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Glenn Maxwell (78 off 49) and AB de Villiers (76 not out off 34) put on an exceptional display of big-hitting as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) trounced Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 38 runs in the tenth game of IPL 2021.
Thanks to Maxwell and De Villiers' exploits, RCB posted an imposing 204 for 4 in Chennai. KKR went hard in their chase but kept losing wickets at regular intervals. That meant they never had any momentum to launch a serious assault on the RCB total.
Shubman Gill decided to attack the RCB bowlers from the word go when KKR commenced their chase of 205. In the second over of the KKR innings, he thumped Kyle Jamieson for four through the covers. That was followed by two consecutive sixes as Gill pulled one over deep midwicket and deposited the second over deep point.
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Jamieson, though, exacted revenge the very next ball, having Gill (21 off 9) caught off a slower ball as the batsman got no timing on another aggressive shot, substitute Dan Christian taking a stunning catch.
Rahul Tripathi came and eased his way to some crunching boundaries. His innings, too was cut short, though, as he perished for 25 off 20. Tripathi went for a slog sweep against Washington Sundar but only managed to top-edge one towards midwicket.
All of KKR’s hopes now rested on the in-form Nitish Rana. He seemed to be getting into his groove with a couple of well-placed boundaries against Yuzvendra Chahal. The leg-spinner, though, had the last laugh, as a slog sweep from the left-hander found deep midwicket. After two fifties in the competition, Rana’s contribution on Sunday was only 18.
After bagging his first wicket of the season, a confident Chahal went on to trap the susceptible Dinesh Karthik lbw with a googly for two. Out-of-form KKR captain Eoin Morgan threw his bat around and managed a couple of sixes. Harshal Patel, though, cut short his knock on 29, having him hit caught at extra-cover with a slow, dipping delivery outside off.
With 79 needed off the last four, Andre Russell pummelled Chahal for a six and three fours. The first ball was whacked over midwicket for a maximum, while the second was slog-swept for a four. The third ball was cut between backward point and extra-cover, and the fourth was cut again, to the left of sweeper cover this time.
Russell got another six off Jamieson, clubbing a slower ball over the fence. However, the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan (26) kept RCB on top. Pat Cummins came in, hit a six and went back, edging the bowler behind the wickets. Russell, too, was bowled for 31 as KKR ended their innings on 166 for 8.
Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers sizzle as RCB post 204 for 4
Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers smashed scintillating half-centuries as RCB posted a highly imposing 204 for 4 after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. While Maxwell set up the total with 78 off 49 balls, De Villiers went berserk at the end, finishing unbeaten on 76 off 34 balls.
Earlier, RCB got off to a forgettable start, losing Virat Kohli (5) and Rajat Patidar (1) to Varun Chakravarthy in the second over of the innings. Kohli sliced one straight up in the air and was caught by Rahul Tripathi running back from extra-cover. In the same over, Chakravarthy got one to dart back in and cleaned up Rajat Patidar (1).
Maxwell, though, got into his elements right away and did not allow the KKR bowlers to dominate him. In the sixth over of the innings, he took on left-arm spinner Shabik Al Hasan, scoring a six and two fours off him.
The first ball was launched over midwicket for a maximum. Later in the over, Maxwell cracked one between cover-point and backward-point for four before following up with a reverse-swat that also found the boundary.
Glenn Maxwell also clobbered Chakravarthy for a six over long-on and kept finding the boundaries with ease, raising his 50 off 28 balls. Along with Devdutt Padikkal, Maxwell featured in a third-wicket stand of 86, but the latter could never quite get going. After hanging around for 11 overs, Padikkal (25 off 28) tried to break free against Prasidh Krishna but only managed to find a fielder with his pull.
Padikkal’s dismissal was a blessing in disguise for RCB, as it brought ABD out to the middle. De Villiers and Maxwell soon combined to loot 17 runs off Chakravarthy’s last over. De Villiers got consecutive boundaries, doing so with an edge past short third man and a smack to long-off. Maxwell joined in by switch-hitting the bowler over midwicket for a maximum.
However, there was some respite for KKR, as Maxwell fell for 78 off 49 at the end of the 17th over. Pat Cummins took out his Australian teammate with a bouncer that was top-edged to short fine leg. The relief for KKR was short-lived, though, as De Villiers went on a brutal assault and hauled RCB past the 200-run mark.
The last three overs of the RCB innings produced 17, 18 and 21 runs, respectively, with De Villiers doing the bulk of the big-hitting. He was particularly severe on Andre Russell, who bowled two of the three overs, including the 20th, finishing with 0 for 38. Harbhajan Singh bowled the 19th over and was clattered for a six apiece by De Villiers and Kyle Jamieson.
Russell missed his length and was torn apart by De Villiers as the ball kept flying either to the fence or over it. De Villiers began the last over by pumping Russell over his head for four. The next ball, he went down on one knee and clubbed a full-toss over deep backward square for a maximum.
The ABD show continued with two more boundaries to finish off proceedings as RCB crossed the 200-run mark.
IPL 2021: RCB vs KKR - Man of the Match
Glenn Maxwell took control of the RCB innings after Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar perished early. He continued from where he left off in the last match, blasting a brutal 78 off 49 balls, whacking nine fours and three sixes. It was the kind of knock the IPL had been expecting from the Big Show for the last few years.
AB de Villiers was the other batting hero for RCB. He once again demonstrated why he loves the KKR attack, butchering his way to an unbeaten 76 off 34 balls. De Villiers also smashed nine fours and three sixes in his innings. His assault on Andre Russell took RCB past the 200-run mark.
Among the bowlers, RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal roared back to form with the scalps of Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik. However, it was De Villiers who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his fabulous big-hitting.
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