Royal Challengers Bangalore (85/2) made light work of Kolkata Knight Riders (84/4) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night. Mohammed Siraj was breathing fire with the ball as he dismantled Kolkata’s top-order inside the first four overs. Following which, Kolkata lost wickets at regular intervals as Bangalore bowlers put up a brilliant display with the ball.

Winning the toss, Eoin Morgan decided to bat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. However, this decision of his backfired. Shubman Gill (1), Rahul Tripathi (1) and Nitish Rana (0) were sent packing early in the match, courtesy Siraj and Navdeep Saini. The middle-order, too, suffered a similar fate as they failed to build momentum.

Tom Banton (10), Dinesh Karthik (4) and Morgan (30) tried to stage a comeback but the spinners had other plans in their mind. Impeccable line and length was the highlight of RCB’s bowling attack.

Apart from Morgan, no other Kolkata batsmen could breach the 20-run mark in Abu Dhabi. After Morgan’s dismissal, spinner Kuldeep Yadav (12) and pacer Lockie Ferguson (19) chipped in with important runs as they guided their team to a paltry 84/8 in 20 overs. This is also the lowest team total, batting all 20 overs, in the history of the game.

In reply, the Bangalore-based franchise gunned down the target in 13.3 overs, with captain Virat Kohli scoring an unbeaten 18.

RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal (25) and Aaron Finch (16) provided a steady start to their team before Gurkeerat Singh Mann (21) and Kohli took their team over the finish line without breaking a sweat.

Siraj, who adjudged the man of the match, became the first player in the history of the cash-rich league to bowl two maiden overs in one IPL match. He also took the most wickets, 3, before conceding a single run. Plus, he also bowled a total of 12 dot balls before conceding a run. All in all, it was a memorable night for the Hyderabadi pacer.

After this tie, Kolkata Knight Riders are placed fourth in the IPL points table with 10 points and Royal Challengers Bangalore find themselves second with 14 points.