Royal Challengers Bangalore made hash of a routine chase to slump to morale-shattering defeat against a determined Kolkata Knight Riders here on Sunday.
Chasing a gettable 132 on a lively Eden Gardens wicket, the beleaguered Royal Challengers Bangalore dished out another forgettable batting display, folding up for a dismal 49 in just 9.4 overs.
The Royal Challengers’ chase appeared doomed from the very start when skipper Virat Kohli departed off the third ball for a golden duck, chasing a wide delivery from Nathan Coulter-Nile (3/21) and offering Manish Pandey a routine catch at second slip.
Mandeep Singh, who has played all the matches for the Challengers in this edition, then joined Kohli in the dug-out five balls later, slashing straight into the hands of Manish Pandey at point. It was then left to the trusted duo of A B de Villiers and Chris Gayle to carry them home.
Those hopes too vanished in thin air when de Villiers tried to pull Coulter-Nile and top-edged straight to wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa. And when Chris Gayle walked back to the hut in the seventh over after holding out to Coulter-Nile at mid-off, it was all over for the Challengers.
None of the batsmen showed any stomach for a fight and kept returning back to the hut that made for sorry viewing. Such was the magnitude of the defeat, a disappointed Virat Kohli called it probably the worst batting performance in the history of IPL. The shocking display by the RCB batsmen completely erased a splendid performance from their bowlers. Earlier though, Yuzvendra Chahal (3/16) produced a good performance to raise hopes of a RCB victory. Asking KKR to bat first after a 30-minute stoppage due to rain, Kohli was left ruing his decision as Sunil Narine went berserk in the opening over itself. Laying siege to his West Indies team-mate Samuel Badree, Narine played some stunning shots, smacking three boundaries and a six to raise 18 runs in just the first over.
Runs then came at a breakneck speed with Narine unleashing some audacious shots while Gautam Gambhir mixed caution with aggression to leave RCB totally shell-shocked. Although Gambhir perished against the run of play, KKR brought up their fifty in just 3.5 overs — the fastest a team had done in this IPL. Things then started to change from the sixth over when Stuart Binny had the free-stroking Narine (34, 17b, 6x4, 1x6) caught at deep-square leg. From therein wickets fell in quick succession with leg-spinner Chahal leading the charge for the Challengers.
After Badree had sent back Robin Uthappa, Chahal dismissed Yusuf Pathan with a smart piece of bowling and then removed the dangerous Manish Pandey and Colin de Grandhomme to leave KKR reeling at 94/6.
With the wind completely knocked off their sails, KKR couldn't stage a recovery before being bowled out a disappointing score (131). However, their bowlers roared in unison to deliver the hammer blow on RCB.
Published 23 April 2017, 18:42 IST