With a 21-win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL on Wednesday in Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders broke their four-match losing skid following Jason Roy's brilliant fifty.
After RCB skipper Virat Kohli decided to bowl at their home ground, the Kolkata Knight Riders hitters responded in sync to score a valiant 200/5, with the English opener stealing the show with a 29-ball 56.
However, the top-order mayhem was caused by the spin tandem of Varun Chakravarthy (3/24) and Suyash Sharma, a debutant, before Andre Russell (2/29) shattered Kohli's resistance to limit RCB to 179 for eight.
Following the quick falls of Faf Du Plessis (17) and Glenn Maxwell (5), Kohli took charge of the team in the absence of Du Plessis, scoring 54 off of 34 balls to keep their hopes alive in the 201-run chase.
But when Venkatesh Iyer grabbed a crucial catch at deep midwicket boundary to eliminate Kohli off Russell, chaos ensued.
As Kohli walked back in shock, he dove to his left and slid over, but he managed to hold onto the ball.
Dinesh Karthik (22) was left to continue their pursuit with 86 required from 48 balls, but Chakravarthy got the last laugh when he outwitted the seasoned RCB keeper-batter on way to his three-for, and it seemed all over for RCB.
Having defeated RCB by 81 runs in their season opener, KKR thereby delivered a twin blow to them.
The defeat once again demonstrated RCB's overreliance on its Big Three, which includes Kohli, Du Plessis, and Maxwell.
With RCB cruising at 30 for loss, the spin team of Sharma and Chakravarthy gave KKR the ideal start by splitting three wickets between them in the powerplay (58/3), putting an end to RCB's fast start.
Fa du Plessis, the normal leader of RCB, seemed especially menacing when he smacked Umesh Yadav on both sides of the wicket while sitting out only to be substituted as an impact player.
As the RCB opening pair gorged on the KKR pacers to begin with, Kohli too seemed to be in top form.
Sunil Narine, their go-to spinner, failed to pick up a wicket in four games, so Rana Bank turned to Suyash Sharma, their newest spin package.
The leggie's mistake allowed him to get du Plessis' coveted scalp, and in his subsequent over, he trapped Shahbaz Ahmed (2).
The RCB's top-order was in turmoil when Maxwell was out to Chakravarthy for the second time in as many games this season.
However, RCB did not relent as Mahipal Lomror demonstrated his determination, providing Kohli with the ideal assistance as the two went about their business.
Once KKR started playing, Roy set the tone up front by smashing five sixes and four boundaries. Roy and Narayan Jagadeesan (27; 29b) gave KKR their best-ever start, scoring 83 runs off just 56 balls.
Hasaranga, a legspin wonder from Sri Lanka, bowled two excellent spells before returning with 4-0-24-2 that generated enough commotion. KKR's batting came either side of those sessions.
His frugal performance during the powerplay served as the catalyst for Vyshak's double blow, which saw him eject Jagadeesan and Roy.
However, Rana quickly reached his 21-ball 48 (3×4, 4×6) by making good use of his two reprieves, which came on five and 19, to keep them from losing momentum.
Rinku Singh (18 not out; 10b), the team's new hero, then grabbed control by slamming two fours and a six to help KKR pass the 200-run barrier.
David Wiese hit two sixes for an undefeated twelve.
Roy gave KKR their best-ever start to the season by blasting his way to a 22-ball fifty, his second in a row, during the powerplay.
When left-arm spinner Ahmed was brought in the final over of the powerplay, the Englishman exhibited his ire towards the likes of RCB new ball bowlers, Mohammed Siraj, and David Willey.
In a 25-run over, Roy destroyed him for four sixes in five balls as KKR sailed to their best powerplay total of the year—66 for no loss.
However, Hasaranga deserves praise for a clean over after the powerplay in which he allowed only two runs to score in order to put pressure on the pair.
When limits abruptly dried up, Vyshak and Harshal Patel tightened the noose as well, making their apparent behaviour all the more obvious.
While Roy had a peach of a delivery from the uncapped Indian who delivered a brilliant legstump yorker to clean up the Englishman around his legs, Jagadeesan, who was struggling to make big blows, was done in by a Vyshak bouncer.
