Twitter Reactions: RCB finish with just 176 despite AB, Mandeep specials

The star studded Royal Challengers Bangalore took the field against the new look Kolkata Knight Riders in the marquee clash at the Eden Gardens. Both sides looked equally matched on paper and hence, the third game of the season seemed like an exciting prospect. The stage was all set with a packed house in Kolkata as Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli walked for the toss.

DK won the toss and opted to bowl first. Royal Challengers Bangalore fielded Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, and Chris Woakes as their four overseas players. Meanwhile, the hosts played with Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Mitchell Johnson as their overseas quartet. RCB had a poor start to their innings with Quinton de Kock perishing cheaply after scoring 4.

Piyush Chawla gave the first breakthrough to the Knight Riders. Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum continued to rally his way through in his trademark brash style. He was joined by RCB skipper Virat Kohli at the crease. Surprisingly, Kohli found it tough to get the boundaries going on the day. Much to the relief of the RCB camp, McCullum got the odd ball crossing the boundary ropes.

The 45-run stand between the two players for the second wicket ended with Sunil Narine cleaning up McCullum in the 9th over. He perished for a well made 43 that came off 27 balls with 6 fours and a couple of sixes. Kohli was joined by AB de Villiers at the crease. AB showed some serious class with belligerent hitting. The South African raced to a quick 44 off just 23 balls with a boundary and 5 towering maximums.

Just then, DK pulled off a masterclass by bringing Nitish Rana in to the attack. Rana was hit for a six by ABD but got the very same batsman on the next delivery. The ball that followed saw Kohli perish too after completely missing a yorker. Kohli scored 31 off 33 balls. Wickets started to tumble thereafter. It was a quick 18-ball 37 from Mandeep Singh that propelled the Royal Challengers Bangalore to 176/7 in their stipulated 20 overs.

Here is how the fans reacted to the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings:

Akash Chopra at 14.0 overs – Nitish Rana ko kyun laaye hain?

Akash Chopra at 14.4 overs – Nitish Rana ko itna late kyun laaye hain?#KKRvRCB

— SAGAR (@sagarcasm) April 8, 2018

AB jaisa koi nahin… #KKRvRCB

— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) April 8, 2018

Nitish Rana you have a tale for your grandchildren. You got ABD and Virat out in 2 balls. Now that’s the @IPL for you. Dreams do come true.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) April 8, 2018

Can you believe it. Unheralded Nitish Rana gets @KKRiders back in the match with two huge wickets of @ABdeVilliers17 & @imVkohli in a span of two balls. #KKRvRCB #IPL2018

— Debasis Sen (@debasissen) April 8, 2018

Nitish Rana is a batsman and a part-time spinner. okay !

— Jalandar (@scriblng) April 8, 2018

I'd have bet and lost everything I have if you'd told me Rana is going to pick ABD and Kohli off consecutive balls. Can't analyze all the time, I guess. Sometimes you just sit back and enjoy the game. #LoveThisGame #KKRvRCB

— Soham Sarkhel (@RightArmRubbish) April 8, 2018

Captain @DineshKarthik applied the oldest formula of using a part timer to distract the set batsmen and ended up getting two big fishes. #nitishrana got the dream wickets any bowler in the world would ask for. #RCBvsKKR ??

— Prragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) April 8, 2018

Why would you send a lamb to the slaughterhouse? But someday the hunter also becomes hunted. Nitish Rana….tell this story to your grand kids ?? #KKRvRCB #IPL

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 8, 2018

This is what RCB lacks….quality finishers. Sarfaraz and Mandeep have a chance to change that. Big 4 overs. #KKRvRCB #IPL

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 8, 2018

At one stage, it appeared @RCBTweets would get 200+. Now they need badly to get to 175 to remain competitive

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 8, 2018

Looked like a very risky move but it has paid off and like how. Nitish Rana has got AB De villiers and Kohli in successive balls. This is something worth telling his grandchildren #KKRvRCB

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 8, 2018

Nitish Rana can happily retire now.

— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) April 8, 2018

WTF? WTF really? Ab de Villiers. Nitish Rana? pic.twitter.com/d6YJq5S98Y

— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) April 8, 2018

KKR fans to Nitish Rana right now#KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/3fJuzUw49C

— ANSHUMAN? (@RohitsAvenger) April 8, 2018

Nitish Rana can propose his crush tonight. Nobody will say NO to a guy who got ABD and Kohli on successive deliveries. #KKRvRCB

— Abhishek (@Sajjanlaunda) April 8, 2018

Michael Clarke after 14 overs: This is a big mistake. Why is Nitish Rana coming on?

Michael Clarke after 14.3 overs: Why didn't Nitish Rana bowl earlier?#KKRvRCB

— Pratik (@fake_engineer7) April 8, 2018

14th over: Who the hell is Nitish Rana?

End of over 14: Nitish Rana for Khel Ratna! #KKRvRCB #IPL

— Indranil Das Blah (@indranildasblah) April 8, 2018

Filth. Vinay Kumar is bowling absolute filth. Where’s all that experience? Poor bowling. #IPL2018 #KKRvRCB

— Arjun Ashok (@arj_90) April 8, 2018

Vinay Kumar, getting hammered for over a decade.

— Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) April 8, 2018

Ishant Sharma after watching Vinay Kumar: pic.twitter.com/BVg9LuKwSj

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) April 8, 2018

Ummm @ABdeVilliers17 is actually RIDICULOUS ?????? @RCBTweets

— Georgia Elwiss (@Gelwiss) April 8, 2018

Mandeep Singh keeping his career alive and finishing Vinay Kumar's career in single inning.#RCBvKKR

— Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) April 8, 2018

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