Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine delivered standout performances as Kolkata Knight Riders secured a convincing 7-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. 

After nine consecutive wins for home teams, Kolkata Knight Riders broke the visiting team jinx in the 2024 Indian Premier League as they beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

It was a comprehensive all-round show from the two-time champions as they chased down the target with 19 balls to spare after opting to field first, courtesy some explosive batting from southpaws Sunil Narine (47) and Venkatesh Iyer (50).

Earlier in the day, former captain Virat Kohli carried his bat through the innings with an unbeaten 59-ball 83 on a two paced wicket as the Royal Challengers Bangalore posted 182/6 in their alloted 20 overs aided by a quickfire cameo from Dinesh Karthik (20*).

Pacers Harshit Rana (2-39) and Andre Russell (2-29) stood out for the Knight Riders with the ball.

Turning point of the match

With the pitch acting a bit two-paced in the first innings, it was imperative that the Kolkata Knight Riders get off to a good start in the chase. Openers Phil Salt (30) and Narine provided just that.

Salt started the onslaught with a six off the second ball of the innings and there was not looking back. Mohammed Siraj leaked 18 runs off the first over with a boundary and a six more, while left-arm pacer Yash Dayal gave away 14 more in the next, including five wides.

News Mania Desk