Virat Kohli led the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the third consecutive time in IPL 2023, as Faf du Plessis remained benched due to an injury. Kohli had previously won both matches as captain, but the encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium posed a significant challenge.
KKR managed to post 200/5 in their 20 overs on a track that has historically been favorable to batsmen. However, RCB may have prevented KKR from reaching this total had they not dropped several straightforward catches.
During the 15th over, the most significant dropped catch occurred, leaving everyone in disbelief. Harshal Patel was at fault for not taking the catch, which came straight to him at fine leg off Nitish Rana.
It was a good-length delivery from Mohammed Siraj on the pads, but Rana failed to time it properly. Despite the missed catch, which was Rana’s second chance, Kohli, who is usually expressive on the field, remained calm and even clapped to encourage Harshal to stay positive and focus on the next delivery.
Fans were surprised to see the “King” making this gesture, but they did not hesitate to criticize Harshal for his error. Iyer struggled to score runs despite facing several deliveries, while Dre Russ once again failed to make an impact.
However, Rinku and Wiese’s thrilling shots helped KKR reach a total of 200. Hasaranga and Vyshak stood out as RCB’s top bowlers, although they may be a bit disappointed that they conceded some extra runs in the last five overs, which resulted in KKR scoring 69 runs.