JOIN USIn-form Gayle does it again for Bangalore
Chasing 102 in 13 overs to win in a rain-affected match in Bangalore, the magnificently talented West Indian opener took guard against Brett Lee, one of the great bowlers in world cricket, and set to work... boundary, boundary, dot ball, boundary, boundary, dot ball. In to the second over, Luke Pomersbach struck a boundary and a single, giving Gayle the strike for the third ball, and more carnage followed... six, six, two, four.
After two overs, RCB had reached 39 for no wicket, with Gayle 34 not out. It had been yet another staggering performance by a man in brilliant form and, even though he was out in the third over for 38, the damage had been done. We lost a few wickets in the chase, but eventually secured our seventh win in a row.
Seven successive wins is a fantastic achievement, unprecedented in IPL history, and confidence is certainly running high in RCB ranks at present. The vibe at the Chinnaswamy stadium is unbelievable, with the incessant noise and a sea of red flags, and the players are feeding off the buzz, getting so much energy from the crowd.
In fairness, probably the rub of the green didn’t go KKR way last night. The rain made it difficult to bat first and set a challenging target, but these issues invariably even out over the duration of the tournament – KKR won a rain-affected match against Chennai but, on this occasion, the conditions may have worked against them.
From an RCB perspective, we did what we had to do and are now focussed on maintaining our momentum, winning our last two league matches and, hopefully, finishing in first or second place on the final points table.
There is still plenty of work to do, and we will certainly miss Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has left to captain Sri Lanka in England, and Daniel Vettori, who is receiving treatment on his injured knee back home in New Zealand.
The IPL is a long, hard tournament, and the relentless action takes its toll, but we have a strong and talented squad and we will be fighting for honours; that is nothing less than the Chinnaswamy sea of red expect or deserve.
Hawkeye Communications