Even George Bailey could not sport a smile any more. He looked dejected. He looked disillusioned. He looked no different from a batsman who has just been bowled through the gate. But Bailey's concerns were tied not just to his dismissal. As he made the slow walk back to the pavilion, he wore a defeated look.
Bailey had seen three batsmen bowled before him. He would go on to see another three bowled after him. He had seen his bowlers getting pulverised for 226 from 20 overs. He would go on to see his side folding up for 88 within 14 overs to be at the wrong end of the second biggest victory by run-margin in IPL history. He could not afford to smile now. If the captain of the Titanic wore an expression when the ship sank, Bailey's would have come close to it; helplessness.
Kings XI Punjab, a sinking ship
Bailey and his boys were not really favourites to chase down the mammoth target of 227. However, they were expected to put up a fight with the batting might they possessed. But as with every other match this season, their batting was bottled up far too easily.
The batsmen played down the wrong line consistently, missing the ball completely and being bowled. They lost five wickets within the powerplay overs and the eighth defeat of the season was inevitable from there.
Murali Vijay wanted to whip one from Harshal Patel through the leg-side and did not account for the late movement that took the ball past his outside edge and dislodged the timber. Glenn Maxwell looked like a world-beater during Australia's World Cup campaign. But he is batting like a poor man's Shahid Afridi now.
Maxwell, having played and missed Harshal Patel for a couple of deliveries in the previous over, did not even wait to read Sreenath Aravind who was nipping the ball off the seam quite cleverly. An attempted heave – he was nowhere near the ball and it crashed into the off stump to bring an end to a miserable five-balls stay for Maxwell at the crease. As for Aravind, the day was only about to get better.
Aravind enjoys a comeback
The last time Aravind played an IPL match was in 2012, for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals. He would not have fond memories of that day as he was taken for 48 runs from three overs. Ajinkya Rahane had hit him for six consecutive fours in his last over that day. After a long lay-off from the IPL, Aravind got a chance once more, mainly thanks to his 44-wicket first class season for Karnataka.
He was on the mark from the beginning. He was not quick, but troubled all the batsmen with his movement. Wriddhiman Saha tried to flay one over the leg-side and mistimed the ball to Virat Kohli at mid-on to give Aravind his second scalp. David Miller charged down the wicket and played outside the line to a delivery that jagged back in, and was bowled. Finally, Bailey's lethargic drive on the up gave Aravind his fourth for the day.
Starc: The best in the world?
If Aravind was putting the ball on a length at middling speeds, Mitchell Starc was bowling much fuller lengths, some 10-15 kmph quicker. Virat Kohli called Starc “the best bowler in the world at the moment” after the match got over, and it was clear to see where he was coming from.
Starc cleaned up the Kings XI tail with his superb swing bowling. One batsman after another was found out to be too slow to react to his late movement. He was unlucky not to have got a five-wicket haul as the last two deliveries of his spell whistled past the stumps. He finished with 4 for 15.
Gayle show takes Royal Challengers to 226
Chris Gayle likes playing against Kings XI Punjab. He had made six 50-plus scores against them in the past. There was huge anticipation over the battle between Gayle and Mitchell Johnson.
But Johnson's first over went for 20 runs with Gayle hitting him down the ground for two sixes. Gayle soon reached his seventh fifty against the Punjab side, as early as the sixth over, off just 22 balls.
He was even robbed off one of the sixes he hit. In the fifth over, he heaved one over midwicket off Anureet Singh. But the on-field umpires, after consultation with the TV umpire, decided that the ball had struck the spider cam cables on its way. So, dead ball.
But that did not affect Gayle, and the Royals Challengers brought up their 100 in the 10th over. This was the second time in this IPL that they reached the milestone under 10 overs, and it shows their firepower at the top.
Captain Kohli played a perfect foil to Gayle, with his 32 setting up a platform for AB de Villiers to come in and go for the shots at once. de Villiers took a particular liking to the legspin of Karanveer Singh and hoisted him for three consecutive sixes in one over.
Gayle brought up his hundred in the 14th over. He hit Johnson for four to reach his 14th T20 hundred, comfortably the most by any batsman. This was Gayle's stage and it called for a celebration. He dropped his bat, jumped up, turned mid-air and stretched out his arms like a goal-scorer in football. He later said that he was doing a Cristiano Ronaldo impersonation.
