Royal Challengers Bangalore win by three wickets
Christopher Henry Gayle, ladies and gentlemen. He didn’t make his hundred, he didn’t see it home, he left his team with work to do and he gave them a scare. He also pretty much won that match single-handedly. After an atrocious performance in the field and with no one interested in supporting the West Indian genius, there is no way in hell RCB should have won that.
Win that they did though, beating the defending champs and ending KKR’s 10-match winning run. That’s all from me, thanks for reading. Night!
19th over: RCB 179-7 (Nechim 5, Patel 9) target 178 14 needed from 12 balls then. OK I’ll admit it, this is a bit good. Morkel on and Gayle goes over long-on for six! But then he’s out, after hesitating over the decision whether or not to take a third run, he got caught short. Pandey did brilliantly to leap and prevent the six by palming the ball back in play on the mid-wicket boundary. Seven needed to win as Nechim comes in. He pushes a single to point, then Patel is very nearly run out coming back for a second run to third man. His dive saves him though and the target is down to four from eight. Short from Morkel and Patel tucks it around the corner from one more. Morkel comes in, short once more, Nechim backs away... and cuts over third man for four!
Wicket! Gayle run out 96
Short and he looks to go over mid-wicket, but it’s brilliantly flipped back in! Confusion between the two batsmen and I think he’s run-out! He’s short of his ground but we need to check that the fielder kept it inside the field of play... he did, and Gayle is out!
18th over: RCB 164-6 (Gayle 89, Patel 6) target 178 Narine now to Gayle and the first ball is hammered into the gap at mid-on for four. A hard flat sweep to the same region for four more. Gambhir packs his off-side field so Gayle nurdles a cute little paddle sweep for a couple, before taking a single into the on-side. It gives Harshal Patel the strike for the first-time and he charges, but Narine cuts off his thumping slog down the ground. Oh but he doesn’t next time, the tail-ender launching a sweet six down the ground! That took some stones.
17th over: RCB 147-6 (Gayle 78, Patel 0) target 178 We’re right into the tail now; Gayle has a massive job in his hands. Shakib is aiming to dart it into Gayle’s feet. He sends down a massive leg-side wide, but other than that it’s a good ploy, especially as Gayle turns down a single to long-on. Never mind, as the next ball is slogged miles over mid-wicket for six. Full toss next and he’s smacked it there again! This is some innings from Gayle. Full again and Morkel can’t get to it with a dive at long-off, keeps it to one.
Wicket! Abbott run out 1
It’s Shakib again and he might have run out Abbott here. They went for a quick single to get Gayle on strike. Morkel threw in hard and fast from mid-wicket and Shakib whipped the bails off with Abbott short.
16th over: RCB 132-5 (Gayle 64, Abbott 1) target 178 If RCB do this, it’s going to be a mighty one-man show. Yousuf is on for his final over and the big man mullers his first ball through mid-on for four and his second straight for six. A couple more singles, then Gayle is dropped at deep mid-wicket by Morne Morkel again! He was tumbling to his right, but really should have taken it. 13 from the over, but why was Pathan bowling it?
15th over: RCB 119-5 (Gayle 52, Abbott 0) target 178 Ah, here we are, Shakib Al Hasan is going to get a bowl after all. He’s keeping it tight and, best of all for him, he’s got rid of Sammy. It gets them into the tail now, with Sean Abbott strolling out and 11 an over needed. He’s a proper slogger. Just two off the over, plus that wicket.
Wicket! Sammy st Uthappa st Shakib 7
Sammy is walking off before the replay’s done. Shakib takes the pace off, Sammy walks down and goes for the big ol’ mow and fails to connect. Uthappa administers the formalities.
14th over: RCB 117-4 (Gayle 51, Sammy 6) target 178 Narine is back into the attack and he finds a touch of turn and a lot of bounce, getting it past Gayle’s outside edge. A single next ball takes him to 50 from 37 balls. Sammy gets a single of his own, but this is excellent from Narine. Three ones from the first five balls, then Gayle is nearly run-out dashing through for a quick single from the final ball. He’s just about safe though as Uthappa fumbles it.
13th over: RCB 113-4 (Gayle 49, Sammy 4) target 178 Yet another spinner comes into the KKR attack, Piyush Chawla this time. Amazingly, Shakib still hasn’t been used. Short and Gayle targets the mid-wicket boundary, clearing it for half a dozen more runs. Gayle knows that if he can hit one six an over from here on in, Sammy is good enough to help him add the four or five more singles needed to keep up with the required rate. A couple more to Gayle take him to within one of his half-century.
