Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets to move to the top of the IPL 2026 points table. Batting first, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side posted 192 runs on the board, which the defending champions chased with relative ease as star batter Virat Kohli registered yet another century in the cash-rich league. He also completed 14,000 runs in the format, solidifying his authority further.
After the game, KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar pointed out that the team missed the service of Varun Chakaravarthy, who missed the game owing to a niggle. The star spinner has been a force to reckon with since the break and his injury came back to hurt the team again, who have made their playoffs qualification complicated after the defeat.ย
“The Varun Chakravarthy part, we have done really well with the Sunny (Narine) and Varun combo, it is unfortunate that we have missed him a lot this season, it is the second time around where he has got a fracture, which is unfortunate for him, but you will always miss a Varun Chakraborty, we know the quality of Sunny and Varun bowling together, so it’s hard to replace a Varun,โ Nayar said in the post-match press conference.
Attention also turned to a crucial missed opportunity early in Kohliโs innings, with Nayar acknowledging the cost of the dropped chance in a chase featuring a batter known for converting starts into match-winning scores.
“We all know that if you leave Virat Kohli’s catch, it will be difficult, especially when he is chasing, so there are a lot of things that could have been better. But when you are playing good cricket with a team like this, and Virat Kohli and (Devdutt) Padikkal are in good form, and you want to take their catches at that time, so it is unfortunate,โ Nayar said.ย
Sunil Gavaskar on dropped catch
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar further elaborated the impact of dropping Kohliโs catch. He explained that the dropped effort eventually led to KKRโs defeat and it might hurt them in the race for playoffs.ย
โBefore this RCB-KKR game, KKRโs efficiency with catches was still the best in the IPL this season, even after dropping a few catches. They were at the top of that table. But this one hurt badly. Rovman Powell, who has taken some stunning catches this season, was fielding inside the 30-yard circle. He had the chance to dismiss Virat Kohli early. He went up high, timed his jump well, but the ball slipped out. You cannot drop Kohli early in his innings. He will make you pay every single time. LSG learned that lesson the hard way. Give him an early lifeline, and he grabs it with both hands. He scored a hundred and made KKR regret that drop. That is what great players do. They donโt give you a second chance. They punish your mistakes and turn the game on its head,โ Gavaskar said in Star Sportsโ Cricket Live.ย
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