Virat Kohli produced another memorable innings in the IPL as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets in Raipur.
After being dismissed for ducks in his previous two innings, King Kohli responded in style with an unbeaten 105 off 60 balls, registering his ninth IPL century. His innings guided RCB to 194-4 in 19.1 overs while chasing a target of 193.
The victory lifted the defending champions back to the top of the points table on net run rate with 16 points. Historically, no team in a 10-team IPL season has missed the playoffs after reaching that mark.
Earlier, KKR posted 192-4 in their 20 overs after strong contributions from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored 71 off 46 deliveries, and Rinku Singh, who remained unbeaten on 49 from 29 balls.
RCB’s chase was further supported by Devdutt Padikkal, who made 39 runs, while Kartik Tyagi picked up three wickets for KKR.
The defeat ended KKR’s four-match winning streak and left them in a difficult position in the playoff race, with a maximum possible tally of 15 points if they win their remaining matches.
Meanwhile, KKR’s Sri Lankan star Matheesha Pathirana, who was bought for INR 18 crore, did not play in this match either.
