RCB in last four after Karthik’s super six

Maybe he should have had a shy. Arun Karthik,who bats at number three for Tamil Nadu,had never really had a significant opportunity to display his wares in the IPL. Even here,he had worn an unfamiliar pair of keeping gloves and walked in at the fall of the seventh wicket. Now,he was batting with six needed from one ball.

Christian ran in and delivered a slower ball. Maybe it was one too many.

Later,Arun Karthik revealed that he had anticipated this. The ball was full and gave the batsman enough time to line it up,free his arms and aim a slog-sweep at it. He connected well,and the ball sailed over the midwicket fence. Bangalore were through to the Champions League semifinals,after one of the craziest,most see-saw games of Twenty20 cricket ever.

South Australia Redbacks were out of the tournament,their defeat coming despite one of their players scoring a century and another bagging a five-wicket haul.

With Daniel Harris spanking an unbeaten 61-ball 108 and Callum Ferguson stroking an attractive 43-ball 70,South Australia Redbacks posted 214 for two.

Emphatic reply

The focus at the start of Bangalore’s reply was all on Chris Gayle. But it was Tillakaratne Dilshan who really gave the innings impetus,racing away to 36 at the end of the powerplay overs with five fours and a six.

Gayle went for 26,falling as soon as the field spread,miscuing Christian to be caught at mid off by Michael Klinger. The exit of Gayle sent the Bangalore crowd into a hush,but Virat Kohli set about rousing them as soon as he walked in. Dilshan was on 36 when he walked in,but Kohli beat him to the half-century.

The over that swung the game in Bangalore’s favour was bowled,ironically,by Harris. Kohli spanked two sixes over extra cover to start,before half edging,half deliberately steering one to the fine third man region for four. A single brought Dilshan on strike,and the Sri Lanka skipper manoeuvred the two remaining balls to the third man and fine leg boundaries.

Bangalore now needed 68 from 42 balls. But the Redbacks had held back three Shaun Tait overs for the very end,and the slingy T20 specialist nearly won it for them. Two balls after Ferguson had dropped him at midwicket,Cameron Borgas held onto another chance at long on to send Kohli back.

Tait’s next over produced sixes for both Dilshan and Saurabh Tiwary,but the latter miscued a pull to mid on trying to repeat the feat.

Aaron O’Brien’s next over produced two sixes and a wicket as well,Mayank Agarwal the dismissed batsman,before Tait returned for his final over. In four balls,he reversed the momentum one more time,bowling Dilshan with a superb yorker before getting rid of Daniel Vettori and Raju Bhatkal to leave the home side seven down with 14 to get off the final over.

Brief scores: South Australia 214 for 2 in 20 ovs (D Harris 108 n.o,C Ferguson 70; S Mohammed 1/29) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 215 for eight in 20 ovs (T Dilshan 74,V Kohli 70; Tait 5/31)