Bengaluru: Jason Roy and skipper Nitish Rana helped Kolkata Knight Riders revive their faltering Indian Premier League campaign with a convincing 21-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday.
Roy’s 56 — his second successive half-century — and a 21-ball 48 by Rana guided two-time champions Kolkata to 200-5 after they were put in to bat first in Bengaluru.
Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy took 3-27 as Kolkata’s bowlers restricted Bangalore to 179-8, snapping their four-match losing streak in the tournament.
Low catch
Kolkata climbed a spot to seventh in the 10-team table with the money-spinning league now past the midway stage and teams jostling for four play-off places.
Venkatesh Iyer pulled off a brilliant low catch in the outfield to dismiss Virat Kohli for 54 and silence the home crowd.
Kohli, who led Bangalore for a third straight game with regular captain Faf du Plessis playing as an impact sub due to a rib injury, had attempted to get the chase going in his 37-ball knock.
Bangalore’s batting faltered after the in-form du Plessis fell for 17 following two sixes and Australian big-hitter Glenn Maxwell went for five.
Kolkata set a daunting target as Roy, who smashed five sixes in his 29-ball blitz, put on an opening stand of 83 with Narayan Jagadeesan (27).
Destructive partnership
The two departed in the same over only for Rana and Iyer (31) to form a another destructive partnership of 80 for the third wicket.
Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga sent back the left-handed duo of Rana and Iyer in the 18th over as he returned figures of 2-24.
But Bangalore’s attempt to stem the flow of runs failed as Rinku Singh clubbed an unbeaten 18 off 10 balls and Namibia’s David Wiese made 12 off just three deliveries.
