28 April,2023 08:43 AM IST | Bangalore | R Kaushik
KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy during his 3-27 against RCB in Bangalore on Wednesday. Pic/BCCI
Some of Royal Challengers Bangalore's worst batting efforts in the IPL have come against Kolkata Knight Riders, including an all-time league low of 49 all out at the Eden Gardens in April 2017.
Wednesday night wasn't quite as bad, but RCB's designs of sneaking into the top four came ingloriously unstuck at a shell-shocked M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Against a team sitting on a run of four straight defeats, RCB paid the price for their overdependence on Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell, going down by 21 runs after allowing Jason Roy-powered KKR to amass 200 for five, aided by two dropped chances that allowed visiting skipper Nitish Rana to plunder a 21-ball 48.
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KKR, who restricted the hosts to 179 for eight, thus completed the double this season against RCB, having won the first game in Kolkata by 81 runs. Varun Chakravarthy, who had taken four for 15 on that occasion, was again the bowing hero on Wednesday with three for 27, his wickets being Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror and Dinesh Karthik.
Also Read: IPL 2023: KKR defeat RCB by 21 runs, return to winning ways
"I watched videos of previous matches when I played against RCB. I saw the technical aspects of their batsmen, where they were targeting. I was focussing on that," said Chakravarthy, the Player of the Match.
After a disappointing 2022 when he only took six wickets in 11 games, the 31-year-old has come into his own, boasting 13 sticks from eight matches of which KKR have won just three.
"I have worked more on my accuracy rather than working on different variations," Chakravarthy sought to explain the turnaround in his fortunes. "Another aspect I was working on was revolutions on the ball. I was working with AC Prathiban, he is my spin coach back in Chennai. More than that, tactics, whatever Abhishek Nayar [KKR's assistant coach] says, it always works for me. They both have played a very good role in my comeback."
RCB's chase hit a roadblock when du Plessis perished in the third over to Suyash Sharma and Maxwell was cleaned up in the sixth by Chakravarthy. Even though skipper Kohli held the innings together for a while with 54, his dismissal with 86 needed off 47 deliveries pretty much spelt the end of the RCB reply.
Also Read: IPL 2023: RCB gifted KKR freebie, says Virat Kohli after 21-run loss
Suyash, the 19-year-old leggie, who made his debut against RCB earlier this week and picked up three for 30 then, complemented Chakravarthy superbly on Wednesday with figures of two for 30, and the senior pro was effusive in his praise of the teenager. I could say that he's a guy for the future for the country. He is an amazing talent," Chakravarthy gushed. "I wish he can understand the level of cricket we are playing and he can fast-track his way to the national side," he added.
