Kohli’s 83 takes Bengaluru past 180 against Kolkata

CHENNAI: Virat Kohli’s 83 runs and a few significant contributions from Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik took Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 182 for six in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru.

Kolkata won the toss and asked Bengaluru to bat first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Harshit Rana, the hero of Kolkata’s previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad gave his side a breakthrough when he sent Bengaluru’s captain Faf du Plessis back for eight. However, that did not stop Kohli from going after Kolkata bowlers as he smashed Mitchell Starc for a six and a boundary the very next over. Kohli found a reliable partner in Green as the pair added 65 runs for the second wicket. The Australian made his intention clear when he welcomed Sunil Narine, playing his 500th T20, with 14 runs in an over.

Looking at the building partnership, Shreyas Iyer gave the ball to Andre Russell, who repaid the faith shown by his captain with the wicket of Green for 33. Kohli remained an immovable object in all of this and brought up his second half-century of the season off 36 balls. Maxwell, who replaced Green at the crease rode some luck to score 28 off 19, as he was dropped twice by Kolkata fielders.

Rajat Patidar and Anuj Rawat did not last long for the home team, but Kartik made the most of his time in the middle once again to score 20 off just eight balls to take Kolkata past 180. Kohli, meanwhile, was clinical in hitting and scored the bulk of the runs for his side, including four fours and four sixes. For Kolkata, Russell and Rana took two wickets each, while Mitchell Starc went wicketless for the second time in a row.

Brief score Royal Challengers Bengaluru 182/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 83, Cameron Green 33; Andre Russell 2/29) vs KKR