In a must win match to stay in the race for a berth in the semis, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
In a must win match to stay in the race for a berth in the semis, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday
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| Whack! Rahul Dravid of Royal Challengers Bangalore hooks one to the fence against Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match in Bangalore on Saturday. PIC:IPL 2010/Getty Images |
With this sweet victory on home ground, Challengers bounce back to second position in the league table with 12 points from 11 matches, winning six and losing five.
Chasing a modest target of 161 at a run rate of 8 per over, Challengers cruised to victory in 17.1 overs by scoring 164 for three wickets, thanks to a fiery knock by local lad Robin Uthappa, who smashed 52 runs in just 22 balls, lofting five mighty sixes and thrice finding the ropes.
Though the tournament's top scorer Jacques Kallis got out cheaply for 8 in the third over, the dependable Rahul Dravid and new opener Sridharan Sriram steadied the innings from 11 to 83 in 11 overs and put on a commendable 72-run partnership for the second wicket.
The home team, which lost to Knight Riders in their opening match at Kolkata March 14, avenged the defeat by restricting their opponents to 160 for nine wickets.
