Chennai Super Kings win by 27 runs
Well, it wasn’t that close in the end, and RCB might wonder what could’ve been were it not for the run-out of AB de Villiers. Still, it would’ve required a fair assault from AB, not least because Ashish Nehra was absolutely superb.
Cheers for reading, that’s your lot for today but we’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after th...
WICKET! Wiese c Smith b Bravo 22 (20) - RCB 154-8
And the last ball goes straight up in the air, Smith trots in to take a simple catch and the Chennai Super Kings win by 27 runs.
19.5: RCB 154-7 (Starc 9, Wiese 22) - they require another 28 to win from 1 ball - More width from Bravo, and this time Wiese swings everything at it and gets four.
19.4: RCB 150-7 (Starc 9, Wiese 18) - they require another 32 to win from 2 balls - A wide one from Bravo, but not so wide that it’s a wide.
19.3: RCB 150-7 (Starc 9, Wiese 18) - they require another 32 to win from 3 balls - Starc steps way outside off stump and dabs another single to mid-on.
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19.2: RCB 149-7 (Starc 8, Wiese 18) - they require another 33 to win from 4 balls - Wiese swings from his toes, but can only slap a single down the ground.
19.1: RCB 148-7 (Starc 8, Wiese 17) - they require another 34 to win from 5 balls - Bravo to bowl the final over, and Starc bunts the first for a single.
19th over: RCB 147-7 (Starc 7, Wiese 17) - they require another 35 to win from 6 balls
Sharma bowls a bouncer to Starc, which he does very well to hook off his eyebrows for four, before getting a single from a mistimed big shot he probably wanted more from. Wiese is then struck in the box, but luckily for him and Little Wiese it was a slower ball. Another slowie is hoiked for one, before Starc pulls one more, then Wiese batters a six way over long-on. All in vain, obviously, but that was a meaty blow.
18th over: RCB 134-7 (Starc 1, Wiese 10) - they require another 48 to win from 12 balls
Wiese tries a big shot off Bravo but it goes straight through him, just missing the stumps. He then rocks back and cuffs a shot straight down the ground, bouncing just in front of the ropes and earning four. He then takes another big swing, misses, but it flies off his legs and evades the fielder at point to go for four leg-byes. A slap down the ground gets one, then Starc inside edges onto his legs and they take another.
17th over: RCB 124-7 (Starc 0, Wiese 5) - they require another 58 to win from 18 balls
Nehra doesn’t get the hat-trick, but he does make Wiese whiff at a couple outside off stump, then inside edges onto his pads. Wiese finally gets one away, a driven single down the ground, but that’s it and Nehra’s four overs have gone 4-10. That’s exceptional in a Test, never mind a Twenty20.
WICKET! Patel c Bravo Nehra 0 (1) - RCB 123-7 - they require another 59 to win from 22 balls
And it’s all going wrong now. The new man Patel loops a weak shot high in the air, that Bravo barely has to move for at mid-on. That’s four wickets for Nehra, and he’s on a hat-trick.
WICKET! Kohli c Smith b Nehra 51 (42) - RCB 123-6 - they require another 59 to win from 23 balls
Nehra returns to the attack, and Kohli flicks one off his toes that looks like it’s going over the ropes...but it doesn’t quite, and Smith takes a comfortable catch just on the fence.
16th over: RCB 123-5 (Kohli 51, Wiese 4) - they require another 59 to win from 24 balls
Wiese wisely gives Kohli the strike, and he flicks a rapid two leg side off Jadeja, before punching a single through the covers, which he’s visibly disappointed with. Wiese slaps another one out to the sweeper, and Kohli batters a six straight down the ground and brings up his 50, before retaining the strike to get another decent total from the over.
15th over: RCB 111-5 (Kohli 41, Wiese 2) - they require another 71 to win
Kohli picks up two after some smart fielding from Du Plessis stops a punch down the ground off new bowler Bravo. He then gets four with a delightful wristy slap through the covers, before digging out an excellent yorker from Bravo and getting through for a single. Wiese picks up a single, allowing Kohli to almost exactly repeat that cover-driven four from earlier on in the over.
