Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 39 runs
Well, that wasn’t too close in the end, with the weight of runs simply too much. You can’t blame them too much, but those two drops early on by Mumbai proved crucial in the end. Still, there isn’t much you can do when a genius like AB de Villiers goes off like that.
20th over: Mumbai 196-7 (McClenaghan 12, Simmons 68)
Mitch McClenaghan takes out some of the frustration from those dropped chances earlier with a couple of sixes, but obviously it’s too late.
WICKET! Suchith c Karthik b Chahal 4 (4) - 184-7
A flashing bat, a top-edge, a wicketkeeper with safe gloves...you know the rest.
19th over: Mumbai 182-6 (Suchith 2, Simmons 68) - require another 54 runs to win
New bat Suchith carves a nice shot out to the cover boundary, but it’s fielded and they take just one. A few other singles from the over as this one peters out rather.
WICKET! Harbhajan c Kohli b Starc 3 (3) - 178-6
Harbhajan tries to give his wicket away twice - the first time it drops between two fielders towards long-off, the second it goes straight to the man on the long-on ropes, and Kohli pouches a simple catch.
18th over: Mumbai 176-5 (Harbhajan 1, Simmons 66) - require another 60 runs to win
A couple of singles to close the over, but they now need boundaries from every ball. Which they won’t get.
WICKET! Rayudu c De Villiers b Patel 14 (4) - Mumbai 174-5
Rayudu tries to get involved with a swatted six that lands on the boundary marker, but the next ball he goes inside-out and drills a flat shot out towards De Villiers on the long-off fence, and he skips around to take a diving catch, making it look almost as easy as all of those runs he scored.
17th over: Mumbai 166-4 (Rayudu 8, Simmons 64) - require another 70 runs to win
Simmons giving it a go now, getting a four and a six first up, the latter a flat-batted whoomph down the ground. A yorker and a slower one from Wiese keep him quiet briefly, but then a top-edged pull goes over the keeper and scootches out to the boundary.
16th over: Mumbai 151-4 (Rayudu 8, Simmons 49) - require another 85 runs to win
Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman, and he gets going straight away. A two, followed by a flat six that De Villiers nearly catches, but can’t quite hang onto. Too little, too late, but they might as well go down blazing.
Updated
WICKET! Pandya st Karthik b Chahal 8 (4) - Mumbai 143-4
Kohli is back on now, but he’d probably be best advised to just have a seat at the moment. Still, Pandya is giving this one a go, launching a big six over long-on and thudding into the sightscreen...before getting a bit giddy, coming down the pitch and running past one, Karthik doing the necessary in that hat of his.
15th over: Mumbai 135-3 (Pandya 1, Simmons 48) - require another 101 runs to win
Well, if they ever had a chance, it’s surely gone now. New man Pandya goes for a big shot but cuffs it up in the air, the ball dropping just short of the man coming in from long-on.
Meanwhile, RCB skipper Kohli has gone off, and didn’t look good at all. Seemed like he would’ve fainted if he’d stayed out there for too much longer - he must’ve sweated out most of his bodyweight out there.
WICKET! Pollard c Starc b Aravind 49 (24) - Mumbai 133-3
Pollard thunks a length ball on his pads from Aravind for four, but the joy doesn’t last much longer after he backs away and skews one right up in the air, and Starc pouches a fairly straightforward catch out on the cover boundary.
14th over: Mumbai 129-2 (Pollard 45, Simmons 47) - require another 107 runs to win
Two well-hit shots only bring this pair two singles due to unfortunate placing and some smart fielding, then Wiese bowls a slooooooooooooooow slower ball that foxes Simmons. The pace, or lack thereof, from Wiese is causing a few problems. A good over, aside from a full-toss last ball that isn’t given the hiding it deserves - just four from it.
