IPL 2018, KKR vs RCB: Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik guide hosts to 4-wicket win

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kicked off their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in style as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by four wickets here on Sunday.

Earlier in the run chase of 177, Sunil Narine starred as he played a quickfire knock of 50 off just 19 balls. Meanwhile, Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa struggled to find form as they were dismissed for five and 13 respectively.

However, a 55-run partnership between Dinesh Karthik (35 not out) and Nitish Rana (34) helped the hosts get back on track and be on course for a win.

However, Rana was dismissed in the 15^th over after a worthy contribution, leaving upto the captain and the rest of the team to finish the match.

In the end, it was Dinesh Karthik once again, who stayed till the end and helped the hosts to get their first win of the tournament.

KKR 164-6 from 17.4 overs

WICKET! AB de Villiers takes a magnificent catch to dismiss Andre Russell. Is this a change of fortunes in the match?

KKR 146-5 from 15.4 overs

WICKET! Rinku Singh departs after scoring just six runs.

KKR 138-4 from 14.3 overs

WICKET! Nitish Rana has been struck LBW by Washington Sundar, as the latter bowls a fuller length delivery to do the trick.

KKR 83-3 from 7.3 overs

WICKET! Umesh Yadav strikes again, this time he removes Robin Uthappa for an unlucky 13 runs.

KKR 65-2 from 5.2 overs

WICKET! Umesh Yadav strikes as he removes Sunil Narine for 50. This was Narine's second IPL fifty, and he was looking in fine touch.

KKR 16-1 from 1.5 overs

WICKET! After a strong start by KKR, Chris Lynn departs for five runs as he continues to struggle with his form. Chris Woakes is happy to get a wicket here.

RCB innings

Captain Virat Kohli (31), Brendon McCullum (43) and AB de Villiers (44) guided the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 176-7 in their first Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) here on Sunday.

After losing Quinton de Kock early, Kohli and Brendon McCullum put up a 45-run stand for the second wicket. However, McCullum departed for 43 as he was clean bowled by Sunil Narine.

It was after this when Kohli and de Villiers put up a 65-run partnership.

However, Nitish Rana removed the duo in two consecutive balls in the 15^th over, thereby taking KKR back in the game.

In the end, Mandeep Singh, too played a very important role to score a quickfire 37 off just 18 balls. In the last ball, the visitors could have got to 180, but lost Chris Woakes in the last ball of the innings.

RCB 154-5 from 18.1 overs

WICKET! Sarfaraz Khan departs for six runs as Rinku Singh takes a good catch at long-on, giving the wicket to Mitchell Johnson.

RCB 127-4 from 14.3 overs

WICKET! Nitish Rana has done just what KKR wanted, as he removes captain Virat Kohli for 31 runs. RCB are suddenly starting to lose wickets.

RCB 127-3 from 14.2 overs

WICKET! AB de Villiers departs for 44 as Nitish Rana dismisses the dangerman.

RCB 63-2 from 8.2 overs

WICKET! Brendon McCullum was looking in fine form to score a fifty, but Sunil Narine has denied that as he removes the Kiwi batsman.

RCB 18-1 from 1.4 overs

WICKET! Quinton de Kock is dismissed for just four runs as he falls to the hands of Vinay Kumar as Piyush Chawla gets a wicket.

Kolkata: KKR have won the toss and have elected to field. Here is how the teams lineup for the match:

Preview

A new look Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side will look to start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 campaign in style when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the third match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Despite the loss of the experienced Gautam Gambhir, KKR's core is intact with the likes of Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav. A surprise element will be the leadership of Dinesh Karthik, who has already displayed his worth in national colours.

Virat Kohli’s side, on the other hand, will look to avenge defeat for the loss suffered last year after they were bowled out for 49 – the lowest ever IPL total. However, the men in red and black still boast one of the deadliest batting sides with the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Sarfaraz Khan, Quinton de Kock and Corey Anderson.

Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c), Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi and Tom Curran.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Quinton de Kock, Mohammed Siraj, Colin de Grandhomme, Corey Anderson, M Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Pavan Deshpande, Anirudha Joshi.

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 8 pm IST on Sunday (April 8)

Where is the match?

The match will take place at Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata.

Live telecast and timings:

With Star India now acquiring the media rights from Sony Pictures Network India for the upcoming season, the matches will be telecast on various Star Sports channels.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.