RCB vs KKR Man of the Match Today: Who Was Adjudged MOTM in Royal Challengers vs Knight Riders Match?

Having lost four matches in a row, Kolkata Knight Riders have kick-started the second half of Indian Premier League 2023 league stage on a winning note by registering a clinical 21-run victory in an away match against Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight.

Home captain Virat Kohli (54) inviting the visitors in to bat first resulted in KKR registering the fifth instance of an innings total touching the 200-run mark at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium this season.

Although opening batter Jason Roy (56) was instrumental in providing his team with a quickfire start, captain Nitish Rana (48), batter Rinku Singh (18*) and all-rounder David Wiese (12*) played pivotal roles in providing a much-needed power-packed finish to the innings.

RCB vs KKR Man of the Match Today

Chasing a 201-run target, RCB lost three wickets in the powerplay in spite of scoring at almost 10 runs per over. With the onus on Kohli, Bangalore needed their middle-order to support him but their over-dependence on the likes of Kohli, Faf du Plessis (17) and Glenn Maxwell (5) got exposed again.

Had it not been for their wicket-taking spinners in Varun Chakravarthy (3/27) and Suyash Sharma (2/30) not picking combined bowling figures of 8-0-57-5, Knight Riders wouldn’t have won by such a margin. Both introduced into the attack in the powerplay itself with Kohli and du Plessis hitting boundaries off pacers, Chakravarthy and Sharma turned the table at will.

2023: KKR won by 21 runs
2019: KKR won by 5 wickets
2018: KKR won by 6 wickets
2017: KKR won by 6 wickets
2016: KKR won by 5 wickets pic.twitter.com/dhWGQggf7f

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2023

While Sharma dismissed du Plessis and Shahbaz Ahmed (2) to make early inroads in his first spell, Chakravarthy ran through Royal Challengers’ middle-order. Not been in the best of forms across departments of late, Andre Russell (1 & 2/29) also contributed in a victory by dismissing Kohli and Wanindu Hasaranga (5).

Chakravarthy, 31, was handed the Player of the Match award on Wednesday. “More focused on accuracy rather than more variations. I didn’t want to add more variations. I like that challenge [bowling in the powerplay] and Nitish [Rana] is giving the ball whenever he wants me to do the job, I am liking it,” Chakravarthy told host broadcaster Star Sports Network during the post-match presentation ceremony.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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