The way Salt and Virat started, and the way Virat ended: Varun Aaron on RCB's explosive chase against KKR

Kolkata, March 23: A total of 174 was never going to be enough. Not against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Not at Eden Gardens and certainly not with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt setting the stage ablaze with an electrifying start that all but sealed Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) fate well before the game reached its conclusion, as per ESPNcricinfo.

By the end of the third over, RCB had already raced to 37 runs. Salt led the early charge, but Kohli was right behind him, matching the intensity. Then came the defining moment, an over that all but ended the contest. In the fourth over, KKR introduced Varun Chakravarthy much earlier than planned, hoping to stem the flow of runs. Kohli took a single off the first ball, but what followed was sheer destruction. Salt smashed Chakravarthy for 2, 4, 6, 4, and 4 in the next five deliveries, dismantling KKR's spin spearhead with ruthless efficiency.

Former India cricketer Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 TimeOut show, "This is completely walking the talk, the way Salt and Virat started, and the way Virat ended, [it] was setting a precedent, and saying, 'you know what, this is the kind of cricket we're going to play; if you can score more than us, all the best'."

"That over quickly sealed it, the confidence of KKR was completely shattered in that over," former India batter Ambati Rayudu added, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

At the ten-over mark, RCB stood at 104/1, with Salt back in the pavilion. KKR, at the same stage, had been 107/2--not a vastly different score but beyond the numbers, the momentum had already swung decisively in RCB's favour. With Kohli still at the crease, the outcome felt inevitable. After all, it was a chase.

"Kohli, generally, loves to finish the game, stay not out. But here, he stayed not out with the intent. He continued batting with that intent," Rayudu said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"That shows that... if Kohli is ready to do that, the rest eight [batters] will do that for RCB. And that's a great, great sight. That shows his leadership in the batting department," he said

Kohli anchored the innings till the very end, remaining unbeaten on 59 off 36 balls. His knock included four boundaries and three sixes, and he never once took his foot off the pedal. He reached his fifty with a crisp four off Harshit Rana in the 13th over. With the target within touching distance, Rajat Patidar and Liam Livingstone joined in, dealing mostly in sixes while Kohli stood at the other end, watching the fireworks.

"Everyone sings his praise for a reason: he gets these runs, especially when the team needs it, in a chase," Aaron said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"There are a lot of batsmen who get a lot of first-innings centuries, first-innings runs, but he always manages to get those important runs in a chase. And that is priceless to any team, to the Indian team, to RCB, and leadership in his own role is going to be important for RCB," he added.

Patidar, RCB's newly appointed captain, made an immediate impact in his leadership role. Walking in at 118 for 2 in the 12th over, he still had work to do. But he made it look effortless, smashing 34 off 16 balls. His tactical moves earlier in the game, particularly the reintroduction of Krunal Pandya, also played a crucial role in RCB's success.

"The first game, he looked a little nervous, which is obvious, because when you are leading your team at such a big stage," Piyush Chawla said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"But as the tournament will progress, he will look even better, because today, the way he made [bowling] changes, it's a think-out-of-the-box kind of a thought process, he looked good," he added.

By the time RCB wrapped up the chase in just 16.2 overs, the difference between the two teams was glaring. At the same stage in their innings, KKR had been 153/6 and managed only 21 more runs in the final 22 balls. They lost wickets in the middle overs and failed to capitalize at the death.