Virat Kohli, who had registered two consecutive ducks in the previous two games, smashed a brilliant, undefeated century as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in their IPL match in Raipur on Wednesday.
RCB won in 19.1 overs thanks to Kohli’s unbeaten 105 off 60 balls, which was studded with 11 boundaries and three sixes. He also shared a game-changing 92-run stand for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 27 balls).
With 16 points after the victory, RCB moved up to the top of the standings, tied with Gujarat Titans but ahead in net run rate.
This was the Kohli’s ninth IPL hundred and he leads the list of hitting most tons in the league with Jos Buttler (7) coming second followed by Chris Gayle (6), KL Rahul (6) and Sanju Samson (5).
This was also Kohli’s 10th hundred in T20 cricket and he comes third in the list level with David Warner (10), after Babar Azam (13), the elite list headed by Chris Gayle (22).
Earlier, after a rain-delayed start, KKR scored 192/4 thanks to a career-best 71 from Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
In his 46-ball innings, the KKR wicketkeeper-batter hit three sixes and seven fours while forming vital partnerships to give his team the boost their openers had failed to deliver.
RCB decided to field in an attempt to get early assistance after a damp outfield caused the match to be delayed by more than an hour. However, the seamers did not receive any special assistance, unlike in the previous game when new ball had made an impact.
Finn Allen (18) hit 14 runs off Jacob Duffy in the second over following a close first over in which Ajinkya Rahane (19) got a boundary after five dot balls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
However, RCB retaliated forcefully, with Josh Hazlewood bouncing out Rahane in the fourth over shortly after the KKR captain smacked a six and a four off Duffy to make it 17 runs off the fourth over, and Bhuvneshwar catching Allen behind off a delivery that raced away from the batter.
Raghuvanshi scored crucial 68 runs for the third wicket with Cameron Green (32) and another 76 runs for the fourth wicket with Rinku Singh (49 not out) to help put on a competitive total as KKR struggled to 56/2 following the powerplay.
The 21-year-old Raghuvanshi, who thrives in the No. 3 spot and has a lengthy time behind the wickets, scored his fourth half-century of the season, which has been his best in the IPL thus far. Throughout the two partnerships he formed, he continued to select the unusual boundaries after starting with a six over wide long-on.
The highlights were a magnificent six over the ropes off Krunal Pandya and a short-arm jab over the midwicket for a four against Duffy, even though he dealt in some fine cut drives on the off-side. Additionally, Rasikh Salam’s slower delivery produced one strong hit that went over the umpire’s head. On the last ball of the innings, Raghuvanshi was run out, ending his innings.
Green, who hit 32 off 24 balls with three fours and a six, helped KKR’s cause as well. Rinku, who made 49 not out off 29 balls with three fours and two sixes, was one run shy of his fifty. After hitting two undefeated fifties in the previous four games, the Indian batsman kept up his impressive run of form.
