Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli got the dressing room ‘Player of the Match’ award following his side’s loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Chinnnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Following the loss, Virat, who smashed 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes, was given a gift hamper by his teammate Glenn Maxwell. His knock took RCB to 182/6 in their 20 overs, but explosive knocks by Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer meant that KKR chased it down with 19 balls to spare, with seven wickets in hand.
After receiving the award, Virat said as quoted in a video by RCB’s X handle, “On a more serious note, we had a tough night, we all know that. We are much better than that so, as long as we accept it, and move forward with the same courage, and the same belief in our skills. That is all we can come up with, so let us stay on that path.”
Virat is also the current ‘Orange Cap’ holder for most runs in IPL 2023, having scored 181 runs in three innings at an average of 90.50 and a strike rate of over 141. He has scored two half-centuries, with the best score of 83*.
After KKR won the toss, they opted to field. After losing skipper Faf early, Virat Kohli had a 65-run partnership with Cameron Green (33 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and a 42-run stand with Glenn Maxwell (28 in 19 balls, with three fours and a six). Virat scored 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes and took RCB to 182/6 along with Dinesh Karthik (20* in eight balls, with three sixes) in their 20 overs.
Andre Russell (2/29) and Harshit Rana (2/39) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR.
In the run chase, Phil Salt (30 in 20 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (47 in 22 balls, with two fours and five sixes) put KKR to a fine start with a quickfire 86-run stand in 39 balls. After Vyshak and Mayank Dagar (1/23 each) dismissed the openers, Venkatesh Iyer (50* in 30 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (39 in 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes) guided KKR to a seven-wicket win with 19 balls to go.
Sunil won ‘Player of the Match’ on his 500th match for his knock of 47 and one wicket.
RCB is sixth in the points table with a win and two losses. They have just two points. KKR is at second with two wins in two games, with four points.
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