 "Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting superstar Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 83 off 59 balls, bringing up his second consecutive half-century in the process. AP")
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra noted out an interesting point after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets in the IPL on Friday. Chasing 183, KKR took the aggressive route with Phil Salt (30 from 20 balls) and Sunil Narine (47 off 22 balls) forged an 86-run stand for the first wicket, with 85 of those runs coming in the powerplay itself.
That was followed by a 30-ball fifty from Venkatesh Iyer that eventually helped KKR seal the victory. “When Sunil Narine opens, the template is absolutely clear - ‘Either I or you will not remain’. He plays in that fashion, tries to hit sixes. Everyone knows that you need to repeatedly bowl bouncers and yorkers, but if you don’t get success in that, just like Bengaluru didn’t get in the first six overs, he takes the match far away from your grasp,” Aakash said on his YouTube channel.
“Phil Salt was also there with him. Phil Salt hit 18 runs in the first over itself. He was brilliant. Just to put things in context, the opposing team bowled well but Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs. Whether it was Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj or Yash Dayal, everyone was hit a lot,” added the 46-year-old.
Chopra also credited KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir for backing Sunil Narine as an opener despite failing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). “I feel Gautam has given them a lot of confidence. Sunil Narine opening has Gautam Gambhir’s imprint. Andre Russell bowling at the death also has a little imprint of Gautam Gambhir. He is empowering them slightly and the same can be said about Venkatesh Iyer. He has been empowered to hit fours and sixes,” continued Chopra.
KKR are second in the points table with two wins in as many matches (Four points). They next play Delhi Capitals (DC) in Vizag on Wednesday.