13th over: Mumbai 125-2 (Pollard 43, Simmons 45) - require another 111 runs to win
Mitchy-Mitch Starcers is back, and Pollard clips off his toes for two, before driving powerfully down the ground for a one-bounce four. Starc comes back with some ripping good yorkers though, before dropping short again which Pollard pulls just past long-on for a pretty brutal four. Incredible how quickly he was onto that length and was through with the shot.
12th over: Mumbai 113-2 (Pollard 32, Simmons 44) - require another 123 runs to win
Simmons rather shrewdly gets off strike, allowing Pollard to take a step or two down the pitch and slaughter a Chahal ball for a massive straight six. Then a few singles later, Simmons repeats the trick, hitting almost exactly the same shot into exactly the same place. They’re making a decent fist of this at the moment.
11th over: Mumbai 97-2 (Pollard 24, Simmons 36) - require another 139 runs to win
A leg-bye and a single, before Pollard sort of underedges a pull, but it nonetheless scoots between short fine leg and deep-backward square and to the boundary. A couple of singles, before Pollard absolutely mullers a short-armed pull that sails high, high over straight mid-wicket for six. That was a whopper.
10th over: Mumbai 83-2 (Pollard 13, Simmons 34) - require another 153 runs to win
Nice shot from Pollard as he gently clips a rising one from Aravind off his hips just past the man at short fine leg, and it zips away for four. He then gives the next ball a bit more welly, welting it over mid-off and to the ropes out there. A smartly run two from Simmons and a nicely squeezed four cap a good over, the problem being that even with 17 from it, they’re still only just over the required rate.
9th over: Mumbai 66-2 (Pollard 2, Simmons 28) - require another 170 runs to win
Kieron Pollard is the new batsman, and he’ll have to go off like a Catherine Wheel if Mumbai are going to get anything close to this total. Three singles aren’t quite in that territory, but it’s better than nothing.
WICKET! Sharma c Mandeep Singh b Patel 15 (13) - Mumbai 63-2
Of course, this is always going to be the problem. In trying to get the rate hup, hup, hup, Sharma goes for a big one down the ground, but gets nowhere near enough and cuffs it to the fielder at long-on.
8th over: Mumbai 63-1 (Sharma 15, Simmons 27) - require another 173 runs to win
Spin now, as the skinny limbs of Yuzvendra Chahal whirls into the attack. He keeps it relatively tight, with three singles and a two from his first over.
7th over: Mumbai 58-1 (Sharma 13, Simmons 24) - require another 178 runs to win
Simmons gets four with what we’ll call for now a deliberate shot, opening the face but getting a super-thin edge that flies past the keeper and goes to the boundary. Then Sharma gets going, giving what amounted to a long-hope from Wiese the full treatment, pulling with some gusto over mid-wicket for six. A few more singles from the over.
6th over: Mumbai 45-1 (Sharma 5, Simmons 19) - require another 191 runs to win
The uselessness of the ‘at this stage’ comparisons is made clear, as Mumbai are actually ahead of RCB at the same point. Harshal Patel is into the attack, greeted by a woof of a six from Simmons, as he skips down the track and launches it over long-on. The next one looks like it’s going a similar way, but he doesn’t quite get hold of that one and it’s just two that time.
5th over: Mumbai 35-1 (Sharma 4, Simmons 10) - require another 201 runs to win
Kohli celebrated that wicket by bellowing a massive f-bomb as Patel walked from the field. All for that. David Wiese is into the attack, and a wide apart, keeps things relatively quiet until the last ball, when Sharma sweeps him behind square for four.
4th over: Mumbai 29-1 (Sharma 0, Simmons 9) - require another 207 runs to win
Kohli was so pumped by that wicket that he has cramped up and has to go off the field. His opposite number Rohit Sharma is the new bat.
WICKET! Patel run out (Kohli) 19 (11) - Mumbai 29-1
A few singles, one of which dropped just short of Wiese in the covers, before they take what should have been a tightish but relatively straightforward one from the last ball of the over. Kohli gets his throw in, and Patel’s bat sort of gets stuck in the turf as he tries to run it in, and therefore he just comes short and Karthik takes off the bails.
