IPL 7 RCB vs KKR, Highlights: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 2 runs in nail-biting finish

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 2 runs in Match 11 of IPL 7. Catch highlights here. (Scorecard | Commentary | Schedule | Standings)

 

23:54 (IST): We have just witnessed what could be called the best game of the IPL so far during this season, and one of the best in all seven seasons. What's more? Chris Lynn took one of the best catches ever in the tournament at the fence when Royal Challengers Bangalore needed 6 runs off 3 balls, sending AB de Villiers back in the dugout. After being given the Man of the Match award, he said he wasn't sure if he had taken the catch because he slipped! Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said his team deserved the luck and that it was tough for the batsmen in the middle once the ball got a little old. RCB captain Virat Kohli credited KKR for their good bowling but said his team lost this game rather than Kolkata winning it. Also, Sunil Narine got back his purple cap after he took the prized scalp of Virat Kohli! That's it from us then! We have a double header tomorrow with Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Delhi Daredevils in the first game at Dubai followed by a cracking match between last year's finalists, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the same venue.

 

23:35 (IST): Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 2 runs in a nail-biting finish at Sharjah.

 

23:32 (IST): OUT! That's a blinder from Chris Lynn at the fence! De Villiers gone! RCB need 6 runs off 2 balls.

 

23:26 (IST): OUT! Yuvraj c Pathan b Umesh Yadav 31. RCB 141/4 (18.4 ovs). Need 10 runs off 8 balls to win vs KKR.

 

23:20 (IST): Yuvraj Singh gets a four and a single off Vinay Kumar but it's still 19 runs needed from 13 balls.

 

23:17 (IST): A tricky 24 needed from 17 balls for RCB to win vs KKR with De Villiers and Yuvraj at the crease.

23:08 (IST): OUT! Virat Kohli b Sunil Narine 31. He is castled! RCB 122/3 (15.5 overs) chasing 151. Strategic timeout!

 

22:59 (IST): Can Sunil Narine take a wicket? Just stopping the flow of runs won't help! RCB 109/2 (13.5 overs).

 

22:47 (IST): KKR need to get rid of either Kohli or Yuvraj to be able to win! And six from Yuvi! RCB 85/2 (10.4 overs) chasing 151 to win.

 

22:33 (IST): OUT! Parthiv Patel c Lynn b Vinay Kumar 21. RCB 67/2 (8.1 overs). It's a strategic timeout! 

22:29 (IST): OUT! Yogesh Takawale lbw b Kallis 40. RCB 67/1 (7.4 overs). The dream cameo ends!

 

22:20 (IST): Yogesh Takawale gets two consecutive boundaries off Morne Morkel! Oh, wait, he just got another one! Morkel is taken by surprise! RCB 49/0 (6 overs) after the powerplay.

 

22:15 (IST): Sunil Narine into the attack straight away in the 5th over. Some hot words are being exchanged between Morne Morkel and Parthiv Patel. RCB 34/0 (4.3 overs).

22:09 (IST): Yogesh Takawale taking the pressure off Parthiv Patel well! 4 on the last ball! RCB 20/0 (3 overs).

 

21:59 (IST): Umesh Yadav gives away 8 runs in his first over, the first in RCB's chase of 151. RCB 8/0 (1 over).

21:40 (IST): Kolkata Knight Riders post 150/7 against Royal Challengers Bangalore after being put in to bat.

 

21:26 (IST): OUT! Robin Uthappa c Starc b Aaron 22. KKR 129/6 (17.1 overs). He made it interesting in the last over with a six off Starc, which was followed by another one from Suryakumar Yadav on the last delivery of the 17th.

21:16 (IST): OUT! Jacques Kallis c Takawale b Chahal 43. KKR 107/5 (15.2 overs). It's a strategic timeout!

 

21:12 (IST): Five overs to go for KKR to turn a good start into a big score vs RCB. KKR 106/4 (15 overs).

20:59 (IST): OUT! Yusuf Pathan c Kohli b Aaron 0. KKR 90/4 (11.5 overs).

 

20:56 (IST): OUT! Chris Lynn c De Villiers b Aaron 45. KKR 90/3 (11.3 overs). The dangerman holes out in his attempt for another six!

 

20:54 (IST): Ashoke Dinda bowls a tidy first over! Gives away 7 runs. KKR 89/2 (11 overs). Jacques Kallis (37*), Chris Lynn (45*).

 

20:42 (IST): Oh dear! Starc catches Lynn cleanly on the fence but his foot was on the rope! KKR 66/2 (7.5 overs).

20:38 (IST): A lot of things have changed on the field. While Virat Kohli is back after getting treatment on his jaw, Muttiah Muralitharan has been welcomed by Chris Lynn with a huge six on the very first ball of his first over in IPL 7. KKR 50/2 (6.4 overs).

 

20:30 (IST): Virat Kohli has gone off the field after being struck in the face. Uneven bounce! KKR 38/2 (5 overs) vs RCB.

