Royal Challengers Bangalore's wretched run in IPL 2024 continued as they suffered yet another close defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens last night. Chasing 223 to win, RCB seemed well on track at one stage thanks to stunning batting displays from Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar. However, a dramatic collapse saw them lose a flurry of wickets to eventually fall just 1 run short despite a valiant late charge by Karn Sharma.
Jacks and Patidar had lit up the crease with a flurry of boundaries, racing to their half-centuries with breathtaking strokeplay. However, their dismissals in quick succession sparked a top-order implosion, leaving RCB reeling at 155-6. Dinesh Karthik provided a brief rescue act but it was left to Sharma to nearly script an improbable victory. The specialist spinner smashed 3 sixes in the last over but ultimately fell short of the target on the final ball, capping yet another heartbreaking defeat for his franchise.
Earlier, KKR's batting was another tale of inconsistency. After a flying start from Phil Salt, they lost wickets at regular intervals despite Shreyas Iyer's stabilizing innings. Late fireworks from Ramandeep Singh helped them post a competitive total of 222. RCB will hope to bounce back from this narrow loss when they face Lucknow Super Giants in their next outing on Tuesday.
