Two points and a victory over Bangalore couldn’t have come at a better time for Kolkata. A stellar show by bowlers helped them steamroll Virat Kohli’s men by nine wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Monday. Kolkata, who suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangalore at the same ground last season, picked up their third win and climbed to fifth in the points table.
Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell were the architects of the splendid win as the duo picked up six wickets between them and gave away just 22 runs from seven overs. The mystery spinner had a busy day on the field too. He ran out Kyle Jamieson and took the catch to dismiss Mohammed Siraj. The new opening pair Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer made short work of the chase, reaching the target in ten overs.
41/1
After winning the toss, Kohli decided to bat first despite chasing sides have been more successful in the recent fixtures at the ground. He played an exquisite cover drive in the second over. Prasidh Krishna had his revenge in the next ball. The pacer trapped Kohli in front of the wicket, and the umpire raised his finger. The Bangalore captain reviewed it straight away, but it was unsuccessful.
K S Bharat, on his debut, kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and struck a boundary in Sunil Narine’s first over. Devdutt Padikkal, on the other end, looked more assured and managed to find the gaps. The duo added 31 runs for the second wicket.
9/51
Lockie Ferguson justified his selection ahead of Tim Southee with the wicket of Padikkal in the last ball of the powerplay. The Karnataka batsman’s attempted upper-cut resulted in edging the ball to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps. Bharat succumbed to pressure as he holed out to Gill at deep square leg two overs later.
Russell produced a yorker to clean up AB de Villiers and picked up his second wicket in the over. The South African departed for a golden duck – the sixth of his Indian T20 League career. From 41/1, Bangalore suddenly lost three wickets for just 11 runs.
It was Varun’s turn to impress. He sent back Glenn Maxwell and Wanindu Hasaranga in consecutive deliveries. The Aussie went for the kill, but the ball crashed into the stumps. The 30-year-old caught Hasaranga plumb in front and thought he had his hat-trick when he struck the pads of Kyle Jamieson. However, an inside edge saved the New Zealand pacer.
Varun put an end to Sachin Baby’s struggles and finished with 3/13 in four overs. Meanwhile, Jamieson and Harshal Patel departed in the space of six balls. Russell removed Siraj and wrapped up the Bangalore innings in the 19th over. The all-rounder became the second Kolkata player after Varun to reach ten wickets this season.
Kolkata openers dominate
With just 93 required, the Kolkata openers dictated the terms. Iyer struck two fours in Siraj’s first over, and Gill piled misery on Jamieson. They unsettled Yuzvendra Chahal and Hasaranga and scored 43 from the duo’s four overs. Gill missed out on a deserving fifty by two runs. Iyer steered his side home after scoring three fours in the tenth over.
Bangalore debutants struggle
Hasaranga and Bharat were making their debut in the Indian T20 League. However, both players couldn’t make much of an impact. Bharat was among four players who reached double figures but couldn’t accelerate scoring in the powerplay. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka all-rounder registered a first-ball duck and conceded 20 runs in his two overs. Despite the disappointing debut, Hasaranga is likely to be included in the playing 11 against Chennai on Friday. Sachin, too, played his first match in Bangalore colors.
Varun living up to the hype
The mystery spinner’s inclusion in India’s T20 World Cup squad ahead of Chahal surprised many. But the delightful performance earned his team two points and proved his detractors wrong. The wickets of Maxwell and Hasaranga in successive balls left Bangalore reeling. He also delighted fantasy cricket players by claiming a direct run-out and a catch.
Kohli heaped praise on Varun after Kolkata’s win. “Pretty good (on Varun’s performance), that’s exactly what I was saying in the dug-out, he’s going to be a key factor when he plays for India.” Kolkata fans will be hoping for more of the same from their spinner.
Bangalore 92 all out in 19 overs (D Padikkal 22; A Russell 3/9, V Chakravarthy 3/13, L Ferguson 2/24)
Kolkata 94/1 in 10 overs (S Gill 48, V Iyer 41; Y Chahal 1/23)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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