14th over: RCB 99-5 (Kohli 29, Wiese 1) - they require another 83 to win
Wiese is the new bat, and singles from both men end the over.
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WICKET! Khan c Sharma b Jadeja 11 (7) - RCB 97-5 - they require another 85 to win
During the ‘strategic timeout’ they may well have decided to give it a bit more tap, and the 17-(17!)-year-old Khan launches a brilliantly brutal shot over wide long-off for six. He then chases through for a rapid two, but goes for a slog-sweep and smacks it straight to Sharma at deep mid-wicket off Jadeja.
13th over: RCB 89-4 (Kohli 29, Khan 3) - they require another 93 to win
Khan dabs a single off Pandey to where would’ve been, then a few more singles keeps things ticking over, but they need more than that now - he required rate is up to nearly 13.
12th over: RCB 86-4 (Kohli 28, Khan 1) - they require another 96 to win
The youngster Sarfaraz Khan is the new man, and he stars by trying a lapped sweep that he misses, but gets off the mark with a cut one out to third man.
WICKET! De Villiers run out 14 (10) - RCB 85-4 they require another 97 to win
Well, that could be huge. Kohli plays out into the off side and they take one, but calls them through for another that De Villiers dives desperately in for, but Dhoni manages to shovel the ball onto the stumps before the South African can get there.
11th over: RCB 84-3 (Kohli 27, De Villiers 14) - they require another 98 to win
Kohli gets a single then De Villiers is flummoxed by a slower one from Pandey, before getting off strike with a single of his own. Kohli gets one, leaving De Villiers to once again get a six from the final ball of the over, this time way, way down the ground and over the straight fence.
10th over: RCB 75-3 (Kohli 25, De Villiers 7) - they require another 107 to win
Jadeja is into the attack, and is stitched up right away as Kohli cuts backward of point, a shot which Nehra lets through and it goes for four. Nehra says a rude word, Kohli grabs another single. A few more singles, then De Villiers announces himself with a massive six, slog-swept over mid-wicket. Woof.
9th over: RCB 62-3 (Kohli 19, De Villiers 0) - they require another 120 to win
Here’s AB, and he’s on strike after Kohli takes a single. He can’t get his first three balls away, surviving a hugely optimistic lbw shout from a ball sliding way down leg.
WICKET! Karthik c Bravo b Pandey 10 (11) - RCB 61-3 - they require another 121 to win
Pandey comes back, and he gets some immediate joy as Karthik flaps one rather down to long-on, with Bravo running in from the boundary to take a fine catch, that he celebrates with a little dance.
8th over: RCB 61-2 (Kohli 18, Karthik 10) - they require another 121 to win
Ashwin is handed the ball, and Kohli slaps a single down the ground. Karthik then gets a very friendly ball on his leg stump, that he drops to one knee and sweeps for four. A single gives Kohli the strike, which he uses to muller a pull - from a ball that really wasn’t that short - way over mid-wicket for six. Ashwin tries a leg-spinner that is wide, wide, wide, then Kohli drives through the covers for four. Big over - 17 from it.
7th over: RCB 44-2 (Kohli 7, Karthik 5) - they require another 138 to win
Sharma runs up but Karthik pulls out at the very, very, very last moment, claiming something had entered his eyeline. Sharma ain’t happy. The next ball has a little extra oomph, but Karthik pulls it out to the fielder on the fence and collects two. Karthik dabs a single and collides with Sharma on the way through, before four more singles complete the over.
6th over: RCB 38-2 (Kohli 5, Karthik 1) - they require another 144 to win
Nehra comes in, and Kohli clips out to deep backward square for what should’ve been a single, but Sharma out there slips over and turns it into two. Then come three dot balls, before Kohli pushes a very quick single that Karthik only just gets back to, with McCullum dashing in from the covers to field. Karthick gets a single with an edge to third man, but there have been seven runs and two wickets from the last three overs.
