Jason Roy © PhotoShelter
Jason Roy smashed 56 from just 29 balls to set the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders up for a formidable total of 200 for five after being asked to bat first in their IPL match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The England opener was especially effective in the Power Play, driving, pulling and slog-sweeping his way to fours fours and five sixes before being bowled around his legs by seamer Vijaykumar Vyshak at the end of the 10th over.
Despite a sluggish 27 from 29 balls by fellow opener N.Jagadeesan and an unconvincing 31 from 26 by Venkatesh Iyer the momentum was maintained by captain Nitish Rana who was in glorious form with 48 from a mere 21 deliveries (3×4, 4×6) before top-edging a reverse-sweep against legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga to third short.
Rinku Singh provided some fireworks at the end with 18 from 10 balls and former Protea David Wiese (12 off 3 balls) brought up the 200 by hitting two of the final deliveries of the innings over the legside boundary.
Hasaranga (4-0-24-2) was the standout bowler but RCB’s decision to give Shahbaz Ahmed one over (0-25) did not pay dividends.
Regular RCB skipper, Faf du Plessis, has not fully recovered from the rib injury which prevents him from playing a full role in the field but will still be opening the batting for RCB as an ‘impact’ player.
The home side are one of four teams on eight points, two behind log-leaders Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, but the visitors have lost their last four games and are languishing at the bottom of the log with just four points along with Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Capitals.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Virat Kohli (captain), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: N Jagadeesan (wkt), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
