Kolkata Knight Riders' late resurgence in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) was brought to an end after Royal Challengers Bengaluru outplayed them during their clash on Wednesday in Raipur. KKR's latest defeat has pushed them closer to the brink of elimination after they scripted a surprising turnaround following four consecutive victories. Speaking after KKR's loss, head coach Abhishek Nayar pointed out that Virat Kohli's dropped catch and Varun Chakravarthy's absence were the main factors behind KKR's disappointing loss.
"The Varun Chakravarthy part: we have done really well with the Sunny (Sunil 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 Chakravarthy. We know the quality of Sunny and Varun bowling together, so it's hard to replace a Varun. It's just unfortunate," Nayar said in the post-match press conference.
"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. All these things happen in a game", Nayar said.
Talking about the match, KKR, after being inserted to bat, put out a challenging total of 192/4 in 20 overs, with young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi playing a role with a score of 71 off 46 – his third half-century of the season. Rinku Singh made a vital contribution of 49 unbeaten runs. In reply, RCB legend Virat Kohli bashed a glittering century to launch his side to victory and to the top of the IPL. Kohli, bringing up his ninth IPL hundred, remained unbeaten on 105 off 60.