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5th over: RCB 34-2 (Kohli 2, Karthik 0) - they require another 148 to win
Sharma beats Kohli outside off with Dhoni having come up to the stumps, but lets him off the hook by drifting onto his pads and allowing a single. But that’s the only run from a great Sharma over, everything else being tight, tight, tight.
4th over: RCB 33-2 (Kohli 1, Karthik 0) - they require another 149 to win
The keeper Dinesh Karthik is the new batsman.
WICKET! Rossouw b Nehra 14 (9) - RCB 33-2 - they require another 149 to win
Rossouw and Kohli exchange singles, but Nehra completes a hell of an over by nipping one through the former’s defences, clipping the top of middle stump. Two wickets and just two runs from that over.
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WICKET! Bisla c Du Plessis b Nehra 17 (14) - RCB 31-1 - they require another 149 to win
Bisla tries to get in on the ‘hitting the ball a really long way’ action, but doesn’t get anything near all of that one as he comes down the pitch and pops it up in the air. It looks like it might drop over Du Plessis’s head, but he runs back and throws his right hand back and takes an absolutely superb catch.
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3rd over: RCB 31-0 (Bisla 17, Rossouw 13) - they require another 151 to win
Bisla gets going with a smacked four through mid-wicket, then McCullum saves another four as Bisla goes over point but the Kiwi dashes back, puts in a full-flung dive and scoops it back, saving a run. Rossouw throws everything at a pull but doesn’t properly connect, getting two, but he most certainly connects with the next, taking a step down the pitch and launching it miles over long-on for six. Rossouw ends the over with another outrageous shot, coming down the track again, Sharma drops it short but the youngster flat-bats a powerful effort down the ground for four, and to the long-on ropes.
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2nd over: RCB 12-0 (Bisla 10, Rossouw 1) - they require another 170 to win
Ashish Nehra, who seems to have been around since the dawn of time, opens from the other end, and Rossouw gets his first one away for a single. Bisla collects one of his own before Rossouw tries to come down the pitch and whip a ball away off his legs, but only gets an inside edge onto this pads and another single is taken. A couple more singles, including a leg-bye, from the over.
1st over: RCB 8-0 (Bisla 8, Rossouw 0) - they require another 174 to win
The first scoring shot is an absolute scorcher from Bisla, rocking back and battering a pull beyond the fielders on the mid-wicket fence. He gets another boundary a few balls later by getting everything behind a flaying cover drive that goes over the inner fielding ring and to the fence.
They’re out for the reply, and Ishwar Pandey will open the bowling, delivering to Rilee Rossouw and Manvinder Bisla.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will need 182 to win
So the clatter of wickets might suggest that they could’ve done better, but that was a decent total still from Chennai, led by Suresh Raina, although the rest got starts but didn’t really kick on. Smashing bowling from Starc and Chahal at the end kept the score down from what it could’ve been.
20th over: CSK 181-8 (Du Plessis 33, Nehra 0)
New man Nehra misses his first ball but they go through for a single anyway. Karthik throws the ball at the stumps, misses, it goes through to Starc and he takes it to within about two yards of the poles at the other end and somehow misses himself. More slapstick fielding from the last ball, as Du Plessis lifts a short one over where slip should’ve been, they take two then the throw in from the boundary is errant, and they steal another.
WICKET! Sharma b Starc 2 (6) - CSK 177-8
Starc in for the last over, and the first ball is full, just outside off, and Sharma misses after backing away and attempting a carve. It’s a similar result next, but that was a terrific ball from Starc coming round the wicket, with a little more shape away, rather than the batsman’s fault. A shorter one produces another swing, miss and dot ball, before a full ball sends Sharma’s off stump cartwheeling and his rather hapless stay at the crease ends.
