END OF OVER:
20 | 4 Runs | KKR: 112/9 (83 runs required, RR: 5.60)

  • Prasidh Krishna2 (3b)
  • Varun Chakravarthy7 (10b)
  • Isuru Udana2-0-19-1
  • Chris Morris4-0-17-2

That is it from us tonight. Virat Kohli said it. We were all witness to a genius at work tonight. AB de Villiers transcended everything today, and ruined what looked like a nicely set-up game of T20 in challenging conditions. It was crazy, and it was delightful. Do join us tomorrow, but we can't promise this level of batting everyday

AB de Villiers, the Man of the Match: "I am very happy with my performance. That's all I can say. I got a duck last game, that is a terrible feeling. I am very happy that I contributed. I surprised myself today to be honest. We were headed towards 140-150, and I thought I might try for 160-165, but I was surprised we reached 195. The margins are very small when Cummins and Russell are running in, and you need to use every bit of energy in you to keep the momentum going. I felt that energy in the bus already. Keeping is a different skill. I am working really really hard so that I am up to the mark. I want to be the best that there is."

Virat Kohli: "It is a tremendous win against a very strong side. Heading into a busy week for us, it was important to start off well. The bowling unit looks that much more potent with Chris Morris coming back. We were very happy with the total. This pitch was drier. And the day was pleasant so we thought there would be no dew. Barring one superhuman, every batsman struggled on the pitch. The talk was around getting 165, but we got 195 you know exactly why. It was unbelievable. I thought I had a few balls under my belt, and I might start striking. He just came in and struck the third ball, and said he felt good. I said you might see a lot of people do what is done in other games, but only AB can did what he did. It was a fabulous knock. We were looking at 160-165, and it was only thanks to his genius we got to 195. I was happy we could string together a partnership, and mine was the best seat to watch from."

Dinesh Karthik: "AB is a world-class player. He is hard to stop. He was the difference between the two teams. We tried everything. The only ball was the perfect inswinging yorker. Anything else was going. We need to sit down. There are a few things we need to do better. Even if we had restricted them to 175, there are a few things we need to do better the batting. Let's be honest. Every captain ahs a day when things don't go right. But there are a lot of good days I can remember as well, and I will want to stick on to them."

And Karthik did have a bad night at the wheel. Banton replacing a spinner and disturbing an opening combination made little sense. They needed an extra bowler. And then the absolute lack of intent from openers Gill and Banton was glaring. Gill will have to do some to live up to his reputation where people are already expecting him to be the next KKR captain. I have no doubts about him in the longer formats, but his intent in T20 worries me

**

That ends a dominant night for RCB. We have been really fortunate to watch one of those out-of-this-world innings by AB de Villiers that blew KKR, who had reason to be optimistic until then. The rest of the players scored 233 runs in 34.3 overs. That is a struggle at nearly a run a ball, but de Villiers smoked 73 off 33. Having said that, credit to RCB management. They were clear in their minds what they wanted to do, they read the pitch right at the toss, they read it right when it slowed down when they were batting, and they had a bowling attack to defend the total. Even without AB's sensational batting, I think RCB would have made KKR work hard if the target was even 165

19.6
1
Udana to Prasidh Krishna, 1 run, full, on off, dug out for a single
19.5
0
Udana to Prasidh Krishna, no run, slower legcutter, well outside off, pushed to point
19.4
1
Udana to Varun, 1 run, slower ball, short of a length, punched to point
19.3
1
Udana to Prasidh Krishna, 1 run, on-pace yorker, on off, dug out well

Abhishek: "Inclusion of Morris seems to have filled that gap RCB had in their bowling lineup. One of the top T20 allrounders. "

19.2
1
Udana to Varun, 1 run, slower legcutter again, half-volley, driven to long-on for one
19.1
0
Udana to Varun, no run, slower legcutter, full and straight, hits the pad, but not given lbw. Might be sliding down

Last over, last wicket. Krishna joins Varun. Udana to close out. Round the wicket