12th over: RCB 103-4 (Gayle 41, Sammy 2) target 178 Pathan to Gayle and he’s dropped at deep mid-wicket, where Morkel couldn’t quite dive forward in time. A couple more singles, then Gayle goes big, down the ground for another six. It’s fair to say it’s all on him now. 10 from the over.
11th over: RCB 93-4 (Gayle 33, Sammy 0) target 178 More from Cariappa, who is described as a mystery spinner. He’s a mystery in that I don’t really know a lot about him, I’m sorry to say. De Villiers goes inside out over extra cover for four. Single apiece, then the same again from De Villiers. That’s 10 from the over. The required rate is exactly 10. And down it comes a bit more as De Villiers goes over long-on for six more. One more ball in the over... and he’s gone!
Wicket! De Villiers st Uthappa b Cariappa 28
After the carnage of the over, De Villiers goes! He didn’t need to come charging halfway down the wicket to a flatter, wider one from Cariappa, but that he did. He missed with his smearing shot, and Uthappa whipped the bails off.
10th over: RCB 77-3 (Gayle 32, de Villiers 13) target 178 De Villiers likes the look of Pathan it seems, but he doesn’t quite get hold of his attempted mow into the on-side. As the batsmen work singles, the TV company now put laser special effects on replays of the sixes. Speaking of sixes, De Villiers now puts an absolute monster into the stands at mid-on. Eleven from the over, which is just about perfect for RCB.
9th over: RCB 66-3 (Gayle 30, de Villiers 5) target 178 Now then, De Villiers comes to the crease. He watches from the other end as an LBW shout against Gayle is revealed to have come off the edge of the bat and down to the third man boundary. After a single, De Villiers drives a slower ball through extra cover for his first four runs of the tournament. He then thumps a full-toss down the ground, but it clumps into Gayle’s boot and that restricts them to one.
8th over: RCB 56-3 (Gayle 24, de Villiers 0) target 178 There’s a big shout for LBW against Gayle from Pathan as the former misses out on a slog-sweep, but it’s pitched miles outside leg stump. No matter a couple of balls later though, as Karthik plays a poor shot and gets himself bowled. Mandeep Singh the new man, rather than AB. Surely you want him in earlier? Well, I say that, Mandeep has just cleared the straight boundary for a lovely clean six. Nope, I was right, Mandeep also goes to an idiotic shot.
Wicket! Mandeep b Pathan 6
This is nonsense. He goes for the reverse sweep; again it’s full and the part-time offie has now clean bowled two batsmen in an over.
Wicket! Karthik b Pathan 6
Full, low and turning in from off-stump. Try and think of a worse shot to play to that than a cut. There isn’t, is there? You know what he tried to do. Missed, bowled.
7th over: RCB 47-1 (Gayle 24, Karthik 6) target 178 Andre Russell, whose batting probably gave the Knight Riders the edge in this contest, comes into the attack. He drops short and Karthik gloves him round to fine-leg for four. Another short one and the right-hander swivel pulls out to square leg, but Shakib comes around and stops it. It brings Gayle on strike against his international team-mate, and he retains the strike with a drive down the ground for one more.
6th over: RCB 41-1 (Gayle 23, Karthik 1) target 178 Let’s have a change in the bowling: another spinner in Cariappa. Gayle doesn’t rate him, it seems, and he thumps a straight drive back over his head for six. Over mid-on next, where it just evades the man leaping on the edge of the circle, and gets away for four. Crunched down the ground next, but this time it’s fielded on the rope. A quick single to Karthik to finish.
5th over: RCB 29-1 (Gayle 12, Karthik 0) target 178 Despite being thumped for 13 in that last over, Morkel is getting another go. RCB are a bit behind the rate already mind – the other three overs were pretty economical, and the required rate is already up above nine. This’ll help, a hefty club back past the bowler’s head for four by Gayle, but this won’t, the wicket of Kohli. Dinesh Karthik sees off the final ball.
Wicket! Kohli c Uthappa b Morkel 13
There’s the big wicket. A quick and nasty bouncer just flicks the glove as Kohli looks to pull it round the corner and Uthappa takes it nicely above his head.
4th over: RCB 23-0 (Gayle 7, Kohli 12) target 178 Short and on leg-stump from Narine and Gayle gloves it around the corner for four to long-leg. In fact that’s been given as leg-byes, which looks a touch unfair on Gayle. Just five from the over.
