Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers by five runs

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers by five runs in a rain-curtailed thrilling encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers by five runs in a rain-curtailed thrilling encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday night. Chasing a target of 130, Royal Challengers tried hard but could only manage 124 for four in their allotted 16 overs. Mark Boucher fought the lonely battle, remaining unbeaten on 50, while Camero White made a 16-ball 30.

Earlier, the match got a delay start due to rain and the overs were reduced to 16 for both the sides. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat. The Riders had a faltering start as both the opener got dismissed quite early. Skipper Sourav Ganguly (20 off 22 balls) and David Hussey (26 off 12) tried to resurrect the Knight Riders' innings and shared a 26-run stand for the fourth wicket, but two crucial runouts and some disciplined field work from the Royal Challengers led to their downfall.

However, Knight Riders' lower middle order saved them the blushes. Debutant Tatenda Taibu (15), Laxmi Ratan Shukla (11), Wriddhiman Saha (unbeaten 17) and Murali Karthik (17) made some valuable contributions down the order to set a challenging target.

In reply, Royal Challengers fell short by five runs of the winning target and could manage to score just 124 runs.

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