Kolkata: Royal Challengers Bangalore faced some anxious moments before edging Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs in an entertaining IPL match here on Friday.
Chasing a big total of 214, a brilliant partnership between Nitish Rana (85 not out off 46 balls) and Andre Russell (65 off 25) took the match down to the wire where the hosts needed 24 runs off the last over. And 17 off last three deliveries.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali bowled an impressive over under pressure to earn RCB their second win of the season.
Earlier, Virat Kohli smashed his first century of the season after Ali’s blistering knock as Royal Challengers Bangalore amassed 213 for four.
The Indian skipper paced his innings brilliantly and got out on the last ball of the innings for a 58-ball 100, his fifth in the IPL. RCB scored 91 runs off the last five overs to record their highest total of the season.
It was Ali who gave the much needed oxygen to their innings, smashing six sixes and five fours to seize momentum after a slow start. Kohli and Ali shared 90 runs off 43 balls and there was no looking back after Ali’s assault.
The match swung in the 16th over when Kuldeep Yadav bled 27 runs with Ali going berserk, smashing the star India spinner for three sixes and two boundaries.