19th over: CSK 177-7 (Du Plessis 30, Mohit Sharma 2)
Mohit Sharma the new man, and he digs out a yorker to pick up a single first up. Du Plessis waits for another slower ball, dabbing a single behind square, before Sharma slaps another down the ground, but again only for one. Du Plessis ends the over in some style though, launching a big old six over long-on and into the stands as Wiese pitches one up.
WICKET! Ashwin c Bisla b Wiese 5 (3) - CSK 168-7
Wiese is back on, and he tries a slower ball first up, but Ashwin waits for it and airily slices it between gully and point for four. Wiese over-corrects next, giving up a leg-side wide, before Ashwin tries a repeat of the first shot, this time only succeeding in slicing it to Bisla at gully.
18th over: CSK 163-6 (Du Plessis 23, Ashwin 1)
The ball slips out of Abdulla’s hands and that’s a wide, before a couple of singles sets up Du Plessis to absolutely nail one along the ground, goes to the straight boundary for four.
WICKET! Bravo c De Villiers b Abdulla 5 (4) - CSK 156-6
One from Du Plessis, then Bravo plays a shot that you can only describe as ‘weird’, initially looking like he was going to go inside-out over cover, but changing his mind halfway through the shot and trying to launch it over long-on, which he does not, and De Villiers ambles in to take a straightforward catch.
17th over: CSK 155-5 (Du Plessis 17, Bravo 5)
Mitch Starc is back and aims one at Du Plessis’s ribs, but the South African rather neatly tucks it down to fine leg, where the man out there dives but can’t quite get there. He goes inside-out next ball and it goes up, but not up enough to get out, as the ball falls in front of the fielder. Bravo takes a single, then Du Plessis flays a pretty poor full toss off a thick outside edge and to the point boundary for four. Du Plessis gets another single, giving Bravo the chance to flick another Starc full toss for four, this time off his pads. Expensive comeback over from the Aussie lefty.
16th over: CSK 140-5 (Du Plessis 7, Bravo 0)
Dwayne Bravo the new man in, and he watches as Du Plessis splits the fielders quite brilliantly after rocking back and flicking a sort-of pull shot to the fence on the leg side. One more single and CSK have salvaged something from this over.
WICKET! Jadeja c Kohli b Abdulla 8 (8) - CSK 135-5
Du Plessis goes back again, to Abdulla, getting a single which gives Jadeja the chance to line one up and throw everything at it...which he does, but it goes higher than it does long and Kohli takes a fairly comfortable catch coming in from the boundary.
15th over: CSK 134-4 (Du Plessis 1, Jadeja 8)
Faf du Plessis is the new man, but he’ll have to wait his turn as they crossed while the ball was in the air. Jadeja takes a single, then Du Plessis rocks back and plays one very, very late and edges onto his pads. They then go for a quick single that Kohli sprints in to field, but can’t get the direct hit that probably would’ve seen Jadeja in some trouble. He makes it though, and we all carry on this dance.
WICKET! Dhoni c De Villiers b Chahal 13 (13) - CSK 132-4
Dhoni gives Chahal the charge first up, but goes for the big inside-out hoy over the covers and doesn’t come close to getting all of it, and the ball plops neatly into the hands of AB de Villiers, coming in from the boundary.
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14th over: CSK 132-3 (Dhoni 13, Jadeja 7)
Jadeja flicks the ball out to deep square-leg, and Dhoni hustles back for a couple. He then rocks back and cracks a pull out to the ropes just in front of mid-wicket, repeating the shot next ball but slightly closer to the fielder that time, and they only collect one. Dhoni shoves a single, before Jadeja sways out of the way of a rapid bouncer.
13th over: CSK 124-3 (Dhoni 12, Jadeja 0)
Ravi Jadeja is the new man, and Dhoni slaps the final ball of the over to point, for no run.
