IPL 2020 | RCB vs KKR: Slick Siraj wrecks Kolkata into submission

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 84/8 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 30; Mohammed Siraj 3-8, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-15)

lost to

Royal Challengers Bangalore 85/2 in 13.3 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 25, Gurkeerat Mann 21*; Lockie Ferguson 1-17) by eight wickets.

Mohammed Siraj emerged from out of the syllabus to make a mockery of Kolkata Knight Rider's top-order, finishing with incredible figures of 3 for 8, to eventually restrict them to a paltry 84/8. Royal Challengers Bangalore hunted down the target without breaking a sweat and pinged up to second in the standings, furthering their ambitions of getting two cracks at sealing the ticket for the Indian Premier League 2020's grand finale. 

Siraj grabs opportunity with both hands

KKR doled Tom Banton another chance to realise his potential alongside making room for the velocity of Prasidh Krishna. It was the first occasion since April 2012 that KKR took the field without their cornerstones Andre Russell or Sunil Narine. RCB hedged their bets on Mohammed Siraj at the expense of utility cricketer Shahbaz Ahmed. The rest is history. 

Siraj the spearhead in pinning KKR to rout

Siraj certainly woke up on the right side of the bed today, becoming the first bowler in the league's history to bowl two wicket maidens. It was glitzy slam-bang cricket in progression, although the lengths he produced gave the impression that he might be plying his trade in white flannels. Rahul Tripathi nicked behind fishing outside the off-stump while a banana inswinger concocted Nitish Rana's golden duck. Yet to spare a run, the man of the moment induced an edge from Banton after Navdeep Saini hustled Shubman Gill on the pull.

RCB keep their foot on the opposition's throat

Yuzvendra Chahal jumped on the bandwagon, ensnaring Dinesh Karthik plumb with an astute googly. The leggie's ruse to trap Pat Cummins deserves special mention. He put the kibosh on easy getaways with a stringent middle-stump line before serving a wide donkey-drop to beguile the all-rounder into a miscued hoick. Eoin Morgan waged a lone war for his 30 but post his departure off Washington Sundar, the limited batting credentials in KKR's tail saw them terminate at an exigent total, safeguarding which was as difficult as nailing jelly to a tree.

KKR fail to strike when the iron was hot

Early incisions were the need of the hour if KKR stood any remote chance of plucking off the heist. But Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch are no sitting ducks. The duo peddled caution with aggression to navigate RCB to a boisterous 44 for none as the PowerPlay drew to a close. Though Morgan deciding against chucking Lockie Ferguson into the attack early left many with a furrowed brow.

The openers biting the dust in quick succession extended the men in maroon a puncher's chance, albeit Virat Kohli and Gurkeerat Singh Mann joined forces to make light work of the remainder. The emphatic fashion in which the latter milked the cherry will please head coach Mike Hesson, who's been on the lookout for some solidity in the middle-order to render AB de Villiers a tad of breathing space.

The record books witness a hint of disruption

4 - Maidens bowled by RCB, the most in an IPL innings

2 - Maidens bowled by Siraj, the most by a single bowler in an IPL match

84 - The lowest total batting first for a team that weren't bowled out.

15 - Most overs taken for a team to score 50 runs, beating the 13.1 taken by KXIP against CSK in Durban, 2009.

Next on the agenda...

KKR have a meeting arranged with a franchise at the other end of the spectrum, Delhi Capitals on Saturday afternoon at Abu Dhabi. Whereas, RCB salivate at the prospect of locking horns with stragglers Chennai Super Kings exactly a day later.

Powered by Froala Editor