IPL 2018: Sunil Narine's all-round brilliance helps Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore

Ajit Vijaykumar 22:53 08/04/2018
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  • Sunil Narine took 1-30 and hit a fifty. Image: BCCI.

    Kolkata Knight Riders made the perfect start to life under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik as they defeated a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore outfit by four wickets at the Eden Gardens on Sunday night.

    Bangalore batted first and made 176-7, thanks mainly to a fine 44 off 23 balls from AB de Villiers who hit five sixes. Brendon McCullum had started things off for the Royal Challengers but Knight Riders’ spinners kept the hosts in the match.

    Then in the chase, Sunil Narine blazed 50 runs off just 19 balls to go with his 1-30 to ensure a winning start for the Knight Riders.

    Here are the talking points from Kolkata’s win in the IPL on Sunday.

    McCULLUM TEES OFF

    Kiwi legend Brendon McCullum might not be as consistent as he once was but he is still good enough to punish anything less than the absolute best. In the very first over bowled by Vinay Kumar, McCullum deposited three ‘nothing balls’ from the seamer for two fours and a six. That got the ball rolling as McCullum reached 43 off 27 balls.

    SPINNERS PULL THINGS BACK

    The Kolkata spinners were brilliant, keeping heavy hitters in McCullum and Virat Kohli relatively quiet. McCullum had trouble reading both Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla. Kohli could only manage 31 off 33 balls. Narine rattled the stump of McCullum before off-spinner Nitish Rana got the wickets of a dangerous looking De Villiers (44) and Kohli off successive deliveries. At 127-4 in the 15th over, the wind had been knocked out of Bangalore’s sails.

    NARINE BRILLIANT WITH THE BAT AS WELL

    West Indies spinner Narine’s bowling action was reported during the PSL. But not only did he put that behind him to bowl a superb spell of 1-30, he led the Kolkata charge in his now familiar role as opener by cracking 50 off 19 balls. His knock included four boundaries and five sixes. The Knight Riders, who were worried about the form and fitness of Narine and Andre Russell, now must be smiling from ear to ear.

    CAPTAIN KARTHIK KEEPS HIS COOL

    A tricky chase at home against Virat Kohli’s team is not an easy assignment first up. When Kolkata lost half their side at 146 chasing 178, the match could have gone either way. But Karthik was still there. After his heroics in the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka, DK looks a different man and he was there until the end as Kolkata won by four wickets.

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