 

20:22 (IST): Chris Lynn hits Varun Aaron for a cracking four straight down the ground. KKR 28/2 (4 overs). Jacques Kallis is with him on the other end.

20:10 (IST): OUT! Manish Pandey c Kohli b Albie Morkel 5. A leading edge from Pandey finds the RCB captain at cover point. KKR 10/2 (1.2 overs) vs RCB after being put in to bat.

20:06 (IST): OUT! Hat-trick of ducks for Gambhir! Starc gets him LBW. Gambhir lbw b Starc 0. KKR 1/1 (0.3 overs).

 

Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel, Ashoke Dinda, Yogesh Takawale, Mitchell Starc, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Aaron, Muttiah Muralitharan

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav

 

19:34 (IST): Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss and elect to bowl first vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Sharjah. Both teams have made two changes. For Bangalore, Muttiah Muralitharan comes in place of Nic Maddinson and Yogesh Takawale replaces Rana. And guess what? Chris Lynn comes in for Shakib Al Hasan in the Kolkata side, along with Umesh Yadav for Piyush Chawla.

 

16:50 (IST): Will Chris Gayle make a return today for the Royal Challengers Bangalore? Or will the Kolkata Knight Riders break RCB's unbeaten streak so far in IPL 7? Get ready for an action packed match today at 8 pm.

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore look to extend unbeaten streak

Unbeaten so far, Royal Challengers Bangalore would be eyeing a hat-trick of wins to go to the top of points table even as Kolkata Knight Riders look to shake off their last match's disappointment when the two sides clash against each other in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

The star-studded Bangalore, which boast of some of the most feared Twenty20 batsmen in their line-up, have won both their games so far.

The results have come despite the absence of the destructive Chris Gayle, who has been nursing a sore back. He, however, is expected to be fit for Thursday's match.

In his absence, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers have made quite a statement with their efforts to show that the days of RCB being called a one-man show are over. (Read more)

Yuvraj Singh's 'weakness'

Shabnam Singh, mother of Yuvraj Singh, said her son hates to bat under pressure and relishes playing in a side which enjoys cricket and are relaxed. Royal Challengers Bangalore will play Kolkata Knight Riders in Sharjah today.

"He is very happy to be picked up for RCB because cricket is all about enjoying and that's what the Royal Challengers Bangalore stand for. All the boys are really chilled out and that's where he wants to be because Yuvi hates to bat under pressure or anything," she said in an interview to RCB's official website.

Asked about her support to her son, Shabnam said, "Whenever he is down and out, it is best to leave him alone instead of pampering him. I try and make him realise that its just the part of the game and he will come out of it. It is a regular part of parent and child and every parent does that." (Read more)

Gautam Gambhir and the heart-break story of 'ducks'

When Gautam Gambhir failed to score in the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in Dubai last Saturday, it was his seventh duck as captain in Indian Premier League. The former India opener now shares the record of most ducks by a captain in IPL with Adam Gilchrist, who also has scored seven ducks.

It is interesting to note the seven ducks scored by Gambhir have come when he was leading Kolkata Knight Riders, while Gilchrist's seven ducks have been 'scored' over two teams -- Deccan Chargers (4) and Kings XI Punjab (3).

Gambhir has been struggling for form in this edition of the IPL in UAE. He has failed to score in KKR's first two matches against Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, respectively. In the tournament opener against Mumbai, he was bowled by Lasith Malinga after facing eight balls. KKR, of course, won the match by 41 runs largely due to Jacques Kallis' 72 and Sunil Narine's 4 for 23.

Against Delhi, which KKR lost by four wickets, Gambhir exited after playing only four deliveries. This time, he was caught at leg slip trying to flick a rising ball on his pads. (Read more)

Robin Uthappa's delight

Disappointed he might be about his team Kolkata Knight Riders losing its IPL match against Delhi Daredevils here but veteran batsman Robin Uthappa says he is happy about finally being able to play "correct" cricket after cleaning up his technique.

Uthappa shone with a 41-ball 55 but KKR ended up losing against Delhi daredevils by four wickets.

"I have changed my technique and I have cleaned up my cricket in a big way, which has helped me play more correct cricket. I believe while playing correct, you can still score a lot of runs and score at a good pace. Today's innings against Delhi Daredevils was a proof of that," Uthappa told the IPL's official website. (Read more)

'Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis need to fire for Kolkata Knight Riders'

 

Gautam Gambhir's coming to form is crucial to Kolkata Knight Riders' fortunes in the Indian Premier League, feels NDTV expert Dean Jones. Previewing Thursday's big clash between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jones feels the momentum is with RCB and the return of Chris Gayle will make them more formidable.

KKR should get better contribution from Gambhir, Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan. "It's going to be one of the best games of the tournament but I think RCB will like to make it three wins out of three," said Jones.

Gambhir's form has been a cause for worry. With back-to-back ducks against Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, the former Indian opener is under pressure to score and KKR batting coach Woorkeri Raman is backing the left-handed Gambhir to emerge from the run drought. (Read more)