JOIN USRoyal drubbing for Challengers
Spearheaded by their Indian brigade of whom Bangalore boy Bharath Chipli (61 n.o., 35b, 5x4, 3x6) sparkled the most, Kumar Sangakkara’s Deccan Chargers pounded Royal Challengers Bangalore by 33 runs to register not just their first win at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Uppal, but also their first victory in three attempts in IPL IV.
In a command performance that mocked their recent stuttering exploits, the Chargers batted with freedom and authority against an RCB attack that was collectively off-colour, and then bowled with craft, cunning and control to fire out the opposition top for next to nothing.
Once they were reduced to 29 for four in the seventh over chasing the Chargers’ formidable 175 for five, the Royal Challengers could only battle for a modicum of respectability. The contest effectively over at that point, the Challengers settled for 142 for nine to slip to their second defeat in three nights.
It was anything but a good night for the Challengers, whose bowling imploded in the last five overs. Indeed, the match was decided in the last five overs of their bowling, where they leaked 61 runs, and the first five overs of their batting, when they managed just 27 for three including Zaheer Khan, bizarrely promoted to number three to lash out against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma!
Steyn was fast and furious while Ishant bowled with great accuracy, picking up the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan in his first over. Manpreet Gony, brought in for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, winkled out Mayank Agarwal and the in-form AB de Villiers as a reasonably large and unsurprisingly vociferous home crowd sprang to life.
Even as the classy Virat Kohli (71, 51b, 5x4, 3x6) ploughed a lone furrow, the Chargers backed up their bruising batting and fiery bowling with sensational fielding to finally get their campaign back on track.
Daniel Vettori must have hoped for the Challengers to return to winning ways after their loss to Mumbai Indians on Tuesday when he stuck the Chargers in, but apart from the first few overs when Zaheer was again on top of his form, nothing went right for the visitors.
Sunny Sohal, coming in for Ishank Jaggi, played a strange cameo of numerous misses and occasional hits, but with Sangakkara in sublime touch and the second-wicket pair adding 50 (38b), the stage was set for Chipli to come in and cut loose.
The 28-year-old had shown pluck the other night in Kolkata, and carried on from that confidence-boosting knock. Superfluous to both Karnataka and RCB, the right-hander punished his former team-mates with authoritative ball-striking. The Challengers made three changes to the side that lost to the Indians, and most of them did not pay off, with S Arvind and Ryan Ninan going for plenty.
Chipli quietly played himself in as Sangakkara went on the overdrive, but when the captain – who also took five catches behind the stumps -- fell after a partnership of 43 (34b), the number four exploded without warning. He smashed Ninan’s off-spin for two massive sixes in the 16th over, then picked off Zaheer for three consecutive fours in the 17th. Consequently, he reached his first IPL 50 in just 29 deliveries as the Challengers’ out-cricket went to pieces.
JP Duminy played handy second fiddle without sacrificing momentum during a frenetic 55-run (28b) fourth-wicket association that provided the final thrust, and took the total to the realms of the match-winning, thrilling a boisterous crowd desperate to savour home success.
SCORE BOARD
DECCAN CHARGERS: Sunny Sohal c Tiwary b Ninan 38 (37b, 5x4, 1x6), Shikhar Dhawan c Vettori b Zaheer 11 (9b, 2x4), Kumar Sangakkara c de Villiers b van der Wath 36 (25b, 3x4, 1x6), Bharath Chipli (not out) 61 (35b, 5x4, 3x6), JP Duminy c Kohli b Zaheer 22 (15b, 2x4, 1x6), Daniel Christian lbw Zaheer 0 (1b). Extras (LB-2, W-3, NB-2) 7. Total (for 5 wkts, 20 overs) 175
Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Dhawan), 2-70 (Sohal), 3-113 (Sangakkara), 4-168 (Duminy), 5-175 (Christian).
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 4-0-32-3 (w-1), Johan van der Wath 4-0-30-1 (w-1, nb-2), S Arvind 3-0-26-0 (w-1), Daniel Vettori 4-0-29-0, Ryan Ninan 3-0-34-1, Tillakaratne Dilshan 2-0-22-0.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 34/1; 10: 73/2; 15: 114/3; end of innings: 175/5 in 20 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 41/1.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Mayank Agarwal c Mishra b Gony 16 (13b, 2x4), Tillakaratne Dilshan c Sangakkara b Ishant 7 (8b, 1x4), Zaheer Khan b Steyn 0 (3b), Virat Kohli b Gony 71 (51b, 5x4, 3x6), AB de Villiers c Sangakkara b Gony 0 (7b), Saurabh Tiwary c Sangakkara b Mishra 7 (10b), Cheteshwar Pujara c Christian b Steyn 25 (15b, 4x4), Johan van der Wath c Sangakkara b Steyn 0 (1b), Daniel Vettori (not out) 3 (6b), Ryan Ninan c Sangakkara b Christian 3 (6b), S Arvind (not out) 2 (3b). Extras (LB-3, W-2, NB-3) 8. Total (for 9 wkts, 20 overs) 142.
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Dilshan), 2-16 (Zaheer), 3-27 (Agarwal), 4-29 (de Villiers), 5-56 (Tiwary), 6-118 (Pujara), 7-118 (van der Wath), 8-130 (Kohli), 9-137 (Ninan).
Bowling: Dale Steyn 4-0-24-3 (nb-2), Ishant Sharma 4-0-21-1, Manpreet Gony 4-0-31-3, Daniel Christian 4-0-22-1 (w-2), A Mishra 4-0-41-1 (nb-1).
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 27/3; 10: 53/4; 15: 92/5; end of innings: 142/9 in 20 overs. Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 28/3.