Kohli turns on the style as Royal Challengers roast Super Kings in Dubai

Virat Kohli and Chris Morris turned on the style as Royal Challengers Bangalore landed their fourth win in the IPL this season.

 
 

Virat Kohli produced another super Saturday match-winning effort as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Chennai Super Kings in Dubai.

Seven days after Kohli's unbeaten 72 saw Bangalore pull off an eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals, the captain was at it again as his 90 not out paved the way for a 37-run win.

His 52-ball heroics came in a team effort of 169-4, and Chennai could only splutter 132-8 in response, with Chris Morris taking 3-19 and snagging a run out.

It gave the Royal Challengers a fourth win in six games in the Indian Premier League this season, a record only beaten at this stage by Delhi Capitals.

Between last Saturday's success and their latest win, Bangalore slumped to a disappointing defeat to Delhi, albeit with Kohli making a team-best 43, and the India captain was at his magnificent best again on this occasion.

From 103-4 at the end of the 16th over, Royal Challengers Bangalore drastically stepped up the run rate, with 66 runs coming from those closing four overs as Kohli pushed the accelerator.

He and Shivam Dube took the fight to Chennai, riding their luck at times but also producing an array of the spectacular.

Sam Curran struck unlucky from the first ball of the 18th over when he almost had Dube caught at long-off, only for Narayan Jagadeesan to drop the ball over the boundary.

That was the first of three sixes from the English paceman's over, which cost 24 runs and gave Bangalore all the impetus they needed.

Chennai's reply was steady until it called for a big push in the final six overs, which they began with eight wickets in hand and 81 runs required.

Morris made a vital breakthrough when he threw down the stumps as Jagadeesan looked for a quick single, and the South African then removed Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, snuffing out Chennai hopes.

Jagadeesan the jogger

It would have been perhaps the slowest of quick singles if Jagadeesan had got home for Chennai, but of course Morris had other ideas as the third wicket fell.

The 24-year-old had made a handy 33 at a healthy enough clip when he prodded away a delivery from Navdeep Saini and looked to add an extra single, but it looked unlikely from the off, and Morris was lethal with his execution of the throw at the stumps. Jagadeesan was nowhere near making his ground, replays showing him merely jogging towards the non-striker's end.

Kohli gets better of Dhoni

While his captaincy counterpart MS Dhoni was caught at long-off for just 10 in the midst of Chennai's collapse, Kohli was terrific, and the decision to replace Moeen Ali with Morris also proved a masterstroke.

Kohli has found his stride after a slow start to this IPL campaign, and Bangalore will hope the man with the most runs in the history of this competition can carry on leading them with such great fervour.