WICKET! Raina c Rossuw b Chahal 62 (32) - CSK 124-3
Dhonie clubs a single down the ground off new bowler Yuzvenda Chahal, giving Raina another go at the dance down the pitch, smack it for six thing, which he does, clearing the straight fence, but he didn’t get anything close to all of that one. It’s the same story with the next ball, this time from a shorter one that he rocks back and smears - again not with perfect timing - over wide long-on...and then AGAIN with the next ball, which is sort of top-edged but still comfortably over the ropes. Three sixes in a row....but then get tries going over the other side, this time only managing to pick out Rossouw on the cover boundary, who takes a comfortable catch.
12th over: CSK 105-2 (Dhoni 11, Raina 44)
Abdulla continues but serves up an abysmal wide long-hop that Raina brutally belts out to the third man fence for four. There’s a single driven down the ground, before Abdulla serves up another wide one - so wide was that wide, in fact, that it was a wide. Dhoni flicks a single before Raina takes a skip and a hop and a huge wipe and it sails over wide long-on for six. Two from the final ball and it’s 15 from that over.
11th over: CSK 90-2 (Dhoni 10, Raina 31)
Patel continues, and Raina slaps a single first up, before Dhoni almost runs out his partner by flicking straight to short fine-leg and setting off for the run, but a dive from Raina gets him there just in time. Raina dabs a more prosaic single to third man, then Dhoni whacks one that goes with such force that it speeds past Sarfraz Khan on the cover fence that only went about five yards to his right, but he had no chance of stopping it. Raina ends the over with another drive down the track for one.
10th over: CSK 81-2 (Dhoni 4, Raina 28)
The left-arm spin of Iqbal Abdulla is on, but Raina greets him by running down the track and launching an absolutely vast six way, way, way down the ground and over long-on for a mega six. Abdulla then comes back quite splendidly, giving up only another single and keeping Dhoni to four dot balls. Such is the rollercoaster of emotions that is the life of a bowler in the IPL.
9th over: CSK 74-2 (Dhoni 4, Raina 21)
And MS Dhoni is the new batsman, greeted by a Beatles-at-Shea-Stadium-esque collection of screams from the crowd, and he starts off quite marvellously with a wristy flick that zips through point for four.
WICKET! D. Smith c Karthik b Patel 39 (29) - CSK 70-2
Patel continues, but not very well as he drifts onto Smith’s pads and he clips to very fine leg for four, before taking a big swing at one from which he only gets a single. One from Raina brings Smith back, and he ducks under a zooter of a bouncer, before flirting at one indeterminately outside off, and he edges limply through to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps.
8th over: CSK 64-1 (Smith 34, Raina 20)
Cheers to Tom for stepping in - Nick back now, and just in time to see Smith absolutely obliterate two sixes, the first straight back down the ground and the second a pull just in front of mid-wicket. Two very different shots, two identical results. He then clacks a delightful cover drive to the fence, but merely for four this time. One more single from the over, and they’re now taking one of those daft sponsored time-outs. Bit more rain in the air, apparently...
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7th over: CSK 47-1 (Smith 17, Raina 20) Raina works a single away on the legside before Patel has a half-shout for leg-before on a high one that’s coming in at Smith, which he almost certainly nicks anyway. He whips a single away on the legside, bringing Raina on strike for the last ball, a steepling brilliant bouncer and a dot ball. Only two from the over. Smith is closing on 5,000 IPL runs – who says this competition lacks the sense of historical grandeur that a welter of such stats can confer?
6th over: CSK 45-1 (Smith 16, Raina 19) Another bowling change, David Wiese for Chahal. He finds a decent length and line from the off, and Raina can’t find a way past that inner ring of fielders on the offside. He tries, instead, to go aerial, and elsewhere, and is more successful - spanking an on-drive high into the air and over the ropes for six. A leg-bye, and a half-hearted lbw appeal, follow.