3rd over: RCB 18-0 (Gayle 7, Kohli 11) target 178 It’s Morkel again and, unusually for him, he gets a touch of swing away from the charging Kohli. Shorter next and Kohli nonchalantly pulls it over mid-wicket for six. After another dot, Kohli lifts it over mid-off and doesn’t quite get hold of it, but there’s enough meat in the shot to clear the fielder, who does well to reel it in and keep them to three. Short to Gayle now and he doesn’t quite time his hoick into the on-side, but he’s strong enough to get it over mid-on and to the rope for a one-bounce four.
2nd over: RCB 5-0 (Gayle 3, Kohli 2) target 178 We’re going to have spin with the new ball from the other end, with Narine to bowl to his international team-mate. There’s not a huge amount of spin for him. Gayle pushes a single to mid-off then Kohli goes wide of mid-wicket for the same. One more to Gayle, then one more to Kohli. A low-key start, it’s safe to call this.
1st over: RCB 1-0 (Gayle 1, Kohli 0) target 178 Morne Morkel to Chris Gayle. This is what it’s about, two men who lit up the World Cup. The first ball is a wide full-toss, but Christopher Henry can only find the fielder at point. He does get off the mark next ball, with a push wide of mid-off. Kohli, who has moved himself up to open, sees out the rest of the over.
Promoting Virat Kohli to open is an aggressive and brave strategy. Fair play to #RCB. #IPL #KKRvRCB #KKR
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) April 11, 2015
End of innings
That was probably the lowest standard of cricket in any match I’ve ever watched. Deary me. Bangalore will chase 178, which they’ll fancy with their batting lineup. It should be far less, but to describe that fielding effort as amateurish would be flattering.
19th over: KKR 177-6 (Russell 41, Chawla 0) Yusuf goes to a rank full-toss, because that seems to be as effective a delivery as any, bringing Shakib to the crease. Russell swings wildly at a short bowl and gets a top edge, that flies over the keeper’s head and bounces just inside the rope. He then drills an attempted yorker to the fence for four more. Aaron tries the yorker again, it’s another full toss but a brilliant stop on the wide third man fence by the sub fielder saves three. The final ball... is a wide, from which Shakib tries to run a bye to bring Russell on strike, but gets run out. Not that it matters. So, the actual final ball... a full-toss slogged over cover point for four more.
At the end, Danny Morrison refers to the Kolkatta Knight Riders as the KKK.
Wicket! Pathan c Kohli b Aaron 3
Full toss, top edge, straight up and caught.
19th over: KKR 163-4 (Russell 28, Pathan 2) As Nechim limps off the field in pain with figures of 1-28, by no means embarrassing, under his belt, Harshal Patel comes in and gets his first ball slogged over long-on for six by Russell. Round the wicket he comes, full toss, slogged in straight up the air and the two fielders at short extra cover simply stand there and watch it. Next ball goes through to the keeper, who needlessly throws at the stumps – the ball ricochets away and they get an overthrow. Kohli fumbles a ball hit straight down the ground, but Russell falls over and they can’t take advantage. The final ball is another waist-high full toss, turned around to fine leg for four.
Go on, BCCI, convince me this isn’t dreadful.
18th over: KKR 149-4 (Russell 16, Pathan 2) Looks like it was cramp as Nechim is carrying on. He overpitches to Russell and the West Indies all-rounder smites it back down the ground, leaving scorch marks on the outfield as it races away for four. Another one overpitched outside off and this time slogged over long-off for six. There’s batting left in this KKR lineup yet.
Nechim, who has been decent in taking 1-16 from three so far, comes back for his final over. He’s immediately in trouble though, going down with an OUCH of some sort after bowling just the one delivery of this over...
17th over: KKR 137-4 (Russell 5, Pathan 1) “What a hit!” screams Danny Morrison. You know what happens next. The new batsman is Yusuf Pathan, but before he can face a ball Pandey is run out. Andrew Russell comes in then, with his side rapidly adjusting their expectations. He gets the toe end of the bat on a short, wide one and gets it just wide of the keeper for four.
Wicket! Pandey run-out 23
It’s all going wrong. Pandey looks for the quick single, but the ball has ricocheted into the stumps at the non-striker’s end. He turns back, but Kohli throws down the stumps with a direct hit and beats Pandey’s dive easily.
Wicket! Yadav c Mandeep b H Patel 11
Patel comes back into the attack and Yadav steps to off and looks to heave it over fine leg, where Mandeep takes the catch on the rope.
