IPL 2020: Mohammed Siraj's fiery spell helps RCB clinch comfortable eight-wicket win over KKR

Abu Dhabi: Pacer Mohammed Siraj’s fiery opening spell, accentuated by two rare wicket-maiden overs, set up Royal Challengers Bangalore’s dominant eight-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. Siraj virtually killed the contest, running through the KKR top order in a stunning display of swing bowling. He ended with enviable figures of 4-2-8-3 and in the process emerged as the first bowler in the history of IPL to bowl two wicket- maiden overs. After Siraj’s furious display, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/15) stymied KKR’s revival hopes as RCB restricted them to their second-lowest total of 84 for eight. [caption id=“attachment_8938951” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] RCB’s Mohammed Siraj returned with sensational figures of 4-2-8-3 against KKR and was adjudged the Man of the Match. Sportzpics[/caption] In reply, RCB completed the formalities in 13.3 overs, securing their seventh win from 10 matches and moved up a place to second in the table with 14 points. RCB lost their opener Aaron Finch (16) after the powerplay overs with Lockie Ferguson striking in his first over. Devdutt Padikkal too got run out in the same over. But skipper Virat Kohli (18 not out) and Gurkeerat Singh (21 not out) ensured that there were no more hiccups. They sealed the win with 39 balls to spare. RCB had secured a massive 82-run over KKR win in the first match between the two sides. It was a forgettable day for KKR who capped a slew of dubious records that included registering the lowest score in a 20-over IPL inning without a team getting bowled out. It was the first time that a team played four maiden overs in a T20 innings. They also scored their lowest powerplay score of 17/4. It was KKR’s second-lowest total after their 67 all-out against Mumbai Indians in 2008. Playing without Windies star players Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, KKR struggled to get going after electing to bat and it was all over for them after skipper Eoin Morgan was dismissed by Washington Sundar for 30. It was a masterstroke from skipper Virat Kohli to include Siraj in place of spinner Shahbaz Nadeem keeping in mind a fresh strip. Siraj began with a double-wicket maiden over in which he dismissed opener Rahul Tripathi (1) and Nitish Rana (0) off successive deliveries. He followed it up with another wicket-maiden over, getting rid of Tom Banton (10) in the process. His figures read an astonishing 2-1-0-3 at that time. Tripathi nicked one straight back to AB de Villiers behind the stumps and in the next ball, Siraj ran through the gates of Rana for a golden duck. In his next over, he accounted for hard-hitting English batsman Tom Banton (10) with a scrambled seam delivery to cap the best ever opening two overs in the IPL. In between, Navdeep Saini (1/23 from three overs) dismissed the in-form opener Shubman Gill (1) after the young opener mistimed a pull to be caught by Chris Morris as KKR looked in shambles with 14/4 inside four overs. KKR had their most-experienced batsmen in Morgan and Karthik in the middle. But Chahal exposed the latter’s woes against leg-spin bowling as he trapped him lbw following a successful review.