JOIN USRoyal Challengers crush Indians
A smart bowling performance enabled Royal Challengers to restrict Mumbai Indians to 151 for nine, and the visitors followed it up with an equally efficient batting effort to emerge a seven-wicket winner at the Brabourne stadium here on Saturday. The win catapulted Bangalore to the top of the IPL table with six points from four matches.
The fate of the match was conclusively sealed when man- of-the-match Jacques Kallis (66 n.o, 55b, 10x4) and Manish Pandey (40, 27b, 3x4, 2x6) added 85 runs from 9.5 overs, providing a solid base to the chase. It was a magnificent partnership – a fine amalgam of Pandey’s youthful exuberance, written largely over those two towering sixes, and Kallis’ stone-cold determination evidenced by those carpet-scorching drives.
The big South African, who continued to remain unbeaten even after four matches, completed his third fifty in the Indian Premier League III, anchoring the run-chase to a nicety. Just when the opening-wicket partnership seemed to blossom into something bigger, Pandey lost his cool pulling Harbhajan Singh straight to Kieron Pollard. But it was only a minor blip as Kallis, first in the company of Robin Uthappa and then with Virat Kohli and Eoin Morgan took his side home as the crowd and drums slowly drifted into silence.
Earlier, the Mumbai innings never received the desired momentum, despite threatening at various stages to rack up a bigger score. After the early return of Sanath Jayasuriya and Aditya Tare, the Indians received a good boost to their scoring with Sachin Tendulkar and Saurabh Tiwary taking the attack into RCB ranks.
Tendulkar, in particular, was in superb touch and his three consecutive boundaries off Dale Steyn, all through the square leg region, woke up the drums from slumber.
Tiwary provided further reasons for the home crowd to stretch their vocal chords with shots from the streets of Jharkhand, much like his idol Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It needed a vintage moment from Anil Kumble to break the threatening partnership.
The master leg spinner produced a superb googly, an indication that ‘Jumbo’ has not lost even one bit of zip despite quitting international cricket more than a year ago, that deceived Tiwary, sneaking past his bat to rattle the timber. A slice of pure magic from the veteran warrior!
Bigger perils, however, were waiting the home side. R Vinay Kumar does not possess the pace of some of his colleagues, but the Karnataka lad has guile and variations in abundance. Ambati Rayudu snicked a lifter to Mark Boucher behind the stumps, Tendulkar lost his leg stump while trying to work the ball to the on-side and Dwayne Bravo was caught plumb in front of the wicket; all within just six balls and the Indians slipped to 76 for six as Vinay lost in the embrace of his mates.
Pollard and Rajagopal Sathish added 47 runs for the seventh-wicket. Steyn dismissed both of them in the 18th over and the catch Rahul Dravid took to dismiss Sathish, covering a lot of room to grab the offering at mid-wicket, was an exceptional effort. It required some mighty blows from Zaheer to take Mumbai past 150; too less a score on the night.
Score Board
MUMBAI INDIANS: Sanath Jayasuriya lbw Steyn 2 (5b); Sachin Tendulkar b Vinay 25 (22b, 4x4); Adiya Tare c Pandey b Kallis 9 (10b, 2x4); Saurabh Tiwary b Kumble 25 (21b, 3x4); Ambati Rayudu c Boucher b Vinay 3 (3b), Dwayne Bravo lbw Vinay 1 (2b); R Sathish c Dravid b Steyn 24 (22b, 3x4); Kieron Pollard c Kohli b Steyn 21 (19b, 1x4, 1x6); Harbhajan Singh c Kallis b Praveen 4 (6b); Zaheer (not out) 23 (9b, 3x4, 1x6); Lasith Malinga (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (LB-10, W-4) 14; Total (for 9 wkts, 20 overs) 151.
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Jayasuriya), 2-36 (Tare), 3-71 (Tiwary), 4-74 (Rayudu), 5-75 (Tendulkar), 6-76 (Bravo), 7-123 (Pollard), 8-125 (Sathish), 9-135 (Harbhajan).
Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-27-1 (w-1), Dale Steyn 4-0-26-3 (w-3), Jacques Kallis 4-0-35-1, Vinay Kumar 4-0-25-3, Anil Kumble 4-0-18-1.
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 37/2, 10: 74/3, 15: 102/6; End of Innings: 151/9 in 20 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6: 45/2.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Manish Pandey c Pollard b Harbhajan 40 (27b, 3x4, 2x6); Jacques Kallis (not out) 66 (55b, 10x4); Robin Uthappa c Malinga b Zaheer 23 (15b, 2x4, 1x6); Virat Kohli (run out) 17 (12b, 2x6); Eoin Morgan (not out) 7 (6b); Extras (LB-1, B-1) 2; Total (for 3 wkts, 19.1 overs) 155.
Bowling: Zaheer 4-0-18-1, Lasith Malinga 4-0-25-0, Dwayne Bravo 3.1-0-35-0, Kieron Pollard 2-0-24-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-35-1, Sanath Jayasuriya 2-0-16-0.
Fall of wickets: 1-85 (Pandey), 2-116 (Uthappa), 3-136 (Kohli),
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 40/0, 10: 85/1; 15: 117/2, End of Innings: 155/3 in 19.1 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6: 55/0.