RCB vs KKR: Mandy comes in handy for Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli did what, in hindsight, proved to be a smart thing. He won the toss and decided to field. Twenty minutes later, the heavens opened. Chasing in what effectively became a T10 match after nearly three hours of delay, the hosts had a big advantage. The Kolkata Knight Riders, meanwhile, needed to make an explosive start if they were to overcome this handicap. However, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa began in a rather conventional fashion. At the end of the first three overs, KKR were 27 for no loss – good but below par in the context of the game. Both Gambhir and Uthappa are very correct players, and they struggle when improvisation becomes the need of the hour. The Kolkata captain tried to scoop David Wiese over backward point, but Mandeep Singh plucked a catch out of thin air. It allowed Andre Russell to walk in.

Jamaican gladiator

Kolkata badly needed someone to take the Bangalore bowling by the scruff of the neck. And Russell, fresh from his match-winning 32-ball 55* against Chennai, obliged. The Jamaican resembled a gladiator, ready to dismiss everything from his presence. His strike-rate of nearly two runs per ball in this IPL corroborates that.

A cut to the point boundary off leggie Yuzvendra Chahal got Russell going. Bowlers were allowed to bowl a maximum of two overs and Varun Aaron returned for his second. His first ball got big on Uthappa, but Kohli at long-on dropped the catch. From Kolkata’s point of view, it brought Russell back on strike. A six over deep mid-wicket followed by a thick edge to the third man boundary and another straight six. Run rate jumped from eight-plus to over 10 in no time.

Back-to back fours were taken from Chahal’s next over and Uthappa’s dismissal notwithstanding, the upsurge continued. Ryan ten Doeschate began with a six and a four off Harshal Patel, but Bangalore needed Russell’s wicket to put the brakes on. Dinesh Karthik, who was sensational behind the stumps, did it with a direct hit as Russell departed for 45 off 17 balls. Kolkata could manage only 15 runs in the final eight balls of their innings and finished with 111/4.

The showstopper

About 40,000 fans, who braved the rain, had been waiting for that moment. Chris Gayle versus Brad Hogg – a mouth-watering contest on the cards. By the time they faced off, Gayle had warmed up nicely with a towering six off Umesh Yadav.

Hogg’s first ball was tossed up a little and Gayle sent it to the top tier over deep square leg. The bowler dragged his length back. Gayle dispatched it over the deep mid-wicket fence. The big man was running away with the game. But Hogg had something up his sleeve. He made the ball jump a little more and Gayle’s mistimed slog was taken superbly by Russell at long-on. Honours even. The opener’s nine-ball 21, however, had given the chase the required momentum.

AB de Villiers was dismissed cheaply and captain Kohli, too, got out at the wrong time. But Bangalore maintained the run rate, thanks to Mandeep Singh. After a tight Russell over, in which he accounted for the Bangalore captain, things were pretty even — 26 needed off 12 balls.

Yadav came back to bowl the penultimate over. Mandeep hit two fours off the last two balls of his over to bring the equation down to 13 off six. Wiese took a single on the first ball of Russell’s over. Mandeep, back on strike now, tried to hit a short ball a little too hard. Only two runs were scored. Kohli in the dug-out scratched his head.

Mandeep checked his grip before taking his stance. Something sensational followed. He hit a Russell yorker inside out over the point boundary. Another six over backward square leg did it for Bangalore. They won by seven wickets to be third on the table with nine points.