IPL 2021, RCB v KKR: 3 reasons why Kolkata Knight Riders lost

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are enjoying a dream start to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, with the win against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) their third from three games. Thirteen years on from Brendon McCullum's thrashing of RCB in the IPL's first-ever game, KKR were the victims of a stunning batting assault by Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers to succumb to a big loss.

RCB started very poorly - they were 9 for 2 after two overs, with captain Virat Kohli back in the hut, and the punt with Rajat Patidar at the top not working out. That was probably the last time KKR controlled the game, with Maxwell and de Villiers taking it away from there. The win was the fourth successive demoralising defeat inflicted by RCB on KKR, the first of which - in 2019 - was arguably the lowest point of Kuldeep Yadav's career.

Here are the three biggest reasons why KKR lost to RCB in the afternoon game on April 18.

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#3 KKR skipper Morgan's bowling decisions

In an attempt to hold Varun for RCB's big hitters, Eoin Morgan allowed them to settle.

KKR had a dream start to the game, with Varun Chakravarthy striking twice in his opening over. In a move that was widely criticised, he then took Varun out of the attack as Glenn Maxwell settled in. The fourth over, bowled by Shakib Al Hasan, saw Maxwell tee off with a boundary, after which he was simply unstoppable - even by the likes of Varun later on.

With Maxwell and later AB de Villiers running riot, Eoin Morgan brought back Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna in the middle stage to complete their quota of overs. Although the duo did see the back of Maxwell and Devdutt Padikkal, it meant only Andre Russell - and some overs of spin - were left at the end. Russell lost his length, and the carnage in his two overs - followed by his lack of application with the bat later in the game - lost KKR the game.

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#2 Shakib Al Hasan's disappointing returns

Shakib has not done justice to his batting abilities so far.

With a barren trophy cabinet since 2014, and a number of seasons where they even missed the playoffs, KKR banked on one of their former stars to bring them back to winning ways this season. Shakib Al Hasan has not had much time to play himself in earlier, but this game presented a good opportunity to show his all-round worth.

Unlike the first two games, where he was reliable with the ball, he was feasted upon for 24 runs in his two overs. With the bat, while he prevented a collapse, he stalled KKR's chances with a score that was just better than a run-a-ball. As KKR move out of Chennai - a chapter they backed themselves to do well in - Shakib's place in the lineup might be uncertain.

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#1 RCB's foreign guns fire in unison

AB de Villiers tore into KKR, reminiscent of a similar game at Sharjah in IPL 2020.

As they have done - usually unsuccessfully - for a number of seasons, RCB splashed out big money on the flavour of the season in star New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson. Like other franchises in the past, they also broke the bank to add Glenn Maxwell to a lineup already featuring the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.

For RCB, it has been so far, so good, with Glenn Maxwell proudly wearing the Orange Cap after two successive fifties and Kyle Jamieson impressing in both departments today. RCB fans have waited for a middle-order of this strength for a while, and the Maxwell-Jamieson-de Villiers show would boost their already high hopes from IPL 2021.