3rd over: Mumbai 25-0 (Patel 17, Simmons 7) - require another 211 runs to win
Patel doesn’t quite get all of a pull off Starc, but does manage to plop it over the infield for a couple. The next shot is timed much better, drilling a drive through mid-on for his first boundary of the innings, before collecting his second with a lovely flick off his pads down to fine leg, and a third with a belted four from a full-toss through the covers.
2nd over: Mumbai 11-0 (Patel 3, Simmons 7) - require another 225 runs to win
Sreenath Aravind is bowling from the other end, with Dinesh Karthik keeping in a Reni/Jack Russell hat, which is nice to see. It’s a largely tight over, with just two singles coming from it. A low-key start to a massive chase.
1st over: Mumbai 9-0 (Patel 2, Simmons 6) - require another 227 runs to win
A promising start for Mumbai, with a wide, a few singles then a delightful four clipped of the pads of Simmons to take nine from the first over.
Right, the teams are out for the reply. Mitchell Starc will open the bowling for RCB. Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons are the batsmen.
Mumbai Indians require 236 runs to win
Well, that was absolutely extraordinary. Virat Kohli played a quite superb knock of 82 from 50 balls, but even an innings of that quality was a mere supporting act to such a majestic display by AB de Villiers. Mumbai will have to go some to win this game, and basically stay in contention for the rest of the competition.
20th over: RCB 235-1 (De Villiers 133, Kohli 82)
Pandya has been handed the pooey end of the stick otherwise known as the last over, and strikes a huge success by keeping De Villiers to a single from the first ball. Kohli then hits one slightly aerially to Rohit, it bounces just in front of him and smacks him in the chin, and they come through for a couple. A shin-high full-toss is then flicked just in front of square-leg, before a wider full-bunger is slapped in the opposite direction for the same result. Quite why Pandya thought another full-toss was the way to go is unclear, but the next one is right in Kohli’s wheelhouse and he plonks it over wide long-on for six. And then, almost as a gag, the last ball is a dot.
19th over: RCB 218-1 (De Villiers 132, Kohli 66)
Good lord this is hilarious now. Malinga bowls one of those off-stump yorkers that most people wouldn’t have a prayer with, but De Villiers gets down low, puts his foot a long way down the pitch and sweeps - sweeps! - it for four. Malinga looks utterly baffled, and perhaps that explains the colossal legside wide he sends down next up. A single for each batsman, then a De Villiers straight drive is cut-off on the fence and they take two. Malinga then sends down a leg-stump yorker...actually, it wasn’t quite a yorker, but even if it was AB would still have backed away and smashed it, inside-out, through the covers for four.
18th over: RCB 204-1 (De Villiers 120, Kohli 65)
At this stage a four is a relief for the bowlers. De Villiers gets one of those and nearly cleans up the umpire in the process, before resuming normal service by depositing a slower ball over the straight fence. Another four comes from a full-toss (Pandya is the unfortunate bowler, by the way), before sweet mercy comes from a single. Kohli flaps another four from another full-toss beyond a dive from Pollard that ‘despairing’ would flatter. And then a dot! A dot! A dot as Kohli misses outside off, although you suspect he might well have just been making sure AB was on strike for the next over.
17th over: RCB 185-1 (De Villiers 105, Kohli 61)
Bumrah is the latest lamb to the slaughter, and is immediately driven beautifully through the covers for four by Kohli. Bumrah tries a couple of full-tosses, the first sort of takes Kohli by surprise and he gets one, but the second De Villiers sees coming so clearly he could’ve ordered it like a rib-eye steak, and sweeps it over fine leg for six. AB then brings up a quite magnificent century by sweeping a slower ball over mid-wicket for another six - just absolutely astonishing work by the best batsman in the world. Bumrah then gets a warning for a chest-high full-toss that is obviously called a no-ball, before yet another full-toss is slaughtered over long-on by Kohli. Just the 25 runs from the over.
