First win,last ball

RCB register maiden victory over MI at home,courtesy Gayles 92 and Vinays final over

Four runs required off the last ball. And up against you is the menacing figure of Kieron Pollard with one clear intention in mind: to smash the leather off the ball.

Its a scenario that most bowlers would look at with dread and freeze. After all there are few batsmen who can intimidate simply by their presence like the giant Trinidadian. But R Vinay Kumar held his nerves and didnt flinch. He decided to take on the challenge head-on.

What Vinay and Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB required here was the perfect yorker. And the pacer delivered right on cue,not allowing Pollard to get under the ball,and limiting him and Mumbai Indians to one run. And deservedly,Vinay celebrated his feat like a man who had just orchestrated a memorable coup by defying a gargantuan force. His yorker had also ensured that RCB had recorded their first-ever win against Mumbai at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in nerve-wracking fashion by a mere two runs.

In fact,Vinay deserved credit not just for the final delivery but also for the previous five balls he had dished out in the deciding over. Though Mumbai required 10 runs,they had the momentum going with them. Dinesh Karthik in particular,who had memorably smashed Daniel Christian for 24 runs in a single over before launching Muttiah Muralitharan over mid-wicket for a mighty six-his fourth in six balls-en route to what looked like a match-winning half-century.

But Karthik did look set to add the finishing touches before Vinay had him caught off a top-edge with a length delivery that rose sharply,rushing the right-hander into a pull-shot. He then knocked back Ambati Rayudus stumps to leave Mumbais talisman power-hitter eight to get off off two balls. While Vinays first response to the Pollard challenge was a meek one,a high full-toss,which fell just an inch short of the boundary rope,he rose to the test in dramatic fashion a ball later.

As with all last-ball finishes,the Mumbai-RCB kept everyone rooted to the edge of their seats with the momentum shifting rapidly from one side to the other on an overly basis.

Pollard too late

Though Pollard failed to provide the knock-out punch,the debate about Mumbais preference to keep him till the death overs and always being shy of promoting him up the order was renewed again.

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Mumbai did,however,begin their pursuit of 157 with an opening combination straight out of the cricketing wonderland-a combined total of 61756 international runs. But while skipper Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar did provide a few chimerical moments during their 52-run stand they were responsible for the lack of intensity at the top of Mumbais run-chase,leaving their team chasing the eight ball till the very end.

Speaking of legends,Chris Gayle can certainly lay claim to being one in the T20 world. And it almost seemed inevitable that the prolific Jamaican opener would begin this IPL where he left the last two off,with plenty of sixes.

With wickets falling around him,thanks to debutant Jasprit Bumrahs three-wicket burst,Gayle decided to employ his customary strategy of pacing his innings in the early going before unleashing towards the end. And once he was rendered literally immobile thanks to a collusion with Harbhajan Singh,Gayle decided to stand on his one fit leg and tee off,smashing five sixes and 11 fours before eventually remaining unbeaten on a 58-ball 92. He reserved special treatment for his fellow West Indian,Pollard,smashing him to one of the upper-tiers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gayle also finished the RCB innings off in style,taking Munaf Patel for 16 runs.

Mumbai would have expected a similar finish from their bulldozer from the Caribbean. Unfortunately,Vinay Kumar had other ideas along with nerves of steel.