"It is important that we maintain our calmness": Shreyas Iyer after win over Bengaluru

A century stand by Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar could not prevent another heartbreaking loss for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as they agonisingly fell short by just a run against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

With this win, KKR moved up to the second spot with five wins and two losses, giving them 10 points. The RCB stays bottom of the table with a win and seven losses, aggregating just two points.

"It takes a lot off your body and drains you out completely because you go through so many emotions. It's tough to stay calm but I'm elated. We got two points on the board and that's all that matters. It's extremely tough when the pressure is on, I feel that every individual should put their hands up and take the responsibility. Russell did that by picking up two wickets and completely changed the game in our favor, that kind of attitude is needed in the team," Iyer said in the post-match presentation.

"It is important that we maintain our calmness and stay in the present and make the batter hit where you want them to hit. We need to stick to our routines and processes and see to it that we execute the things we want. It was a pivotal knock, I wanted to stay till the end and steady the ship. We were losing wickets and I wanted to stay till the end and see it off. We got some important boundaries towards the end and I was very happy about that," the right-hand batter added.

Coming to the match, RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis won the toss and elected to field first. Phil Salt's explosive 48 in 14 balls, with seven fours and three sixes, providing the two-time champions with some extra runs in the powerplay. Wickets were falling from the other end continuously, but skipper Shreyas Iyer (50 in 36 balls, with seven fours and a six), Rinku Singh (24 in 16 balls, with two fours and a six), Andre Russell (27* in 20 balls, with four boundaries) and Ramandeep Singh (24* in nine balls, with two fours and two sixes) contributed just enough to take them to 222/6 in their 20 overs.

Cameron Green (2/35) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB. Yash Dayal also picked up two wickets, but leaked 56 runs. Mohammed Siraj and Lockie Ferguson took a wicket.

In the run-chase, RCB lost Virat Kohli (18) and Faf Du Plessis (7) early. A 102-run partnership between Will Jacks (55 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes) and Rajat Patidar (52 in 23 balls, with three fours and five sixes) helped RCB bounce back, however spells from Andre Russell (3/25) and Sunil Narine (2/34) changed the match once again. Karn Sharma attempted to swing the match in RCB's favour with three sixes in the final over, however the team fell short by a run and skittled out for 221 in 20 overs.

Russell got the 'Player of the Match' for his knock of 27 and three wickets.

With this win, KKR moved up to the second spot with five wins and two losses, giving them 10 points. The RCB stays bottom of the table with a win and seven losses, aggregating just two points. (ANI)