Raipur, May 13
A sublime half-century from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, followed by a late onslaught from Rinku Singh, powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a formidable 192/4 in their Indian Premier League clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Wednesday.
Raghuvanshi led the charge with a fluent 71 off 46 deliveries, studded with seven fours and three sixes, while Rinku Singh provided the finishing flourish with a blistering 49 off 29 balls, featuring three boundaries and two maximums.
After being put in to bat first, Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen opened the innings for KKR. Allen launched an early assault on Jacob Duffy in the second over, hammering 14 runs. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck back in the very next over, dismissing Allen for 18 and bringing young Angkrish Raghuvanshi to the crease.
After the early setbacks, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Ajinkya Rahane counterattacked, putting the RCB bowlers under pressure with a flurry of boundaries. However, Hazlewood broke the stand by dismissing KKR skipper Rahane for 19, paving the way for Cameron Green to join Raghuvanshi at the crease.
KKR ended the powerplay at 56/2. Despite the early loss of both openers, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Cameron Green steadied the innings with a crucial rebuilding stand. The duo helped KKR recover strongly to reach 86/2 at the halfway mark.
Green accelerated in the 12th over, smashing a six off Krunal Pandya to bring up the 50-run partnership for the third wicket. However, Rasikh Salam Dar struck in the very next over, dismissing Green for 32 and bringing Rinku Singh to the crease.
In the 14th over, Raghuvanshi brought up a well-crafted half-century, marking his fourth fifty of the season. With four 50-plus scores in IPL 2026, Raghuvanshi now holds the record for the most such scores by a KKR batter at the age of 21 in a single edition of the tournament.
The duo kept the pressure firmly on the RCB bowlers with an aggressive counterattack, powering KKR to 172/3 at the end of 18 overs. Josh Hazlewood then delivered a tidy 19th over, conceding just 10 runs to keep the scoring in check.
Rinku Singh launched a six in the final over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the experienced pacer responded brilliantly by restricting the damage and giving away only 10 runs in the over.
KKR eventually posted 192/4, setting RCB a target of 193 for victory. For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam Dar scalped a wicket each.
- ANI
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