KKR vs RCB, IPL 2016 Results, Match Highlights & Updated Points Table

Royal Challengers Bangalore visited Kolkata Knight Riders in the 48th match of the IPL. As the league approached the business end, every game was going to have its weight worth in gold. It was going to a glamorous one as the two teams were flooded with superstars of cricket. RCB had a thumping win in the last game against GL. Kohli and de Villiers smashed centuries and powered the team to 248. GL could not succumb to the pressure of runs on the board and were bowled out for 104. RCB won the match by a record 144 runs.

KKR too had a great last game against RPS. They had RPS reeling at 103/6 in the 18th over before the rain interrupted. KKR then were given a target of 66 runs in 9 overs as Duckworth-Lewis method intervened. They chased it down in just 5 overs thanks to an explosive innings by Yusuf Pathan.

Last time these two teams met in the league, KKR chased down a massive score of 185 set by RCB There too, Yusuf Pathan played a destructive innings. As RCB were virtually in a knockout situation in every game, this game promised to be an engaging one.

Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and elected to field

Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Lokesh Rahul(wk), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Chris Jordan, Iqbal Abdulla, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Robin Uthappa(wk), Gautam Gambhir(c), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Ankit Rajpoot, Morne Morkel

KKR got off to an explosive start

Robin Uthappa departed very early in the game as Iqbal Abdulla caught him off his own bowling with a fantastic diving catch. But KKR recovered soon enough, as Manish Pandey came in to join Gautam Gambhir in the middle. Both took the attack to the opposition. The fourth over bowled by Sreenath Aravind went for 15 runs as he was smashed for 3 fours. KKR raced off to 51/1 at the end of the powerplay.

Batsmen continued the assault

Gambhir and Pandey added 76 runs for the second wicket. Gambhir became a victim of the second confusion in running between the wickets just after he reached his half-century in the 11th over. Pandey continued the firing as he was joined by Yusuf Pathan. There was a wonderful platform set for the big hitters to come in and go after the bowling right from the first ball. KKR reached 107/2 with 7 overs to be bowled.

Russell and Shakib boosted KKR to 183

Pandey also went back immediately after getting to a half-century. Pathan and Suryakumar Yadav also followed him in quick successions. Some big blows were required to get to a large score and the call was answered by Shakib Al Hasan and Andre Russell. The duo added 58 runs in the last 5 overs and hit some huge blows. Especially Russell went crazy and smashed 39 runs off 19 balls with 3 sixes and 2 fours.

The two half-centuries by Gambhir and Pandey built a nice platform and the big hitters finished the innings on a high. With the kind of line-up RCB had, they needed a big score on the board. But the kind of form Kohli and AB were in; even that score couldn’t guarantee a win for KKR.

Gayle-storm hit Kolkata

Chris Gayle was in an awful form up till this game and he was due for a long time. He indeed was back to his prime hitting form as he went after the bowlers. And as it happens every time he bats for a certain duration, there were massive sixes hit by him. Along with Kohli, he provided RCB with the kind of start they were hoping for. RCB stormed to 63 without loss as the powerplay finished.

Kohli and AB continued from where they had left off

Once again, it was Kohli and de Villiers who proved to be nightmares for the bowlers. Both absolutely refused to get out yet again and built the innings. Both ran beautifully between the wickets and took the calculated risks every now and then. In the 11th over, Gambhir dropped a dolly and gave a lifeline to Kohli when he was on 32. Kohli made him pay for the mistake and ensured no more wicket losses and took RCB safely to 112/1 after 13 overs.

The modern masters did it again

There was absolutely no stopping Kohli and de Villiers yet again. The two greats of the present time got together once again as they had done so many times in the league. The duo matched each other stroke for stroke. They shared a partnership of 115 runs and brought the side home with 8 balls to spare. Kohli finished with 75 off 51 and de Villiers with 59 off 31 which meant RCB won the game by a massive 9 wickets.

Kohli broke the record of Chris Gayle for most number of runs in a single season and reached 752 runs and counting. RCB kept their hopes alive to make it to the playoffs with the win and gained vital 2 points to climb up one place in the points table to number 5. This result made the race to the playoff spot even more complex with 6 teams in with a chance.

Watch the highlights of the game here.

Match Result:

KKR 183/5 (20 overs) Gambhir 51, Pandey 50, Aravind 41/2

RCB 186/1 (18.4 overs) Kohli 75, de Villiers 59, Narine 34/1

RCB won by 9 wickets

MOM: Virat Kohli

IPL 2016 Points Table and Standings

Position	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Net RR	Points
1	SRH	12	8	4	0	0	+0.400	16
2	KKR	12	7	5	0	0	+0.280	14
3	MI	13	7	6	0	0	-0.082	14
4	GL	12	7	5	0	0	-0.747	14
5	RCB	12	6	6	0	0	+0.640	12
6	DD	11	6	5	0	0	-0.038	12
7	KXIP	12	4	8	0	0	-0.371	8
8	RPS	12	3	9	0	0	-0.078	6

IPL 2016 Schedule

Date	Time (BST/IST)	Fixture	Venue
May 17	8:00 PM	Rising Pune Supergiants v/s Delhi Daredevils	Visakhapatnam
May 18	8:00 PM	Royal Challengers Bangalore v/s Kings XI Punjab	Bangalore
May 19	8:00 PM	Gujarat Lions v/s Kolkata Knight Riders	Kanpur
May 20	8:00 PM	Delhi Daredevils v/s Sunrisers Hyderabad	Raipur