16th over: RCB 160-1 (De Villiers 92, Kohli 50)
McClenaghan’s back, and it says something that managing to restrict these two to three runs from the first two balls can be regarded as something of a victory. That doesn’t last too long though, as De Villiers pulls a short one that lands about a millimetre before the boundary. Kohli goes to 50 off 39 balls, and when that’s the supporting innings, you know it’s been a pretty special knock at the other end. De Villiers then backs away and slaps another four over wide mid-off. Just extraordinary stuff, this.
15th over: RCB 147-1 (De Villiers 81, Kohli 48)
Hardik Pandya is the new bowler, but he doesn’t have much more luck as De Villiers twice shapes to play a big shot over leg, but twice adjusts as the bowler goes wide to off, twice smacking the ball to the cover fence. Then a full-toss is plonked over mid-off for a one-bounce four, before Pandya stems the flow a little with a yorker that De Villiers can only dig out for a single.
14th over: RCB 132-1 (De Villiers 68, Kohli 46)
Bumrah is rushing the show (not sure that works...he’s back bowling, anyway), greeted with three singles before De Villiers plays a remarkable sort of on-drive from a semi-sweep position, which goes for four. A couple more couples from the over, and this is being set up for a proper assault in the last six overs.
13th over: RCB 121-1 (De Villiers 59, Kohli 44)
Malinga’s back, and Kohli plays perhaps the first uncontrolled shot in about six overs, getting a single from an inside edge out to fine leg. A few more intentional singles come, before De Villiers drops to one knee and sweeps - sweeps - Malinga - Malinga - through mid-wicket for four. He can play whatever shot he wants at this stage. A brilliant stop by Rohit from a cover drive off the last ball of the over saves a few more runs.
12th over: RCB 114-1 (De Villiers 54, Kohli 42)
McClenaghan is back, possibly still rather cross about all those drops earlier on. Kohli eases three runs from two balls, before De Villiers allows a shorter one from round the wicket to angle into him, and sort of ramp/flick a shot to third man for a single. Another comes from a controlled drive, before De Villiers advances again to hit a straight drive so clean you could eat your dinner off it, then cuts through point for another boundary.
11th over: RCB 101-1 (De Villiers 45, Kohli 38)
There’s an element of these two batsmen just taking six-hitting practice at the moment. Kohli almost absent-mindedly sashays down the pitch and casually flings the ball straight back over the bowler’s head for six. A single, then De Villiers moves all around the crease, before dropping to a knee and sweeping a bullet down to fine leg for four. Some more singles, and these two are going at exactly the pace they want to. It’s a controlled demolition.
10th over: RCB 88-1 (De Villiers 40, Kohli 30)
Some more worked and nudged runs come, before Harbhajan sends down a loopy, wide one that evades everyone, including wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, and they run through for a few wides. Kohli then skips down the pitch and launches perhaps the wristiest six you’ll ever see, flicked with plenty of gusto over straight mid-on for half a dozen.
9th over: RCB 73-1 (De Villiers 38, Kohli 20)
De Villiers seems to be on a one-man mission to turn the IPL into a delicate, subtle competition, gently flicking a ball just past short fine leg and it goes for four. They scamper through for two off a misfield, before De Villiers gives another a bit more oomph, yonking it over the covers and to the ropes again. The complete batsman.
8th over: RCB 61-1 (De Villiers 27, Kohli 19)
Butterfingers Harbhajan Singh is into the attack, and De Villiers greets him with a typically-AB reverse-sweep down to third man for a couple. Both batsmen use their feet to knock Harbhajan off his length and collect some singles, before De Villiers plays the most careful, gentle, gossamer push through the covers for an utterly effortless four. He follows that up with a big six, skipping down the track and launching the ball over wide long-on and the fence. What a player this lad is.
7th over: RCB 46-1 (De Villiers 14, Kohli 17)
Some nice milking this from the two batsman, with a selection of pushes and flicks and drives and rapid running, bringing seven fuss-free runs from the over.
