NEW DELHI: Skipper Virat Kohli said “it really hurts” after Royal Challengers Bangalore slumped to a record low score of 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
Chasing a modest 132, the Bangalore batsmen — including Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers — crashed in just 9.4 overs to mark a new low for the Twenty20 tournament, now in its 10th edition.
Opener Kohli’s first-ball duck started the rot for Bangalore, as none of their batsmen reached double digits and Kedar Jadhav top-scored with nine at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
It set an unwanted new IPL record after Rajasthan Royals, currently barred over a spot-fixing scandal, totaled just 58 against Bangalore in 2009.
“Our worst batting performance, it really hurts,” a disappointed Kohli said on Sunday, as Bangalore stayed bottom of the eight-team IPL table.
“There’s nothing to review anything about the second half, it was that bad. We need to forget it and move forward. We’re a much better team,” he added.
Kolkata bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was man of the match for his 3-21, had Kohli caught by Manish Pandey in the very first over to trigger the rout of last year’s runners-up.
England’s Chris Woakes and New Zealand fast bowler Colin de Grandhomme returned figures of 3-6 and 3-4 as Bangalore lost their last six wickets for only nine runs.
“I’m sure we won’t bat like that again in the tournament... We’ve got back-to-back games, need to try and win those to get some momentum,” said Kohli.
For Kolkata, the West Indies’ Sunil Narine top-scored with his 17-ball 34 while opening the innings for the home side
Kohli pain after Bangalore set new low in IPL
Kohli pain after Bangalore set new low in IPL
Rabiot double lifts Milan after early scare at Como
- Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points
COMO, Italy: AC Milan came from behind to earn a 3-1 victory at Como on Thursday, with Adrien Rabiot scoring twice to keep the away side in the Serie A title race.
Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points.
Como made the brighter start and took the lead after 10 minutes when Marc-Oliver Kempf rose to head home a corner.
Despite the hosts controlling much of the first half, Milan struck in stoppage time as Christopher Nkunku calmly converted from the penalty spot after Kempf was penalized for pushing Rabiot.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced a series of strong saves to keep Como at bay after the break before Milan took the lead in the 55th minute when Rabiot knocked the ball in from close range.
Como were denied an equalizer as Nico Paz saw his effort from outside the box crash against the crossbar. Milan then sealed the win two minutes from time when Rabiot caught the Como defense off guard with a low strike from distance that crept into the bottom corner.
“This was a team victory, we showed our mentality,” Rabiot told DAZN after being named Man of the Match.
“We suffered a lot in the first half, but we talked during the break, came out with a different mentality, we all came out fighting for the three points.
“We gave something extra and I am very happy to score two goals, obviously, but above all I’m pleased with the mentality of the team.”
While Rabiot provided the goals, another Frenchman, goalkeeper Maignan, made his mark with a string of crucial saves.
“We knew that playing here would be difficult, we were well-prepared. We started a little sluggish and they scored, but we managed to keep the game open, and then all together started to play as a team,” Maignan said.
“We know these are great nights for Milan with an atmosphere like this. We suffered, we used up a lot of energy and left it all on the field.”
