Upon his return from injury, Josh Hazlewood made a significant impact as the Royal Challengers Bangalore comfortably defeated the reigning champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, in the opening match of the IPL season.
Virat Kohli led a commanding chase for Bengaluru, scoring an unbeaten 59 off 36 deliveries, and ensured a winning start for new captain Rajat Patidar in the high-stakes two-month T20 tournament.
Kolkata struggled to make the most of captain Ajinkya Rahane’s explosive 56 off 31 balls at Eden Gardens, managing only 8-174 after Patidar opted to field first following the toss.
Hazlewood opened the bowling and quickly found his rhythm, restricting KKR to a mere nine runs in the first three overs of their innings.
Josh Hazlewood shone for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their opening IPL match against KKR. Getty
He concluded his spell with impressive figures of 2-22 across four overs, taking the vital wicket of Quinton de Kock and sealing the match by dismissing Harshit Rana for a mere five runs in the final over.
Phil Salt, who was not retained by Kolkata for the current season, was aggressive against his former team during the powerplay as Bengaluru raced to 80 runs without losing a wicket in the initial six overs.
FULL SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Salt brutally punished ace spinner Varun Chakarvarthy (1-43), smashing him for 21 runs in a single over during the powerplay, while Kohli also exhibited flair by hitting two consecutive sixes off Australian pacer Spencer Johnson.
Chakarvarthy eventually broke through when Salt was caught at short third man while trying to hit another big shot against the spinner in the ninth over.
A fan ran onto the field to touch Virat Kohli’s feet during the IPL season opener. Getty
Kohli reached his half-century by slashing Harshit Rana over cover for his fourth boundary as Bengaluru maintained a rapid scoring rate despite losing Salt.
The game experienced a brief pause when a fan dashed onto the pitch to touch Kohli’s feet—a common occurrence at IPL events.
Patidar also made his mark, smashing Rana for four boundaries in one over during his explosive innings of 34 off just 16 balls before he was dismissed at mid-wicket. Liam Livingstone (15 not out) then finished the match with a swift six off Johnson followed by a boundary.
Rahane began confidently in his captaincy role for Kolkata with an aggressive half-century, but spinner Krunal Pandya (3-29) tightened the noose on the home side in the latter stages of the innings.
Kolkata appeared poised for a substantial total as they reached 2-107 in the first ten overs before Sunil Narine fell for 44 off 26 balls. Yet, Pandya’s outstanding bowling limited Kolkata to just 67 runs in the final ten overs.
Pandya claimed the crucial wickets of Rahane, Rinku Singh (12), and Venkatesh Iyer (6), while former Kolkata spinner Suyash Kumar bowled out big-hitter Andre Russell for just four runs.
Rahane fell victim to the trap, failing to clear the fielder at deep mid-wicket, while Singh and Iyer were both out bowled as Kolkata lost their power-hitters before the final four overs and slipped to 145-5 in 15 overs. Kolkata’s decline continued when Russell was undone by Kumar’s perfect googly.
Hazlewood bowled exceptionally well initially, allowing Kolkata to score just nine runs in the first three overs. However, Rahane and Narine countered with a substantial 103-run partnership.
Pandya responded well for Bengaluru, whilst both Hazlewood and Yash Dayal bowled tightly in the final overs to keep Kolkata’s total in check.
– With Damien McCartney
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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