Here’s that catch. Woof.
Is Simmons the most underrated fielder ? #MIvsRCB #IPL - @mipaltan https://t.co/FBvDasbaF7
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 10, 2015
6th over: RCB 39-1 (De Villiers 11, Kohli 13)
Jagadeesha Suchith, the left-arm spinner, has a bowl, and is milked for two singles, before, De Villiers hits a couple of superb fours, the first stroked through the covers and the second clipped nicely just past mid-on. Minimal effort in both of those shots.
5th over: RCB 29-1 (De Villiers 2, Kohli 12)
The magnificently named Jasprit Bumrah is in, and starts with a legside wide. Then a couple of singles from Bumrah, before Kohli dances down the pitch and flays one through the covers and to the boundary, before flicking another off his pads.
4th over: RCB 20-1 (De Villiers 0, Kohli 6)
AB de Villiers is the new batsman, and gets off to a quiet start with five dots, a couple of careful drives saved well in the covers by Mumbai, who appear to have decided they will field competently now. A maiden, of all things.
WICKET! Gayle c Simmons b Malinga 13 (12) - RCB 20-1
And such is cricket. After two relatively easy chances are dropped, Gayle edges to Simmons at gully/fifthish slip and he flings himself to his left, seems to hang in the air and pouches a sensational diving catch. Weird this, innit?
Updated
3rd over: RCB 20-0 (Gayle 13, Kohli 6)
McClenaghan continues the short theory to Kohli, which he flicks round the corner on the pull down straight to Malinga at fine leg, but instead of fielding a straightforward shot he sort of runs past it, and lets it through for four. Bowler and skipper Rohit Sharma don’t look impressed, then after a single everyone forgets about Malinga’s mishap after two much bigger fielding calamities.
Firstly Gayle hits the thing straight up in the air, it goes for miles vertically and drops straight to Sharma...who after a long time to think about it grasses the catch calamitously. Then, next ball, Kohli comes down the pitch, gets a big edge that goes to Harbhajan Singh at slip...and he drops it too! Nobody looks impressed now.
2nd over: RCB 14-0 (Gayle 12, Kohli 1)
Lasith Malinga has the ball from the other end, his hair looking as subdued as it has for quite some time. There’s some extensive dicking around with the field, before he gets a slower ball past Gayle. He gets one with a clip off his pads, before Kohli gets an inside edge just past the stumps but down to fine leg for a single. The over closes with a full widish one, which Gayle slices in the air over the slips, and it skips its merry little way out to the boundary.
1st over: RCB 8-0 (Gayle 7, Kohli 0)
Gayle lets the first two go outside off, then the third is a straighter bouncer that is too high and is called as such. Not much going to be pitched up here, the problem being that Gayle’s a dab-hand at the pull too, something he displays by launching the third legal ball over a sort of straight mid-wicket for six. The 5,000th IPL six, we’re told. A similar ball is pulled in a similar direction, but this time on a couple of bounces and Hardik Pandya runs around to keep them to a mere single.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli will open the batting, while Mitch McClenaghan has the ball.
The batsmen are out, the bowlers are out, the fielders are out, the umpires are out, the sun is out - let’s ruddy well do this.
Team news
Mumbai Indians
Simmons, Patel, Sharma, Pollard, Rayudu, Pandya, Singh, Suchith, McClenaghan, Malinga, Bumrah
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Gayle, Kohli, De Villiers, Karthik, Khan, Singh, Wiese, Starc, Patel, Chahal, Arvind
Royal Challengers Bangalore win the toss...
...and Virat Singh Kohli says BAT, BAT, BAT.
You often wonder what those who conjured the game of cricket, way back in 17-dickety-2, would make of Twenty20 now, in particular the IPL. Equally, you have to consider what the game will look like in 10, 20, 50 years time. You’d think that now we have flashing bails, dancers, fireworks, other assorted whizz-bangs, Glen Maxwell, weird spider-cam things, pounding music, sponsored time-outs and Danny effing Morrison leaping around like some sugared-up nine-year-old, that cricket has basically reached the point of hype no return.