Clearly, Chris Gayle likes playing at the Chinnaswamy, he likes playing the IPL, and he likes playing for Royal Challengers – arguably more than he likes playing for the West Indies.
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Bailey had seen three batsmen bowled before him. He would go on to see another three bowled after him. He had seen his bowlers getting pulverised for 226 from 20 overs. He would go on to see his side folding up for 88 within 14 overs to be at the wrong end of the second biggest victory by run-margin in IPL history. He could not afford to smile now. If the captain of the Titanic wore an expression when the ship sank, Bailey's would have come close to it; helplessness.
Kings XI Punjab, a sinking ship
Bailey and his boys were not really favourites to chase down the mammoth target of 227. However, they were expected to put up a fight with the batting might they possessed. But as with every other match this season, their batting was bottled up far too easily.
The batsmen played down the wrong line consistently, missing the ball completely and being bowled. They lost five wickets within the powerplay overs and the eighth defeat of the season was inevitable from there.
Murali Vijay wanted to whip one from Harshal Patel through the leg-side and did not account for the late movement that took the ball past his outside edge and dislodged the timber. Glenn Maxwell looked like a world-beater during Australia's World Cup campaign. But he is batting like a poor man's Shahid Afridi now.
Maxwell, having played and missed Harshal Patel for a couple of deliveries in the previous over, did not even wait to read Sreenath Aravind who was nipping the ball off the seam quite cleverly. An attempted heave – he was nowhere near the ball and it crashed into the off stump to bring an end to a miserable five-balls stay for Maxwell at the crease. As for Aravind, the day was only about to get better.
Aravind enjoys a comeback
The last time Aravind played an IPL match was in 2012, for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals. He would not have fond memories of that day as he was taken for 48 runs from three overs. Ajinkya Rahane had hit him for six consecutive fours in his last over that day. After a long lay-off from the IPL, Aravind got a chance once more, mainly thanks to his 44-wicket first class season for Karnataka.
He was on the mark from the beginning. He was not quick, but troubled all the batsmen with his movement. Wriddhiman Saha tried to flay one over the leg-side and mistimed the ball to Virat Kohli at mid-on to give Aravind his second scalp. David Miller charged down the wicket and played outside the line to a delivery that jagged back in, and was bowled. Finally, Bailey's lethargic drive on the up gave Aravind his fourth for the day.
Starc: The best in the world?
If Aravind was putting the ball on a length at middling speeds, Mitchell Starc was bowling much fuller lengths, some 10-15 kmph quicker. Virat Kohli called Starc “the best bowler in the world at the moment” after the match got over, and it was clear to see where he was coming from.
Starc cleaned up the Kings XI tail with his superb swing bowling. One batsman after another was found out to be too slow to react to his late movement. He was unlucky not to have got a five-wicket haul as the last two deliveries of his spell whistled past the stumps. He finished with 4 for 15.
Gayle show takes Royal Challengers to 226
Chris Gayle likes playing against Kings XI Punjab. He had made six 50-plus scores against them in the past. There was huge anticipation over the battle between Gayle and Mitchell Johnson.
But Johnson's first over went for 20 runs with Gayle hitting him down the ground for two sixes. Gayle soon reached his seventh fifty against the Punjab side, as early as the sixth over, off just 22 balls.
He was even robbed off one of the sixes he hit. In the fifth over, he heaved one over midwicket off Anureet Singh. But the on-field umpires, after consultation with the TV umpire, decided that the ball had struck the spider cam cables on its way. So, dead ball.
But that did not affect Gayle, and the Royals Challengers brought up their 100 in the 10th over. This was the second time in this IPL that they reached the milestone under 10 overs, and it shows their firepower at the top.
Captain Kohli played a perfect foil to Gayle, with his 32 setting up a platform for AB de Villiers to come in and go for the shots at once. de Villiers took a particular liking to the legspin of Karanveer Singh and hoisted him for three consecutive sixes in one over.
Gayle brought up his hundred in the 14th over. He hit Johnson for four to reach his 14th T20 hundred, comfortably the most by any batsman. This was Gayle's stage and it called for a celebration. He dropped his bat, jumped up, turned mid-air and stretched out his arms like a goal-scorer in football. He later said that he was doing a Cristiano Ronaldo impersonation.
Clearly, Chris Gayle likes playing at the Chinnaswamy, he likes playing the IPL, and he likes playing for Royal Challengers – arguably more than he likes playing for the West Indies.