MUMBAI: Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka took 4-20 to help Royal Challengers Bangalore win by three wickets in a low-scoring IPL thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.

After some late drama at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, Hasaranga’s stunning leg-spin stint helped bowl out Kolkata for 128, a score Bangalore overcame with four balls to spare.

Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav each took five wickets to unsettle Bangalore’s top and middle order before Sherfane Rutherford’s 28 and Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten 14 off seven pulled the side home.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, inspired by new captain Faf du Plessis, overcame their first loss in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament to win their first match.

“In an ideal world, we would’ve liked to have won more convincingly but a win is a win,” said Du Plessis, who succeeded Virat Kohli as captain with Bangalore in hunt for their maiden IPL title.

“DK’s (Karthik) experience helped in the end, cool-calm, runs weren’t never really too far away. He’s probably as cool as MS Dhoni can get in the last five overs.”

Rutherford, a left-handed West Indian batsman, formed important partnerships, notably a 39-run stand with Shahbaz Ahmed (27).

Southee bowled Rutherford and Hasaranga in one over to keep the game close, but Karthik killed it off with a six and a four from Andre Russell in the final over.

Earlier, Kolkata’s top-order had been rocked by Bangalore’s Akash Deep and fellow speed bowler Mohammed Siraj.

As Kolkata slumped to 66-7, Hasaranga combined to send back skipper Shreyas Iyer for 13 and then two consecutive scalps in one over.

Russell tried to fight back with an 18-ball 25 but was caught behind by Harshal Patel, and Kolkata’s innings was over in 18.5 overs.

“I thought this game was exciting. Before coming in to the bowl, I told the boys this game could define our character,” said Shreyas.

“The way we fought reflects our mentality. Proud to have taken it till the last over.”

This season’s edition of the world’s most valuable cricket competition has been enlarged to ten teams and 74 matches, but league games are still limited to two locations, including Pune, which has a small attendance due to coronavirus limitations.

On Thursday, the Lucknow Super Giants, one of the league’s two new clubs, face the holders Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium.

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