IPL 2021: Maxwell-de Villiers' trailblazing innings helps RCB score 204/4, beats KKR by 38 runs

In what turned out to sheer domination from Royal Challengers Bangalore, it breezed past former champion Kolkata Knight Riders by 38 runs in Match 10 of the Indian Premier League 2021 at the MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. It was all-rounder Glenn Maxwell's brutal hitting, swiftly assisted by wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers, that propelled RCB to the challenging total of 204/4. Simultaneously, the RCB bowlers did not leave enough room for the KKR batsmen to chase it down.

Winning the toss, RCB skipper Virat Kohli elected to bat first on a slow surface, as he made a change in the form of Rajat Patidar, who replaced Daniel Christian. Meanwhile, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan moved in with an unchanged XI.

RCB was off to a panicky start, losing Kohli (5) and Patidar (1) in the second over off spinner Varun Chakravarthy. However, the arrival of Maxwell began the utter destruction of the KKR bowlers.

The duo contributed to an 86-run stand for the third wicket before Devdutt Padikkal departed for 25 to pacer Prasidh Krishna after being caught by Rahul Tripathi at deep mid-wicket in the 12th over. Nonetheless, it hardly made a difference as Maxwell brought up his eighth IPL half-century in the process.

It was followed by a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket between Maxwell and de Villiers before the former fell for an impressive 78 to pacer Pat Cummins in the 17th over, at 148, after popping it up and handing an easy catch to Harbhajan Singh at fine leg. Nevertheless, de Villiers took the responsibility thereon.

Along with Kyle Jamieson, de Villiers contributed to an unbeaten 56-run stand for the fifth wicket. In the process, the latter brought up his 39th IPL half-century and stayed unbeaten on 76, as RCB managed to post a monumental total of 204/4.

For KKR, six bowlers were utilised, with Chakravarthy being the most successful one. Meanwhile, Krishna was the most economical of all.

FULL SCORECARD: IPL 2021, Match 10- Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians (RCB vs MI)

As KKR came out for the chase, it looked to get off to a flier but lost wickets quickly. In the powerplay, it lost a couple of wickets, Shubman Gill (21) and Nitish Rana (18), while the score read 57/2.

Just nine runs later, fellow opener Nitish Rana (18) to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after being caught by Devdutt Padikkal in the seventh over. He was followed by wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (2) off the same man in the ninth over after being trapped leg-before, as the score read 74/4.

Although the pair of Morgan and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan managed to steady the ship with a 40-run stand for the fifth wicket, the former was dismissed by pacer Harshal Patel after being caught by Kohli for 29 in the 14th over, while the required rate was scaling higher. A 31-run stand followed between Shakib and all-rounder Andre Russell, while the former fell for 26 in the 18th over after pacer Kyle Jamieson bowled him up.

As Russell look to become the hero for the side, it was the 19th over from Mohammed Siraj that produced just a run, with Russell on strike throughout, which entirely ruled out KKR's chances. Harshal got rid of Russell for 31 after being knocked over in the final over, as RCB sealed the game by 38 runs.

As for RCB, it too pressed six bowlers into the attack. While Jamieson had the most success, Harshal was highly economical.
Brief scores: RCB 204/4 (Maxwell- 78, de Villiers- 76*; Chakravarthy- 2/39) beats KKR 166/8 (Russell- 31; Jamieson 3/41) by 38 runs.

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