist spin attack to unsettle RCB.

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 21/1 ( Brendon McCullum 14 , Virat Kohli (C) 3)

Excellent comeback by KKR. Piyush Chawla with the wicket of QDK there. Virat Kohli is in.

Piyush Chawla has taken 127 wickets in IPL which is the third joint most by any bowler along with Harbhajan Singh.

OUT! Chawala gets his man, but that’s down to atrocious shot selection. Taken by Vinay Kumar.

FOUR! Piyush Chawla comes in, and floats one full and wide. Quinton de Kock drives it past covers.

Kohli has yielded the opening slot to the right-left combination of McCullum, a powerful striker, and left handed Quiton de Kock, another free stroking batsman. RCB have good depth in batting now, with Kohli, A to follow.BD, Woakes, Sarfaraz.  KKR might bring their spinners quicker than expected

After 1 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 14/0 ( Brendon McCullum 14 , Quinton de Kock (W) 0)

Excellent first over for RCB. McCullum has set the ball rolling with a 14-run over. Vinay Kumar has been taken to cleaners.

Players to score 9000-plus runs in T20 cricket:

Chris Gayle 
BRENDON MCCULLUM*

FOUR! Full on McCullum’s legs again, and he takes full toll.

SIX! Short goes Vinay Kumar and McCullum with the pull. Top edges it but it just kept going!

Vinay Kumar’s economy rate of 8.30 in IPL is the worst for a bowler with a cut-off 100 wickets in IPL.

Brendon McCullum’s batting average of 27.00 at Kolkata in IPL – his second lowest average at a venue in IPL. (Min. five innings)

FOUR! Vinay Kumar starts the proceedings for KKR and delivers a half volley on Brendon McCullum’s pads. First boundary.

First game for Dinesh Karthik as an IPL captain. AB de Villiers rings the bell at Eden, and out walk the umpires.

Interestingly, KKR have opted for Mitchell Johnson ahead of Tom Curran, who is an active international cricketer. Curran recently had a decent tour of New Zealand with the England side, whereas Johnson had an inconsistent show in the last BBL. Probably, the KKR team management backing his experience. However, eyes will be their spin-trio, especially the wrist-spinners. Furthermore, the selection of Rinku Singh ahead of someone like Shubman Gill has also raised quite a few eyebrows.

Defending a target is tough at the Eden Gardens. KKR won the crucial toss and opted to field. So that puts pressure straight away on RCB. But they have the batsmen to set a really challenging target. Terrific ambiance for a season openr for both teams. Early season nerves needs to be handled ASAP.

Eden Gardens looks full, and the ionic stadium has some star power in the stands. Shahrukh Khan is in the house!

It’s not just a new season, but also a new-look RCB team. The bowling unit has been totally refurbished while the batting, barring the two dynamic duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers is also vastly different. RCB performed miserably last season as skipper Kohli was ruled out due to injury in some matches. But he is now back rested and raring to go. He, ABD and Yuzi, the stars of the old RCB have been  joined by McCullum, Woakes, Washington Sundar, et al. There is much more balance and class in the side..

Virat Kohli and Robin Uthappa, both are playing their 150th IPL match today.

KKR v RCB at Kolkata in IPL:

Matches – 8
KKR won – 5
RCB won – 3

IPL 2018: Virat Kohli’s RCB face new-look KKR at Eden Gardens, eager to put bitter memories of last edition behind- Firstcricket News, Firstpost

https://www.firstpost.com

Big game this, both teams teeming with star power. Before the action gets underway, here’s our primer on RCB: https://bit.ly/2JuXptW

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI:

Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav

Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock(w), Brendon McCullum, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, Kulwant Khejroliya, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

KKR’s overseas players

Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Mitchell Johnson.

RCB’s overseas players
 

Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Chris Woakes.

Head to Head in IPL:

Matches – 20
KKR won – 11
RCB won – 9

TOSS TIME! Dinesh Karthik has called it right and Kolkata Knight Riders will bowl first. Fasten your seat belts, folks.

A high-profile season opener for the new-look KKR side under the leadership of a new skipper. In-front of a sell-out Eden crowd, they would be eager to start on a high note. The Eden wicket is true and both teams have strong batting line-ups. So expect a high-scoring contest here. It has been a hot and humid day in Kolkata. hence, expect dew to play a crucial role. Batting second is the obvious choice for both captains.

RCB squad:

Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Quinton de Kock, Mohammed Siraj, Colin de Grandhomme, Corey Anderson, M Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Pavan Deshpande, Anirudha Joshi.

Here is the KKR squad: What do you think will be their playing XI?

Dinesh Karthik (c), Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi and Tom Curran.

Kolkata Knight Riders have won their opening matches in the last 6 editions. Can the Dinesh Karthik-led side keep up the tempo? 

#Knights will aim to make it 6⃣ in a row tonight. 😉#KKRHaiTaiyaar #KKRvRCB #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/3J6ldQcbMj

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 8, 2018

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the third match of Indian Premier League 2018, with Kolkata Knight Riders — led by Dinesh Karthik — hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.