One of these
I miss strategic advert breaks. Batting technical advert breaks just aren't the same
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) April 11, 2015
16th over: KKR 131-2 (Pandey 23, Yadav 11) So that move backfired. Chahal is going to bowl through, into his final over now and he’s greeted with a nice inside-out cover drive over the top for four. A bit too wide and turning away from the leg-spinner.
15th over: KKR 122-2 (Pandey 20, Yadav 5) Do you miss Sean Abbott? Virat Kohli misses Sean Abbott. Or, he wants to let his strike bowler have an over at the new batsman. Yeah, it’s probably that one. He nearly gets him, as Yadav walks to off and looks to flick it over fine leg, misses, and the ball passes narrowly over the stumps. He plays the next ball better though, leaping and ramping it to fine third man for a one-bounce four. A big slog to cow-corner, then bounces safely. Back-to-back fours to finish, one run past backward point, the next slogged through the on-side.
14th over: KKR 108-2 (Pandey 11, Yadav 0) 180 has to be the minimum target, you’d think, and that should give us a very exciting run chase. It’ll be a wee bit harder now, as Gambhir perishes, with Suryakumar Yadav coming in next. The batsmen cross, so Pandey has the strike, and he smashes it straight back over the bowler’s head for four more.
Wicket! Gambhir c M Singh b Chahal 58
Chahal breaks out his googly and it does for the in-form captain. He screws his slog-sweep up in the air, not timing it all that well, and watches it drop safely into the hands of Mandeep Singh at deep mid-wicket.
13th over: KKR 101-1 (Pandey 6, Gambhir 56) Aaron comes back, comes round the wicket and his first ball is nudged down the ground for a single to raise Gambhir’s 25th IPL fifty and his second on the spin. Pandey decides such delicacies aren’t for him and gives it the long handle, down the ground for four. One more, then short, wide and hammered through backward point off the back foot by Gambhir for his seventh four. Next up a wide on height, a rarity here at Eden Gardens. Another misfield by ABdV gives away another overthrow; the fielding has been appalling tonight from RCB. Hundred is up.
@DanLucas86 Good luck with the commentary! IPL and municipal electioneering completely screwed Kolkata traffic today. pic.twitter.com/xaFXzGQ3tm
— Paul (@chirpycrow) April 11, 2015
12th over: KKR 87-1 (Pandey 1, Gambhir 49) Gambhir whacks it away for two to move closer towards another half-century. A single brings Pandey on strike for the first time and he gets his first run with a push down the ground for one. This is nice from Chahal, taking the pace off the ball and conceding just five from the over.
11th over: KKR 82-1 (Pandey 0, Gambhir 45) “Targeting close to 200 if they go at 10s,” says Danny Morrison, who thinks that 177 is close to 200 in this format of the game. It’s not, Danny. Abu Nechim returns to the attack and Gambhir misses out on a full-toss, only finding the extra cover fielder on the bounce. Uthappa chops it over cover point, but his timing is off and it plugs in the outfield. Then the wicket, bringing Manish Pandey to the crease at the non-striker’s end.
Wicket! Uthappa c Sammy b Nechim 35
Short, looks to pull over cow-corner and can only find Sammy.
10th over: KKR 77-0 (Uthappa 32, Gambhir 43) We get our first look at spin in the match as Chahal comes on to bowl his leg-spin. Wasim Akram, the KKR bowling coach, explains that they’ve picked a second spinner today because RCB have so many batsmen like pace on the ball. Double misfield from the final ball, a full-toss that’s spanked along the ground, through mid-on and past two despairing dives to the fence.
9th over: KKR 70-0 (Uthappa 30, Gambhir 38) I’m doing this off the pictures alone now, lest I get the bloodbuzz from listening to the commentary. Darren Sammy is on to bowl and he goes up for LBW against Uthappa after rapping him on the front pad, but it might be a bit high. That’s mighty, mighty close actually. What does Hawkeye say? Dunno, the BCCI says it can’t say anything. A decent over is ruined somewhat as Gambhir steps back and belts the final ball back over the bowler’s head for four.
8th over: KKR 62-0 (Uthappa 29, Gambhir 32) Also continuing is Nechim and the batsmen work two singles from the first two balls. They get no runs from the next two balls, then one from the next. Can they make it a symmetrical over? CAN THEY? DO YOU CARE? YES THEY CAN! In fact, Gambhir is badly dropped by De Villiers. “That’s a nice shot,” says the commentator as his hook falls limply into the hands of the South African back at square leg, then slips inexplicably out.
Also this is the Guardian, so we do not condone violence. But Danny Morrison.
The next female singer with the voice of a three-year-old who covers an old rock song I quite like for an advert must be stopped.
