Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) eked out a thrilling win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for only their second success of the IPL 2019 season after Andre Russell and Nitish Rana nearly pulled off the impossible at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
Needing 113 runs off the last six overs, Russell (65 off 25) and Rana (85 not out off 46) almost got their team over the line but Moeen Ali managed to defend 24 in the final over.
The tense climax came after Virat Kohli slammed 100 off 58 balls for his fifth century in the IPL and first this season. RCB hammered 91 runs off the last five overs to reach 213 for four – their highest total this IPL season.
Ali’s 66 off 28 while batting alongside Kohli also proved beneficial for the Red Army as they finally managed to defend.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Saw another super cricket match at the best venue in the country .. what a ground what a cricketing pitch..@imVkohli decision of steel to bowl moen ali..@BCCI
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) April 19, 2019
Almost anything is possible. Andre Russell can do anything with bat in hand. Cleanest hitting one can wish to see. Fantastic 100 from Virat as well and a top class match. #KKRvRCB
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 19, 2019
Hitting of the highest class from Andre Russell. Astonishing #KKRvRCB
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 19, 2019
I feel it’s only fair for KKR to do something in return for @Russell12A ,like winning a few before the season ends. https://t.co/Lqybf9vK2k
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 19, 2019
Russell is hitting the ball as well as anyone I know has.
– @imVkohli on @Russell12A #KKRvRCB #KKRHaiTaiyaar #AndreRussell #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/xFUyygUT7T
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 19, 2019
Looks like only way to stop Andre Russell hitting 6s this season is bowl underarm!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 19, 2019
What an insane game of cricket 😳 Dre Russ wow bro insane!!!! #KKRvRCB #IPL12
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) April 19, 2019
Andre Russell is the #cosmosboss. Period. #KKRvRCB #IPL2019 #IPL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 19, 2019
Bhai koi itni clean hitting kaise kr skta hai hr match me 🙏🙏🙏 u beauty #Russell 😊👏👏👏⭐️🙏 @KKRiders @IPL
— Rahul Sharma (@ImRahulSharma3) April 19, 2019
Dre Russ😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) April 19, 2019
@Russell12A what are you doing to bowlers 🙈
Daaaaaayum!! 😱
Absolute Freak!!!!@IPL #KKRvsRcb #Carnage pic.twitter.com/ze9ch0PMNf— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) April 19, 2019
At a point of time it did feel like @NitishRana_27 and @Russell12A will get KKR over the line but this batting order is over dependent. The top 4 could have had a better strike rate!#KKRvRCB
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) April 19, 2019
Knight Riders would've won this game with an over to spare if Russell/Rana came in to bat before Robin Uthappa. They really need to rethink their batting order. But what an exhibition of hitting. We're lucky to be in an era where Andre Russell is playing. #IPL2019 #KKRvRCB
— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) April 19, 2019
In the 12 years of IPL, Andre Russel has given us the best exhibition of hitting, no target is out of Russell's reach
— Pankaj Chhaparwal (@cpankaj) April 19, 2019
Why oh why is Russell batting so low? #KKRvsRCB
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) April 19, 2019
Unbelievable batting by @Russell12A just too good! Will this be another miracle! Wow he’s just a demon with the bat! #IPL2019 #RCBvsKKR
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) April 19, 2019
Good to see @imVkohli scoring a century and getting back in to form. It will do a world of good for his confidence. Great knock today. #KKRvRCB
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) April 19, 2019
