IPL Results 2018: Royal Challengers vs. Knight Riders Score, Table, Schedule

Kolkata Knight Riders (177/6) got their 2018 Indian Premier League campaign off to a winning start on Sunday, beating Royal Challengers Bangalore (176/7) by four wickets (with seven balls remaining).

The hosts opted to bowl first after winning the toss and easily chased down their target, powered by a half-century from Sunil Narine.

With the win, Kolkata also took the top spot in the current IPL standings.

IPL Standings (Team, Played, Won, Points, Net Run Rate)

Kolkata Knight Riders, 1, 1, 2, +0.598

Kings XI Punjab, 1, 1, 2, +0.567

Chennai Super Kings, 1, 1, 2, +0.271

Rajasthan Royals, 0, 0, 0

Sunrisers Hyderabad, 0, 0, 0

Mumbai Indians, 1, 0, 0, -0.271

Delhi Daredevils, 1, 0, 0, -0.567

Royal Challengers Bangalore, 1, 0, 0; -0.598

IPL Schedule

Monday, April 9, 3:30 p.m. BST: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Rajasthan Royals

Tuesday, April 10, 3:30 p.m. BST: Chennai Super Kings vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

Wednesday, April 11, 3:30 p.m. BST: Rajasthan Royals vs. Delhi Daredevils

For the full IPL schedule, click here.

Singh Cameo Leads Bangalore to 176/7

Kolkata won the toss and elected to bowl, knowing chasing teams were always at a major advantage at Eden Gardens last year.

They got Quinton de Kock early and limited Virat Kohli to 31 from 33, but Bangalore sped things up and finished strongly. AB de Villiers scored 44 from 23, with five sixes, and a late surge from Mandeep Singh―37 from 18―pushed the total to 176.

Per cricket writer Boria Majumdar, it was a good score, given the circumstances:

Nitish Rana took two wickets in a single over, giving up 11 runs.

Narine Half-Century

West Indies star Narine got the chase off to a great start with a half-century, scoring 50 from 19 for a strike rate of 263.15. He would find nine boundaries in total before he was bowled by Umesh Yadav in the sixth over.

Per Broken Cricket, Narine made history with his good outing:

Steady Chase for Kolkata

Knight Riders didn't push too hard in the chase, slowing down in the middle overs and patiently working their knock. Rana (34 from 25) and Dinesh Karthik (35 not out) did most of the damage, and the chase was completed with a full over left to play with.

What's Next

Sunrisers and Royals will open their campaigns on Monday. Knight Riders will be in action again on Tuesday, as they take on Super Kings, and Royal Challengers won't feature until Friday, when they face Kings XI.