The action returned in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with Kolkata Knight Riders hosting the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the iconic Eden Gardens. Kolkata are coming off a loss against Punjab by just 7 runs via the DLS method. At the same time, Bangalore are coming into the game against the backdrop of a handsome eight-wicket win over Mumbai in the first game.
The Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to bowl first in a ground known to help the opening bowlers. Knight Riders kept losing regular wickets as they were reduced to 89/5 within 11.3 overs. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a half-century anchoring the innings from one end. He scored 57 off 44 before being removed by Karn Sharma.
Varun Chakravarty returned with a 4-wicket haul for KKR
The innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders remained a three-man effort. Rinku Singh scored 46 off 33, but Shardul Thakur, popularly dubbed the ‘Lord’, remained the hero with the willow for Kolkata, scoring 68 off just 29. Kolkata closed out at 204/7 in their quota of 20 overs.
For the visitors, David Wiley remained the pick of the bowlers returning with figures of 2/16 in his four overs with an exceptional economy rate of 4.00. Karn Sharma also returned with two wickets in the game, conceding just 26 runs in their three overs. Harshal Patel, Michael Bracewell and Mohammad Siraj returned with one wicket each.
In reply, Bangalore kept losing regular wickets and were ultimately bundled out for 123 in 17.4 overs. Varun Chakravarty returned with exceptional figures of 4/15 within 3.4 overs, while the debutant Suyash Sharma picked up 3/30 in his four overs. Sunil Narine cleaned up two while Thakur returned with one to wrap up a great all-round display.
Next, in the Indian Premier League, the KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants will clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Sunrisers suffered a heavy loss at their home ground at the hands of the Rajasthan side. On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants will come into the match against the backdrop of a 12-run loss to Chennai Super Kings in their second game of the 2023 season.
Here’s how fans reacted to KKR’s win:
KKR won by 82 runs as a tribute to Virat's 82 vs Pakistan ?????
— Bakri Player (@cric_nerd2) April 6, 2023
KKR Cake today pic.twitter.com/b51FOPSYw6
— Harsh (@186Harsh) April 6, 2023
So now it's proved SRK>>chapri king
— samrat (@45isEmotion) April 6, 2023
RCB fans trolled SRH after losing 72 runs and 4 days later RCB lost by 81 runs.. pic.twitter.com/tAvdY742xl
— Munna? (@Satish__37) April 6, 2023
— chokli (@Thalastan7) April 6, 2023
Thought rcb gonna win ipl after beating mumbai ????????? pic.twitter.com/5q09WGCwDn
— Vignesh PEREZ OUT?? (@ViniciusJrERA) April 6, 2023
SRK and Kohli at presentation ceremony pic.twitter.com/qO8Gfasr86
— Prashant Paleja (@caprashant1) April 6, 2023
— CrickHub (@Crickhub07) April 6, 2023
