An AB de Villiers masterclass plus an outstanding all-round bowling display took Royal Challengers Bangalore to a crushing 82-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Sharjah.
The South African batsman set the platform for the demolition with a brutal innings worth 73 not out from 33 balls.
He hit 63 of those from 22 balls within the last five overs, as Bangalore amassed 194-2 from their 20 overs.
The task was always likely to be a tough one from that position for Kolkata, who had left out Sunil Narine after he was reported for a suspect bowling action last time out.
If possible, the performance of Bangalore’s spin duo even exceeded that of their teammate De Villiers.
Bowling seven overs in tandem in the middle overs, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal strangled the life out of the chase.
Sundar ended with 2-20 from his four overs of off-spin, while Chahal’s leg-spin brought him one for 12 – which was a remarkable return given the high scoring in Sharjah so far in this competition.
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