Sharjah:Riding on a record century partnership between captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 82 runs and rose to become the joint No. 1 team on the points table.
Although RCB have 10 points, the same as Mumbai Indians (+1.327) and Delhi Capitals (+1.038), Kohli's team is placed third on net run rate (-0.116).
Now, all eight teams have played seven matches each -- the halfway stage of the league phase of the 13th edition of IPL.
On winning the toss, RCB first posted 194/2 in 20 overs, thanks to a scintillating unbeaten 73 off 33 balls from de Villiers, Aaron Finch's 47 off 37 balls, and Kohli's 33 not out off 28 balls. They then restricted KKR to 112/9 in 20 overs to complete a one-sided win at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Only three KKR batsmen entered double figures, with the highest scorer being Shubman Gill with 34 (25 balls, 3x4, 1x6), before he was run out. Andre Russell and Rahul Tripathi were the others who reached double-digit scores.