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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) managed to just get over the line with four balls to spare and three wickets in hand against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Shreyas Iyer was excellent as captain and did his best to take the game deep. However, KKR just didn't have enough runs on the board as they suffered their first defeat of the season.
Needing just 129 runs to win on what looked like a good batting surface, RCB made life difficult for themselves by losing wickets at crucial junctures. While fans were thrilled to watch such a close game, some took a dig at the Royal Challengers for nearly making a meal of what should have been a straightforward run-chase.
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Here are some of the reactions:
RCB held their nerve in crunch moments
On a track where 206 was chased down easily by the Punjab Kings a few nights ago,128 definitely seemed like a total way below par. RCB were hopeful of a solid start from their openers and KKR, on the other hand, needed early wickets.
Umesh Yadav enjoyed a brilliant outing in his first game of the season earlier against the Chennai Super Kings and continued in the same vein against the Royal Challengers. The 34-year-old made the ball swing beautifully and sent Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli back to the shed.
Tim Southee also played his part, bringing his experience of swinging the ball to the fore and got the big wicket of Faf du Plessis. Already three wickets down, the chasing IPL team looked to be in huge trouble and KKR were right on top.
Two naturally explosive batters in David Willey and Sherfane Rutherford had to curb their natural game and absorb the pressure. The duo steadied the RCB ship, but just when they decided to kick on, Sunil Narine broke the partnership and KKR were back in the game.
Shahbaz Ahmed played a fantastic cameo and kept the noses of the Royal Challengers in front. But they kept on losing wickets and it all came down to the last over.
Andre Russell didn't have the greatest of days with the ball and had the tough task of defending seven runs against the experienced Dinesh Karthik. The 36-year-old showed nerves of steel as he smashed the first two balls for a six and a four to hand RCB their first points of the season.