But maybe it hasn’t. Maybe there’s a room of PR people in jeans two sizes too small & ten years to young for them, thinking up yet more flashy bullshit to, for some reason, take our minds & attention off the actual game we’re playing. Perhaps soon we’ll see fireworks on the stumps, players playing nude but for their pads, balls that actually explode as they go for six. Perhaps we haven’t reached peak hype. There could be more. And who can say whether that would be a bad thing or not. Time, and time only, will tell.
Anyway, for now we merely have the current levels of hype. And today we have Mumbai Indians facing off, duking it out, locking horns, with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Hopefully Chris Gayle will go absolutely berserk again, or maybe AB de Villers will hoy it all over the shop, or perhaps Lasith Malinga will just obliterate them all. Who knows? Time, and only time, will tell.
First ball: 11.30
Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what happened the last time RCB were let off the leash:
A magnificent century from Chris Gayle laid the foundations for an emphatic Royal Challengers Bangalore victory that ended Kings XI Punjab’s of progressing to the next phase of the Indian Premier League.
George Bailey’s Kings XI side were outclassed with bat and ball in succumbing to a crushing 138-run defeat – the second heaviest margin in the tournament’s history – after being bowled out for 88. Sreenath Aravind and Mitchell Starc did the damage for RCB with four wickets each.
Bailey had put the home side in after winning the toss but his team were soon suffering as Gayle, driving and pulling with a combination of exquisite timing and effortless clean hitting, struck 12 sixes and seven fours in his 57-ball innings. It helped RCB to a huge total of 226 for three off their 20 overs.
His opening partner, Virat Kohli, was content to play second fiddle for much of an opening stand of 119, though the RCB captain occasionally cut loose in a 30-ball knock of 32 that was brought to an end in the 12th over when he was bowled by a well-directed yorker from Sandeep Sharma, the pick of Kings XI’s weary bowling attack.
AB de Villiers helped Gayle maintain the innings’ momentum but the Jamaican remained the star turn, bringing up his century – his fifth in the IPL – in the 14th over.
Though he was twice dropped – by Bailey and Manan Vohra – Gayle was dominant and comfortable throughout his innings until he was finally dismissed by the spinner Axar Patel, who took a sharp return catch in the 17th over with the score on 190. De Villiers, who raced to an unbeaten 47 from 24 balls, and Sarfaraz Khan, with 11 from seven, then kept the scoreboard ticking over to ease the home side to a final total of 226 for three.
Kings XI needed their misfiring batsmen to score quickly from the start, but their opening partnership lasted only four balls, as Vohra was smartly caught low at extra cover off Starc, a dismissal confirmed after a TV umpire review.
The Bangalore bowlers managed to find a swing, bounce and accuracy that was largely absent when Kings XI were in the field and Harshal Patel soon dismissed the other opener, Murali Vijay, with a well angled delivery that clattered the top of middle stump.
It was Aravind who led the way though, prolonging Glenn Maxwell’s wretched run of form by uprooting his off-stump with the Australian on one, and then dismissing Wriddhiman Saha and David Miller in his third over. When Aravind bowled Bailey for two with a fine in-swinger, the visitors were 39-6 and the contest was effectively over.
Starc promptly rammed home RCB’s advantage with the cheap dismissals of his Australia team-mate Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh and Karanveer Singh, each seeing their stumps clattered by fast, accurate bowling. A valiant unbeaten 40 from Axar Patel then delayed the inevitable before the victory was wrapped up in the 14th over when the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took a comfortable return catch to his left to dismiss the No11 Sandeep Sharma for seven.
The victory lifts Kohli’s team to third in the standings and leaves Kings XI facing a major challenge just to extricate themselves from the bottom before the end of the campaign.
