KKR's Rana and Roy Shine as Chakaravarthy's Heroics Lead Team to Victory Against RCB in IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders managed to secure a win by 21 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2023 match-36, held at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Nitish Rana and Jason Roy played exceptional innings, followed by Varun Chakaravarthy's three-wicket haul.

Chasing a target of 201 runs, Royal Challengers Bangalore could only manage 179 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Despite Virat Kohli's 54 from 37 balls, with the help of six fours, the other RCB batters failed to make a significant contribution or support their acting captain to build partnerships.

On the other hand, Mahipal Lomror contributed brilliantly to RCB's innings with his impressive knock of 34 runs from just 18 balls. He struck three sixes and a four while partnering with Kohli for the fourth wicket, adding 55 runs to the total score. Suyash Sharma and Andre Russell take two wickets each for KKR.

Virat Kohli's Statement after loss:

Royal Challengers Bangalore's lapses in the field gifted Kolkata Knight Riders a 21-run victory on Wednesday night, according to acting captain Virat Kohli.

 We know what we can achieve as a team 👊

Looking ahead to the away leg 🛣️#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/gjFoGDqdWS

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 26, 2023

Speaking after the match, Kohli admitted that his team was not professional enough in the field and dropped several catches, resulting in KKR's victory. Nitish Rana, KKR's captain, got two lives during the game, and went on to score an unbeaten 48 off 21 balls, including two sixes off Harshal Patel in the 17th over. RCB conceded 50 off the last four overs, helping KKR to reach 200 runs. 

In response, RCB lost three wickets in the powerplay, despite scoring 58 runs. Kohli scored his fifth half-century of the season and put up a 55-run stand with Mahipal Lomror, but their partnership was not enough to win the game. The loss was RCB's second to KKR this season, and they are now fifth on the table, with five games to play away from home before returning to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for their final league match.