Updated
7th over: KKR 58-0 (Uthappa 27, Gambhir 30) We got a decent first over from Aaron so he carries on in an attempt to becalm these two. It’s a good effort, just the one single to Uhtappa coming from the first four balls, before Gambhir top-edges a wild swing at a short ball, down to long-leg for four. Still, only five from the over.
Do you ever think the IPL needs more cheerleaders? Yep, those poor producers are definitely starved of scantily clad women under whose skirts they can shove their cameras. Poor so-and-sos.
6th over: KKR 53-0 (Uthappa 26, Gambhir 26) Abu Nechim, who owes his side four runs after his misfield offz the first ball of the innings, comes into the attack. Uthappa runs the first ball down to third man, where the fielder shows him how it’s done. Leg-side he goes to Gambhir and through square leg to the fence goes that delivery. A couple more ones to finish the over and a good powerplay for the batting side.
5th over: KKR 46-0 (Uthappa 24, Gambhir 21) We’ll have a new bowler, Varun Aaron. He was the quickest of the Indian bowlers I saw last summer, albeit a touch wayward. On the telly, I’m getting my first experience of Danny Morrison commentating. Who talks like this?! After a couple of singles, Aaron strikes Gambhir on the pad and goes up for the appeal. It pitched a foot outside leg and went straight on. A length ball and Gambhir, looking to carry on where he left off in the first game, clubs it over wide mid-on for four.
4th over: KKR 40-0 (Uthappa 23, Gambhir 16) Harshal Patel continues and sends a wide down leg. One to Gambhir, then Uthappa pumps a cut past the man at cover and away to the rope. He then nearly does his partner a very nasty one, his push back down the ground bouncing up and clipping Gambhir on the upper inside thigh. One more then four more, another cut through point by Uthappa. Really not sure that bowling first was the wisest plan here by Kohli.
3rd over: KKR 28-0 (Uthappa 14, Gambhir 14) Abbot, who was rather let down by his fielders in that first over, carries on. He has no one to blame for this first ball though, a length delivery that swung fractionally back into the left-hander Gambhir, but the batsman clears the front foot and clears mid-wicket with a big shot for six. After a single, the bowler gives Uthappa the hurry-on with a sharp bouncer that he just about gets away for one on the hook. Gambhir gets his 14th run to finish the over.
2nd over: KKR 19-0 (Uthappa 13, Gambhir 6) Let’s see if we can do better this time, yeah? Harshal Patel is the man to take the ball at the other end. Uthappa steps across to his first ball and strokes it nicely, hard through cover on the up for four. One thing I’ve noticed in the IPL so far is that the umpires have been far more lenient on leg-side wides, which is pleasing to see. Uthappa nudges a single before the bowler comes back with three dots, including an excellent bouncer that flies past Gambhir’s eyes. The final ball yields one (1) run.
Sake.
Sunil Gavaskar to Virat Kohli, at toss: "Is she here?" #IPL
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) April 11, 2015
1st over: KKR 13-0 (Uthappa 8, Gambhir 5) Sean Abbott, on his IPL debut, is taking the new ball. He’s no Mitchell Starc, who is missing the first three weeks with a sore knee, and he has a terrible, terrible moustache. The first ball is guided down to third man and runs straight between the legs of Abu Nachim for four humiliating runs. Oh dear. Uthappa then pushes for a single down the ground, before Gambhir whips the ball past another misfield at mid-wicket for four more. It was a nicely timed shot, but this is a pretty appalling standard of a start. One more round the corner as Abbott gets some swing down the leg-side, then some confusion between the batsmen and an overthrow in the same ball. Christ these people are getting paid for this. A push for a single ends the over.
Here come the Knight Riders. The crime solving boat.
So no Starc and no Milne for RCB. Their bowling looks light without them to me, so I’m going for a narrow win to them against the champions.
Preamble
Afternoon folks. Right, not much time for a preamble so let’s get straight into the meat of things.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have a bowl first, having won the toss. They include Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the most ridiculous batting lineup you’ll see in this tournament. Who needs more of a build-up than that?!
Kolkata Knight Riders: RV Uthappa†, G Gambhir*, MK Pandey, SA Yadav, YK Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, AD Russell, PP Chawla, SP Narine,KC Cariappa, M Morkel
RCB: CH Gayle, Mandeep Singh, V Kohli*, AB de Villiers, KD Karthik†, DJG Sammy, SA Abbott, YS Chahal, AN Ahmed,HV Patel, VR Aaron
Dan will be here shortly.
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