Kohli's ninth IPL ton powers RCB back to the top

In a nutshell

Virat Kohli bounced back from ducks in his previous two innings to score a record-extending ninth IPL hundred - and a third while chasing - as RCB clinically reeled in KKR's 192 to complete a perfect 2-0 run in Raipur. The six-wicket win, sealed with five balls to spare, lifted the defending champions back to the top of the table on Net Run Rate and to 16 points - a mark no team has failed to convert into a playoff spot in a 10-team IPL season. The defeat, meanwhile, snapped KKR's four-match winning streak and left them staring at a maximum possible tally of 15 points even if they win their remaining three home games, potentially leaving their playoff fate dependent on other results.

Match in phases:

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 192/4 in 20 overs [Angkrish Raghuvanshi 71 (46), Rinku Singh 49* (29); Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1-34] lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 194/4 in 19.1 overs [Virat Kohli 105* (60), Devdutt Padikkal 39 (27); Kartik Tyagi 3-32] by six wickets.

Bhuvneshwar wins the battle against Finn Allen

Rajat Patidar won the toss and said "obviously we'd like to field", a call shaped by how two-paced the Raipur pitch had played against MI and the comfort of having four specialist seamers at his disposal after bringing back Jacob Duffy for Romario Shepherd. Duffy's return, though, began poorly as Finn Allen tore into him. That left Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the familiar task of removing KKR's aggressor. After being punched through the off side early, Bhuvneshwar went a touch fuller on the good length band, found a hint of seam movement away, and induced the edge to get Allen (18 off 8) for his 13th Powerplay wicket of the season. Even so, KKR's openers collected 10 boundaries in the first six overs with Duffy going for 31 in his two Powerplay overs, a sign that the surface wasn't quite as tricky as it had been two nights earlier.

Raghuvanshi takes charge with IPL personal best

Raghuvanshi has a key role at No. 3 in this KKR line-up and has had a steady, if not dramatic, season with three 50+ scores before today. Today's knock exemplified his class and a highlight of his innings was his ability to delay his bat swing and play the ball as late as possible. He waited for the short balls but if the ball wasn't short enough he turned the pull into a short-arm jab. He hit both sides of the ground and also took on the lone spinner, Krunal Pandya, bringing out a sweep as well as an inside-out loft over extra cover for six. After Rahane fell to a Josh Hazlewood short ball, Raghuvanshi put on 68 off 46 with Cameron Green, ensuring KKR didn't lose their way through the middle overs.

Rinku does it in twos

For a side only three down going into the death overs, KKR would've expected more than the 51 they managed in the final five overs. But four of those overs belonged to Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood, who nailed their plans and bowled stubbornly to the field. Tellingly, only one boundary came in each of the last four overs. Rinku Singh instead relied on the vast square boundaries, repeatedly nudging twos and running hard - he collected seven of them in all. He dominated the 76-run stand with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, but after denying his partner a single earlier in the final over, the stand ended off the last ball when Raghuvanshi was run out attempting another second that would've brought up Rinku's fifty.

Kohli celebrates his first run

...with an animated, almost self-deprecating fist pump. It was his first run in the competition since April 30. KKR debutant Saurabh Dubey began with a tidy over to Jacob Bethell and Kohli, but once Kohli got going, he slipped back into rhythm instantly. Vaibhav Arora strayed in line and paid for it as Kohli cracked four boundaries in an over. He survived a chance on 21 when Rovman Powell spilled a tough catch at cover, but by the end of the Powerplay Kohli had raced to 30 off 14 with a six mixed in and normal service was restored.

Kohli-Padikkal duet carries on

As they have done in many other chases this year, Kohli and Padikkal ensured RCB continued to stay ahead of the run-rate. Padikkal received a reprieve when Arora put down a sitter at deep square leg. Given that RCB had 66 in the Powerplay and were ahead of the asking rate meant they could play Narine without taking any risks. The absence of Varun CV - out with injury - left KKR without a cutting edge through the middle with Anukul Roy and Cam Green going for 43 from their four overs. The pair put on 92 off 59 to push their tally of partnership runs to 462 at an average of 66.

Any chance for KKR at all?

Not really, when Kohli was in his chasing mood. But there were some glimmers. When Padikkal fell, RCB needed 64 off 41 and new batter Rajat Patidar looked all at sea against the short ball once more and even wore a pacy one from Kartik Tyagi on his helmet. But Kohli just kept finding the boundaries with surgical precision. Rahane threw the left-arm spin of Anukul at him with 36 needed off four overs but he pulled a short ball away for four and then delectably chipped one straight over the bowler's head for six. All that was left at the end of that over was to see if and when he'd get to his hundred. He got there off the 58th ball, ticked off 14,000 T20 runs (fastest to the mark) and walked off unbeaten in a run chase as he'd done so many times in his career.

What next for the teams?

RCB are done with their Raipur leg of home games. They now head to Dharamsala to face PBKS on Sunday (May 17) in a rematch of last year's final. KKR will return home to take on the high-flying Gujarat Titans on Saturday.