KKR vs RCB IPL 2024 Match Highlights: Five Things We Learned as Kolkata break Bengaluru Hearts in a Cliff-Hanger

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A hot and humid Sunday afternoon in the City of Joy ended in a Kolkata Knight Riders rejoice as they scrapped past Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a 1-run victory at the Eden Gardens today (April 21) in a crucial IPL 2024 encounter.

On a sweltering afternoon at Eden Gardens, KKR batted first and amassed an enormous score of 222 runs. Phil Salt gave KKR a terrific start, but Shreyas Iyer struck a stunning fifty to lead them in. Along with some strong cameos from Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh, the Englishman hit 48 runs off of just 14 balls. Ramandeep Singh and Andre Russell contributed significantly to KKR's total.

For RCB, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis had respectable starts, but both openers fell quickly after, with the former being removed under dubious circumstances. Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar destroyed the Kolkata bowling attack, putting up an incredible partnership of 102 runs in just 48 balls to give them.

With two wickets in an over, Andre Russell gave KKR a significant lead. After that, Sunil Narine claimed two wickets in an over, but RCB's scoring pace persisted throughout their innings. With some crucial runs scored towards the end, Karthik and Prabhudessai pulled RCB very close. Karn Sharma tried his best but RCB agonizingly fell short by a solitary run.

Here are five things that we learned after KKR's victory over RCB-

KKR vs RCB IPL 2024: Five Key Learnings from the Match

Phil Salt is a Gem

Phil Salt's story with KKR got another eventful chapter as the Englishman played a brilliant knock. His 48 off just 14 balls gave KKR the much-needed momentum and in the last ball, he pulled off an amazing run out to win the match for the Knight Riders. What a signing he has been for them, came in as a replacement but now has become an indispensable part of the zigsaw.

Was Virat Kohli Out? He was

Virat Kohli's dismissal has drawn a lot of attention as he walked away with a lot of frustration and anger. But the replay and the rulebook clearly suggest that it was a legal delivery and the RCB star rightfully got his marching orders. Nevertheless, it will always remain a contentious moment and the debates may continue with different perspectives.

Andre Russell rises for KKR again

It was another outstanding outing from Andre Russell who contributed brilliantly for KKR. The Caribbean star scored 27 runs off 20 balls, and then picked up three crucial wickets for them. His double scalp in the 12th over gave Kolkata a glimmer of hope and then the wicket of Dinesh Karthik put Kolkata ahead in the race. Andre Russell is in his 11th season at the franchise and the Knight Riders are lucky to have someone like him.

Mitchell Starc Jitters

Amid all the batting blitzkrieg and KKR's bowling, it was Mitchell Starc who was consistently poor in the match. He went for runs in the power play, and then almost took the game away from KKR in the final over. Karn Sharma hit him for three sixes, and the Australian pacer seemed to have lost his bearings. He kept on bowling in the same way and got punished every time. In the end, Starc's figures showed 1 for 55 in three overs.

He was lucky to escape with a victory, but the Australian will have to change his approach to be in the team in the coming matches.

RCB's Season is Almost Over

With the seventh defeat in eight matches, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are heading to an early exit. They are currently at the bottom of the table with just two points, and need to win all six matches out of the last six to have a glimmer of a chance to qualify for the playoffs. At the moment, it looks very difficult for them to get over the line, and we can perhaps say that this year may not be for them yet again.