Royal Challengers Bangalore jumped to fifth place in the Indian Premier League standings on Tuesday after a 14-run win over Mumbai Indians in a must-win game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Put into bat on a sluggish track, RCB posted a competitive 167/7 in 20 overs, before restricting the opposition to 153/7 to keep their hopes of a play-off berth alive.
Here are the talking points from the thrilling encounter:
Three overs to rule them all
With a slow wicket on offer, batting wasn’t easy at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. As Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first, one could sense that the visitors had got an upperhand early on.
To combat the conditions, RCB shuffled their batting order as Manan Vohra came into open the innings with Quinton de Kock. The going wasn’t easy. RCB had posted just 11 runs after the first three overs.
The sluggishness of the wicket create trouble throughout the innings for RCB. But, there was an ebb and flow to the contest. RCB did have their moments. In fact, it was three fruitful overs at key junctures during the innings, that propelled them to a competitive total of 167/7.
One such moment arrived in the fourth over of the RCB innings. JP Duminy was brought back into the attack after a tight first over. The batsmen, though, were done waiting. Vohra went after the bowling. He smashed the first ball for a four. With the confidence up, he smashed the next delivery for a six over mid-off. The next delivery was dispatch for a boundary over midwicket. He wasn’t done yet. He saved the best to make it four boundaries in as many balls. He smashed an immaculate six over extra cover with a delightful inside out shot.
The over would cost Mumbai Indians 22 runs, and give RCB a much-needed push towards a decent total.
Mumbai, though, did well to wrest back the initiative with a few more quiet overs that saw both the openers depart. RCB, though, had another profitable over coming their way as Hardik Pandya was handed the ball. Hardik, hasn’t been in top form this season and looked rusty first up. He was wayward from the get go. Brendon McCullum sensing an opening targeted the India all-rounder. He charged down the track even as Hardik overstepped and darted a full toss. McCullum looked to whack it out of the park but ended up slicing it over the keeper’s head for a six. In the subsequent free-hit, McCullum was at his improvising best as he scooped the ball over the keep for another six. He got another boundary in the over for good measure as Hardik leaked 20 run in his first over of the day.
Hardik came back strongly in the latter stages to keep RCB’s score in check. It was only in the final over of the innings, that RCB found their third shining moment with the bat.
Mitchell McClenaghan was given the responsibility of bowling the crucial 20th over. Till that point the Kiwi pacer had conceded just 11 runs in three overs. He was their most effective bowler thus far. It would all change too quickly. McClenaghan began well conceding just three runs off the first three balls. It was his compatriot Colin de Grandhomme who would spoil his party.
De Grandhomme picked his off-cutter well and launched it high over the midwicket fence for a six that would see RCB surpass the 150-run mark. McClenaghan would do well to keep the next down to just two runs. However, he would make a huge error off what should have been the final ball of the innings.The New Zanlander over-stepped the mark. To make matters worse, the ball was a waist-high full toss. De Grandhomme accepted the gift with a clean shot over square-leg. He would cap off the cameo with another fine six, stretching the returns from the over to 24 runs.
From a below-par 143/7 RCB suddenly had a defendable total of 167/7 under their belt. The momentum had shifted.
Hardik’s all-round show
RCB had their tail up and kept the momentum going. Their pacers struck early as Mumbai were left reeling at 24/3. Top dog Rohit Sharma had also departed. Hardik, though kept the chase alive with a gritty half-century to take the chase into the final over. Stitching a handy partnerships, with first Duminy and then brother Krunal, Hardik gave Mumbai some hope.
He was quite effective earlier with the ball as well as in the field. After being drubbed for 20 runs in his first over, Hardik came back strong to help his side wrest back the initiative. He first ran-out his chief tormentor McCullum with fine direct hit onto the stumps. McCullum played the delivery off McClenaghan in the general direction of mid-off where Hardik was stationed. Taking on Hardik, one of Mumbai’s premier fielders wasn’t a smart move. The kiwi found out quickly as he struggled to make ground. Hardik completed the pick up and throw in quickfire fashion. The throw was accurate and McCullum had to walk back.
Hardik wasn’t done yet. He then orchestrated the dismissals of Mandeep Singh and Kohli in back to back deliveries as both batsmen holed out. Kohli, till that point had looked steady and was primed for another big knock. Hardik, who finished with figures of 3/28, had changed the momentum of the game.
He nearly did the same with the bat as well. With his top-order gone, the onus of anchoring the batting had fallen on Hardik’s shoulders. Hardik was up for the task. The score, though, proved to be too daunting and he kept losing partners as RCB pacers bowled a well to help their side finish things off.
RCB break death-over hoodoo
One of the reasons that RCB found themselves in a precarious position half-way through the IPL season was their bowling in the death. The economy rate of their bowlers in the fag end of the innings has been abysmal this season. Batsmen have made merry when facing RCB. With their backs to the wall, it as imperative that the bowlers step up and take charge.
“Just told the bowlers, to back their gut. Take ownership of your field, your plans, and own it,” said Kohli after the match. His words seem to have done the trick as his bowlers delivered with an all-round clinical performance.
From pacer Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj to Yuzvendra Chahal, all were in fine form on Tuesday.
After Southee and Umesh rocked the Mumbai top-order, Colin de Grandhomme and Chahal kept the run-rate in check in the middle overs. However, thanks to Hardik’s resistance, Mumbai managed to keep the fight going. De Granhomme leaked 17 runs in the 16th over as Hardik began the late push. With the Pandya brothers around and 45 needed off 24 balls, Mumbai looked to be in a strong position.
It was then that Southee returned for his second spell and was joined Mohammed Siraj to kill off Mumbai’s hopes of a successful chase.
The duo were clinical in their effort. Siraj kept the damage in the 17th over down to 10 runs. Southee was even better as the 18th over saw only 5 runs being conceded. Siraj completely tilted the favour in RCB’s favour in the penultimate over as he dismissed Krunal giving away just five runs. With 25 runs needed in the final over, Mumbai had a tough task at hand. Southee, though, snuffed out all possibilities of a turnaround by dismissing Hardik off the first ball of the over. It was the end game for Mumbai, who now have the unenvious proposition winning all their remaining group games if they are to progress to the play-offs.