END OF OVER:
19 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | KKR: 108/9 (87 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 5.68, RRR: 87.00)

  • Varun Chakravarthy5 (7b)
  • Chris Morris4-0-17-2
  • Navdeep Saini3-0-17-1
18.6
W
Morris to Nagarkoti, OUT, timber. Nagarkoti looks for the big swing to an on-pace full ball, but it tails back in to take the inside edge onto the wicket

KL Nagarkoti b Morris 4 (7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 57.14

18.5
1
Morris to Varun, 1 run, slower ball, on a length, outside off, pushed into the off side for one

Vishal Pal: "Soft signal was out to finish this quickly"

18.4
1
Morris to Nagarkoti, 1 run, yorker, down the leg side, runs off the inside edge for one
18.3
1
Morris to Varun, 1 run, full, just outside off, pushed to extra cover for one
18.2
1
Morris to Nagarkoti, 1 run, slower ball, looks like a high full toss, but it dips on him, and gives him a single off the bottom edge
18.1
0
Morris to Nagarkoti, no run, yorker, middle and leg, can't do much with that

END OF OVER:
18 | 5 Runs | KKR: 104/8 (91 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 5.77, RRR: 45.50)

  • Varun Chakravarthy3 (5b)
  • Kamlesh Nagarkoti2 (3b)
  • Navdeep Saini3-0-17-1
  • Mohammed Siraj3-0-24-1

From S Rajesh: "First instance in IPL history that three of the top-four batsmen facing 12+ balls at SR of under 70"

17.6
0
Saini to Varun, no run, Kohli dives to his left at short midwicket, but collects this on the half-volley. Or so it seemed originally. The umpires have gone upstairs, and their soft signal is out. It is not quite a half-volley, but the ball has touched the ground before Kohli completes the catch. That explains Kohli's unenthusiastic reaction. Not sure why the umpires went with a soft signal of out
17.5
2
Saini to Varun, 2 runs, short of a length, outside off, punched past point
17.5
1w
Saini to Varun, 1 wide, short ball, quite quick, but a wide down the leg side
17.4
0
Saini to Varun, no run, low full toss, nearly a yorker, dug out to short midwicket
17.3
1
Saini to Nagarkoti, 1 run, low full toss, clipped off the toes

Amit: "Why am I still watching this match?"

17.2
1
Saini to Varun, 1 run, short of a length, on top off, pushed wide of point
17.1
0
Saini to Varun, no run, short of a length, quick, at him. Defended

Saini is back now

END OF OVER:
17 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | KKR: 99/8 (96 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 5.82, RRR: 32.00)

  • Kamlesh Nagarkoti1 (2b)
  • Mohammed Siraj3-0-24-1
  • Yuzvendra Chahal4-0-12-1
16.6
W
Mohammed Siraj to Tripathi, OUT, sensational catch by Morris. Tripathi gets no power in this pull, and Morris charges in from long-on. This has hardly gone past the 30-yard circle, but Morris makes the ground and dives to actually make it look relatively easy

RA Tripathi c Morris b Mohammed Siraj 16 (22b 1x4 0x6) SR: 72.72

16.5
0
Mohammed Siraj to Tripathi, no run, bouncer, a quick one, and it beats his attempt to ramp it
16.4
0
Mohammed Siraj to Tripathi, no run, slogs to leg, gets no power, takes a single to deep midwicket. No he turns down the single
16.3
4
Mohammed Siraj to Tripathi, FOUR, slower ball, wide outside off, driven over the top for a four to extra cover

KKR 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st23T BantonShubman Gill
2nd28N RanaShubman Gill
3rd4EJG MorganShubman Gill
4th7KD KarthikEJG Morgan
5th2EJG MorganAD Russell
6th21AD RussellRA Tripathi
7th4RA TripathiPJ Cummins
8th10RA TripathiKL Nagarkoti
9th9KL NagarkotiCV Varun
10th4M Prasidh KrishnaCV Varun