UNBEATEN

Man-of-the-Match Sunil Narine and Andre Russell supported with a brace of wickets, inspiring Kolkata Knight Riders victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets to remain unbeaten in the Indian Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Choosing to bowl first, KKR restricted RCB to 182 for six off their 20 overs with opener Virat Kohli top-scoring with an unbeaten 83 from 59 balls and Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell chipping in with 33 and 28 respectively.

Medium-fast bowler Russell took two for 29 from four overs, including the key wicket of Green.

West Indies Andre Russell bowls during a practice session in Gros Islet, St. Lucia.Associated Press / Andres Leighton, file

RCB suffered the early loss of Faf du Plessis for eight in the second over but Kohli came in to  recover his side, posting 65 for the second wicket with Green, 42 for the third wicket with Maxwell and 31 for the sixth wicket with Dinesh Karthik (20). Kohli struck four fours and four sixes, reaching his 50 off 36 deliveries.

In reply, KKR reached their target with 19 balls to spare, with Venkatesh Iyer belting 50 off 30 deliveries and Narine striking 47 off 22 deliveries.

Captain Shreyas Iyer on 39 and Englishman Phil Salt with 30 also chipped in with key knocks as KKR won their second game, while RCB had  their second defeat in three outings.

Narine, who finished with one for 40 from his four overs, lashed two fours and five sixes as he inspired an 86-run opening partnership off 39 balls with Salt.

Both players fell nine balls apart with six only runs added, but  Venkatesh took control of the chase, putting on 75 for the third wicket with Shreyas, which put KKR on the line of victory.