KKR batting might too much for de Villiers-less RCB
Virat Kohli steered his side to 175 in Bengaluru, but the KKR top order fired collectively to win with five balls to spare
Virat Kohli steered his side to 175 in Bengaluru, but the KKR top order fired collectively to win with five balls to spare
Commentator: Vishal Dikshit
12.20am That's it from us here at ESPNcricinfo, it's past midnight and I can see my bed already. KKR will sleep well tonight, placed fourth with a positive NRR and RCB are now down to seventh place, same points as Mumbai and Daredevils. Lots can still happen, for now it's good night and good luck on this Sunday night from Vishal and Varun. Ciao!
DK: Always feels better to win first. Nothing too special about where we are, nothing bad about being in the middle of the table, we need to use some momentum from here. I thought it was a par sore, they batted really well and we knew Virat was the big wicket we needed in AB's absence. He came all guns blazing. I beleive we need to have a strong core and trust them. I've felt that you need to trust the players that are part of the XI. They're great kids (Mavi and Gill) and they're learning, they have good thigns to talk, lots of credit to Rahul as well, they have good things to say about him.
Lynn is the Man of the Match: I've had to grind out some runs this season. Definitely got to use the sweep in this part of the world especially against spin bowling. Whatever scenario comes, I'm going to play it by the ear. The body is getting there, been a tough schedule and I'm chipping away. I was about to get rid of it (moustache) yesterday but decided to keep it.
Rohit: "If vettori was working for a normal private form, he would have been fired till now. One just can't keep getting the team selection, scouting, and actual playing XI combination wrong match after match."
Anil: "Not good team selection by RCB today.. With the slow nature of pitch today which was evident. They should have played Moeen Ali for grandhomme "
Ishan Jain: "Being a fan of Kohli, it's so sad to see him always ending up on losing even after strong batting statements. His reaction after taking that excellent catch said it all. "
12.04am So KKR are back to winning ways after conceding too many the other day against Delhi Daredevils. Runs coming from the top order, middle order looking good even though Russell fell for a golden duck today. RCB, well. They were without AB today but they will also know 175 won't be a good score on this small ground on most days with their bowling attack
Kohli: The pitch is bringing out surprises everytime we play here. 175 was a really good score, we were thingking of 165 at one stage after those wickets, so 10 was a bonus. If we look back, we didn't deserve to win. I don't think we're trying hard enough, we need to be hard on ourselves. All 11 of us need to come together and bring that excitement on the field. We don't deserve to win if we field like that. We can't afford to field like that and let singles go to boundaries. We were just not good enough tonight. I can't pin point anything right now, we need to win six out of seven to qualify from here. We need to be in that mindset to take every match as as virtual semi-final from now. There's no room for lapses, complacency or hesitation. We need our guys stepping up and hopefully the guys can put up a better show.
Narine: We set the platform and the guys finished it off pretty good. Losing a game (to Daredevils) doesn't make you a bad team. If you play good cricket, you can come back on top. You put in a performance and come back to winning ways. We back everyone and continue to go from strength to strength
Two very similar chases so far today. Royals needed 50 off 30 balls, and managed just two boundaries at the death with the settled Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. KKR are on their way to hunting down a similar equation with five boundaries off 24 balls, despite losing Rana and Russell.
KD Karthik c Kohli b Mohammed Siraj 23 (10b 2x4 1x6) SR: 230
One shot away now
The opening batsman had a vastly different approach to his innings but still made it work
Virat Kohli steered his side to 175 in Bengaluru, but the KKR top order fired collectively to win with five balls to spare
Royal Challengers' bowlers caused discomfort and created chances early in their defence of 175, but they had nothing to show for it in the end
Sunday's home defeat to KKR has left Royal Challengers Bangalore with just four points at the halfway mark of the league stage
Bowling at the death has always been an issue for the IPL's perennial bridesmaids, but this season they have outdone even themselves