Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen were merry at M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL 2023 match on Wednesday. Fiery shots from Jason Roy, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh helped KKR to a huge total of 200/5 in 20 overs. While the batters had a smooth outing, the same cannot be said of RCB stars Mohammed Siraj (4-0-33-1) and Harshal Patel (4-0-44-0). While they were expensive with the ball, they were also poor in their field efforts. First, Siraj dropped KKR captain Nitish Rana, who was batting on 5, in the 13th over by Vijaykumar Vyshak. Then Rana got another reprieve as he was dropped by Harshal in the 15th over Siraj.
The duo was heavily tolerated for the missed opportunities.
when you realize that both siraj and hard-hearted sitters have literally fallen pic.twitter.com/LBcZ17T0D8
— Aman (@captainKohli___) April 26, 2023
Prof Siraj on his way to the academy headquarters with Harshal Patel #RCBvsKKR #KKRvsRCB #CricketTwitter #Cricket #IPL2023 #TATAIPL2023 pic.twitter.com/6lSBEiF0rA
— Vaughan Field Academy (@Vaughan_Academy) April 26, 2023
Jason Roy led the show with a fiery fifty as Kolkata Knight Riders got their mojo back and recorded a fighting 200 for five against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL on Wednesday. After dropping to eighth on the trot after four losses, KKR finally got in the act with Roy setting the pace up front as he broke five sixes and four boundaries en route to his 29-ball 56 as he and Narayan Jagadeesan (27; 29b) gave KKR their best start ever – 83 runs off 56 balls.
Harshal Patel plz retire man
You left Nitish Rana’s catch and conceded 2 sixes from himPlease leave our team man#RCBvsKKR #KKRvsRCB#HarshalPatel
— kohlibhakt (@Pavancool06J) April 26, 2023
KKR’s batting came on either side of Sri Lankan legspin sensation Hasaranga’s two great bowling spells as he returned with 4-0-24-2 causing plenty of flutters.
First, his stingy spell after the power play initiated Vyshak’s double blow as he sacked Jagadeesan and Roy.
But Nitish Rana then made sure they didn’t lose momentum, as he made full use of his two delays – on five and 19 – to race to his 21-ball 48 (3×4, 4×6).
KKR’s new hero Rinku Singh (18 not out; 10b) then took the lead as he hit two fours and a six to ensure they reached the 200 mark.
David Wiese hit two sixes to make an unbeaten 12.
Roy showed KKR how it’s done in the power play and worked his way to a 22-ball fifty, his second in a row to give KKR their best start ever this season.
The Englishman showed his intent against players like RCB new ball bowlers and Mohammed Siraj and David Willey and unleashed his fury when left arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed was introduced in the last over of the power play.
Roy smoked him for four sixes in five balls on a run of 25 as KKR cruised to their highest power play score this season with 66 without a loss.
But credit to willy Lankan spinner Hasaranga for a tidy game after the power play, conceding just two runs to put the pressure on the duo.
Vyshak and Harshal Patel also tightened the noose when the boundaries suddenly dried up and it was all the more obvious for the duo.
Jagadeesan struggled to get big hits and was reeled in by a Vyshak bouncer while Roy got a peach of a delivery from the uncapped Indian who got a perfect leg stump Yorker to clean the Englishman around his stump.
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