IPL 2020: KKR register their lowest powerplay score during RCB game

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered their lowest powerplay score in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday.

After opting to bat against RCB at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, KKR had a terrible start. They scored three runs in the first over before Mohammed Siraj removed two KKR batsmen on two consecutive deliveries in the second over. After the first two balls of the second over was a dot, Siraj struck in the following two deliveries to remove Rahul Tripathi for 1 from 5 and Nitesh Raina for a golden duck. It was a wicket-maiden over and a wonderful start for RCB.

RCB pacer Navdeep Saini gave away 10 runs in the third over but dismissed Shubman Gill for a six-ball one. Siraj, who returned to bowl his second over, once again made a breakthrough, removing Tom Banton, leaving KKR for 14 for 4. In the next 15 deliveries, KKR managed to add only three more runs to their tally and at the end of the first six overs, KKR were 17 for 4 – their lowest powerplay score in the history of IPL.

Their previous lowest powerplay scores were 21 for 3 (vs Deccan Chargers, 2009), 22 for 4 (vs Chennai Super Kings, 2010), 24 for 3 (vs Kings XI Punjab, 2014), and 25 for 2 (vs Kings XI Punjab, 2020). Apart from the KXIP match in 2020, which KKR won by two runs, the Kolkata side had lost the other games.

With six wins in nine matches, RCB are currently places second in the IPL 2020 points table, while KKR are at No. 4 with five wins in nine games.

"The wicket looks good. The games we have won so far, the majority of them we have batted first. It seems to have worked for us throughout the tournament so far. There's (batting in the powerplay) been a continuous improvement from the start of the tournament to the last game. In the last game, we paced it really well. The wickets have been slower which has made it more challenging. The guys at the top against Sunrisers did a great job. A couple of changes. Banton and Prasidh come in for of Mavi and Russell. Dre picked up a niggle in the last game, Sunil is still not 100%," KKR captain Eoin Morgan said at the toss.

Even RCB skipper Virat Kohli admitted he would have chosen to bat as well on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. "We would have batted first. Looks like a good pitch with, shorter boundary on one side. It should be a good chase as long as we bowl well first and restrict a strong batting line-up to a decent total. It's not a drastic change, on the day if you are playing well, you can win on any ground. We bowled them out cheaply in Sharjah which was supposedly not happening in any game. We did play good cricket last time here. It's all about how we come out to the field and execute our plans. We are going back to the bowling line-up that played against them last time around. So, Shahbaz Ahmed misses out and Siraj replaces him," added Kohli.