Siraj leads RCB stranglehold, limit KKR to 84/8

Abu Dhabi, October 21, 2020

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday broke the unwanted record of the lowest team score in 20 overs in the 13-year history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when they ended up with 84/8 wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj led the stranglehold for RCB, taking three wickets for eight runs and bowling two maidens in four overs.

Siraj and his new ball partner Navdeep Saini tore into the top half of the KKR batting order in the powerplay overs. While Siraj dismissed opener Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Tom Banton, Saini got Tripathi's openng partner Shubman Gill.

Captain Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik tried to steady the ship by holding on to their wickets between the fourth and eighth overs. Karthik finally departed, falling to Yuzvendra Chahal in the ninth over, having made four runs from 14 balls. An eighth-wicket partnership of 27 runs between Lockie Ferguson and Kuldeep Yadav was KKR's highest.

Brief scores: KKR 84/8 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 30, Lockie Ferguson 19; Mohammed Siraj 3/8) vs RCB

IANS