Kohli and de Villiers double act does it again

The match in a tweet: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers continued their dominating form to blow the Kolkata Knight Riders away and keep Bangalore's season afloat

The result: Kolkata Knight Riders 5-183 lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 1-186 by nine wickets

The heroes: To say that Virat Kohli is in great form doesn’t suffice anymore. His run-scoring ability is fast becoming the stuff of legend, particularly in the T20 format where he has discovered a method to consistently score runs. A hefty Eden Gardens run chase was made to look like just another walk in the park.

Kolhi scored an unbeaten 75 from 51 balls as Bangalore chased down a challenging total with consummate ease. Kohli first put on 71 with Chris Gayle, who finally found form, and then added another 115 from 68 with AB de Villiers, who thrilled again with his own unbeaten 59 from only 31 balls.

In the previous game at Bangalore, the duo had destroyed the Gujarat Lions with centuries each. There, batting first, their twin tons were a hallmark of complete domination and the opposition sank without a trace. This game, however, was different as the Knight Riders set an aggressive tone from the outset batting first. Chasing a hefty target, the latest edition of the Kohli and AB Show was a sucker punch for the Knight Riders who pride themselves in defending.

The support cast: With a previous high score of seven this season, Bangalore could have been forgiven for again dropping their expensive West Indian import in favour of Australia's Travis Head, as they did earlier in the tournament. But they persisted and Gayle finally showed his class. He launched four huge sixes on his way to a domineering 49 from 31 balls – the first time he had made a double-digit score since his World T20 century against England more than two months ago. The Gayle whirlwind ended in typical fashion – lbw attempting another mighty six – but the onslaught had laid the foundations for Bangalore's chase.

Another Kohli special: With their season on the line, Bangalore's intensity was high in the field – a reflection of Kohli himself, the skipper never far from the thick of things. His commitment to the cause saw him dive forward in a desperate attempt to claim a catch in the 17th over when others might have been content to take the ball on the bounce and keep it safely to one. The effort saw Kohli split his finger and he needed to leave the field where he had seven stitches inserted into a cut.

Not even that could slow him down with a bat in hand. In fact, he once again out-paced both Gayle and de Villiers in their respective partnerships.

Of all his talents, Kohli’s running between the wickets might be his most impressive. A gentle nudge towards midwicket, the fielder haring in from the deep and while the ball never reaches the 30-yard-circle Kohli manages to steal two runs. Time and time again. He ran 23 singles and seven doubles in his innings – those 37 runs from 30 balls just between the sticks keeps the scoreboard constantly ticking. He makes it an art form.

The dropped catch: It is a measure of the man that he capitalises on his chances, but this was a horror miss by the Kolkata skipper. Gautam Gambhir put down a rare but all too simple chance off Kohli at backward point after a Shakib al Hasan delivery was miscued in the 11th over. Kohli was on 32. The miss would prove oh so costly.

The consolation: Despite the loss, Kolkata had reasons to be satisfied with their outing. The first consolation of course is that they were competitive althought completely outplayed given the kind of form Kohli and de Villiers are in.

Yet KKR need only to look to their own batting to gain confidence. Gambhir (51 off 34) scored his fifth half-century of the season and Manish Pandey (50 off 35) got to his second. The latter will please the team management more, for he had only the one good knock so far. To score, and strike form, at the business end of the tournament bodes well for their middle order.

The injury scare: Not Kohli, he shrugged off his split finger with ease. But Kolkata will be holding their breath waiting on news of Andre Russell. The West Indies allrounder provided the finishing touch with a quick-fire 39no from 19 with the bat – he added 58 from 28 balls with Shakib (18no off 11). But when bowling, Russell slipped twice – the first time early on in the innings as Gayle launched him over the fence, but the second, in the 19th over was much more serious. Russell was helped off the ground, unable to complete his over.

The stat: With 752 runs in 12 innings this season, Virat Kohli has become the highest single-season run scorer in the IPL's history. And RCB have at least two matches (plus any finals) to go. He has already overtaken Chris Gayle's 733 runs in 14 innings in 2012 and Michael Hussey's 733 runs in 13 innings in 2013. He is also the only Indian to score more than 700 runs in a single IPL season. 

The wash-up: Bangalore now have 12 points from as many games and have risen to fifth, leapfrogging the Delhi Daredevils, who have a game in hand. It sets up a thrilling race to the knockout stages with eight matches remaining in the regular season. Kolkata are still sitting pretty in second, with 14 points from 12 matches in a jam-packed table.

The next stop: The Royal Challengers will fly home to Bangalore, scene of Virat and AB's epic twin-ton demotion of Gujarat, where they will host the already-eliminated Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday. Kolkata travel to Kanpur to meet Gujarat on Thursday.