Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) overcame Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) unbeaten streak and Eden Gardens fortress to pull off a close three-wicket victory in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. Chris Gayle was the standout performer, but there were numerous moments in the game that caused pulses to race. Shiamak Unwalla brings the highlights of the game.
Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir lay the foundation: Gambhir had started Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 with a slew of ducks that made him the butt of numerous jokes. He has enjoyed a far more successful start to IPL 2015, scoring a half-century in each of his first two matches and becoming the first batsman to score 25 IPL fifties. Uthappa batted well too, as the duo added 81 for the opening wicket. READ: Match report, KKR vs RCB
AB de Villiers proves he is human after all: In recent times, de Villiers has seemed more than once that he is no mere human mortal, but a being of superior ability and class. On the day he was, after all, a normal human being by dropping an easy catch in the deep as Gambhir lived to fight another day. Blog: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB have a nightmarish day in the field: It was a poor day for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on the field. De Villiers’ slip-up was not the only fumble as the fielders miss-fielded and dropped a number of catches on the field. RCB were lucky that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not quite capitalise on the numerous blemishes on the field. Full SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
The late flourish from Andre Russell: Russell gave a brief preview of what was to follow from his fellow West Indian Chris Gayle. He crashed six fours and two sixes — he hit three of them in the final over — to remain unbeaten on 41 off just 17 balls.
One-man army: RCB ended at the seventh spot in IPL 2014, and a large reason for that was the poor form of Gayle. The man who won the Orange Cap twice in a row suffered a prolonged bout of poor form that saw him end IPL 2014 without a single half-century. He would have dearly liked to prove a point, and chose the perfect occasion to do so. On a day when only he and de Villiers (28) got to double figures, Gayle smashed a characteristically severe 96 off 56 with seven fours and seven sixes. The fact that he sprinted for runs toward the end of his innings showed how much he wanted to win the game for RCB.
Manish Pandey turns the game…: Pandey has long been known to be a livewire on the field. He might even pip the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina in terms of agility and ability. He proved that yet again with a potentially match-winning piece of fielding. With eight runs to win from 11 balls Gayle flat-batted Morne Morkel to deep midwicket. Pandey, fielding in the deep, pulled off a remarkable piece of fielding, saving the six and then firing in a bullet-fast throw from the deep that resulted in Gayle being run out for 96.
…But RCB pull through: Harshal Patel and Abu Nechim are not known for their batting prowess, but both men struck crucial blows to help RCB go over the line. Coaxed by Gayle, Harshal played a big hit off the last ball of the antepenultimate over off Sunil Narine to bring the equation down to 14 off 12. Then, with three runs left, Abu Nechim found the boundary at third man to award RCB a three-wicket win.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter hadle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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