Cricket Highlights, 6 April: IPL 2023 (Match 9) – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Match 9) – Highlights

In the ninth game of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Bengaluru was defeated by Kolkata by an enormous score of 81 runs on Thursday (April 6). The first team to bat, Kolkata Knight Riders, amassed a massive 204 runs while losing 7 wickets. In response, the team of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli was dismissed for 123 runs in 17.4 overs. This was Bengaluru’s first defeat in the IPL this season.

In Mohali for the opening game, they lost to the host Punjab team. But the second game saw Kolkata Knight Riders triumph for the first time at home. In this match, Shardul Thakur was a standout at both bowling and batting. In essence, this bowler used the bat to deliver the first storm to the Bengaluru bowlers. Then he showed his caliber while holding the ball. For his outstanding performance, Shardul Thakur won the award for Man of the Match.  

After winning the toss, Bangalore Captain Faf du Plessis made the decision to field and Invited Kolkata skipper Nitish Rana to bat. As soon as Kolkata was given the opportunity to bat, they lost three wickets. Mandeep Singh scored 0 runs, Nitish Rana was out for 1 run, and Venkatesh Iyer scored 3 runs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghan opener, was making a storm at the other end though. He batted stormily, scoring 57 runs on 44 balls. He hit 6 boundaries and 3 sixes. Rinku Singh was also destructive in the middle order. He batted for 46 runs on 33 balls in his innings. He had two boundaries and three sixes. However, Andre Russell entered the game and made a golden duck.

The most storm was started by Shardul Tagore. He batted 68 runs off 29 balls in tremendous, turbulent innings. He hit 3 sixes and 9 boundaries together. Umesh was also undefeated with six runs. In the end, KKR scored 204 runs while suffering 7 wicket losses and 23 runs extra.

For Bangalore, David Willey and Kran Sharma each claimed two wickets. Harshal Patel, Michael Bracewell, and Mohammad Siraj each claimed one wicket.

In response, Kolkata’s spinners attacked Bangalore’s hitters. 44 runs were made in the opening pair by Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. Bengaluru had an opportunity, but it was lost when Sunil Narine bowled Kohli in the fifth over of the game. For 21 off 18 balls, Kohli was dismissed.

Then Du Plessis was dismissed by Varun Chakaravarthy in the following over. The Protea batter scored 23 runs off 12 balls, including 2 sixes and 2 fours. After that, Maxwell, Harshal Patel, or Shahbaz Ahmed didn’t help Michael Bracewell after he attempted to take charge of the game. They are directed to the dressing room by Varun and Narin. Bracewell also departed the crease after scoring 19 runs off 18 balls.

In the end, Suyash Sharma’s spin prevailed over Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, and Karn Sharma. Akash Deep eventually played brief, stormy innings of 17 runs off of 8 balls, but it was ineffective. After scoring 20 runs off 20 balls, David Willey showed some resiliency against the Bengal bowlers. Bangalore’s innings were so over after scoring 123 runs.

In 3.4 overs, Varun took 4 wickets for only 15 runs. Suyash claimed three wickets, while Narine claimed two. When there were three spinners on the field, pacer Shardul only took one wicket.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Scoreboard

Kolkata Knight Riders – 204/7 (20.0)

Royal Challengers Bangalore – 123/10 (17.4)  

Result – Kolkata Knight Riders won by 81 runs 

Player of the match – Shardul Thakur  

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing XIs