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5th over: CSK 38-1 (Smith 16, Raina 13) The medium-pacer Harshal Patel replaces Starc, and flummoxes Raina with a slower, wider one that is played and missed at. The bowler, and the bowler alone, has a lbw shout next ball but it’s too high and probably slanting down leg as well. Raina then creams him through the covers with delicious footwork and timing for four, which is what he can do. He loves this area, and hits the next ball for four in the same area but this one is thwacked in the air over the in-field. Four more. The last ball induces the one bum stroke of the over, an attempted slash-cut that cannons off the pad and dribbles down to third man for a leg-bye.
4th over: CSK 29-1 (Smith 16, Raina 5) Smith advances down the pitch at Chahal, doesn’t meet it fully, slices it wildly, is bamboozled by the spin, but connects enough to get four square on the offside. Modern cricket for you, there. A flicked single follows, and Raina adds one also. Smith then does get hold of one, swivelling and hoiking a six over midwicket.
3rd over: CSK 17-1 (Smith 5, Raina 4) So much for that Mammoth Duel then, McCullum snared instead by the spinner. Starc slants a nice one across Smith, who swishes and misses, which is a feature of the over in general. Four dots are followed by a nudge down to third man for a single off a full toss. Kohli brings a second catcher in for Raina, who is beaten with a beauty, just nipping away off the seam. Excellent bowling.
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Wicket! McCullum c Chossouw b Chalal 4
2nd over: CSK 16-1 (Smith 4, Reina 4) RCB opt for leg spin straight away, with Chahal. Smith flicks him off his pads for two first off before pushing him down the ground for one to bring the New Zealand captain back on strike, and he’s beaten with a beautiful leg-break. Then he’s OUT, trying to cut square on the offside but not really getting hold of it, and beingn taken easily by Chossouw. New batsman Raina takes the bowler on straight away with a slightly risky slog in the air down the ground for four, which De Villiers has a valiant stab at catching, but can’t quite make it.
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1st over: CSK 9-0 (Smith 1, McCullum 4) Starc begins with two dot balls, a low inswinging yorker followed by a higher wider full toss that Smith can’t dab past the in-field. He’s off the mark next ball. The absurdly hyped – within the IPL village anyway - Starc-McCullum set-to begins with, er, four leg-byes. EPIC. But McCullum then belts Starc for four to complete a decent first over in the end for the home side.
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We have a start time at last: it will be 3.55pm BST (8.25pm IST). Assuming no more delays – which is a bit of an assumption – they plan to get the full 20 overs in each too.
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Starc is reportedly pacing around the dug-out like a caged aggressive cage-dwelling thing eager to get stuck into Brendon McCullum, having of course cleaned him up in the first over of the World Cup final last month. But they’ll just have to wait.
The covers are coming back off again, so we should be underway soon.
I’ll level with you. I’m going to have to drive blind, as it were, through these opening stages, as Sky is staying with the earlier match until it finishes. The weather’s not been great in Bangalore either, with the covers coming on and off at intervals. And we have a slight delay here too. There’s rain, rain, everywhere – except in the UK’s own County Championship.
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Those teams in full:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: MS Bisla, RR Rossouw, V Kohli (capt), KD Karthik (wk), AB de Villiers, SN Khan, D Wiese, MA Starc, HV Patel, Iqbal Abdulla, YS Chahal
Chennai Super Kings: DR Smith, BB McCullum, SK Raina, F du Plessis, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), RA Jadeja, DJ Bravo, R Ashwin, MM Sharma, IC Pandey, A Nehra.
RCB win toss and will bat
And some team news: Mitchell Starc comes in and Chris Gayle is left out for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Anyway, you may have noticed that Nick is still engaged elsewhere, describing the Knight Riders’ Duckworth-Lewis pursuit of 118. And there’s only so much journalistic multi-tasking a man can do, so it’ll be me – Tom - taking you through the opening overs of this one.
Preamble
A few years ago, when MS Dhoni was relatively new to the India side (quite possibly in those giddy days when he still had lovely long hair), Indian fans were obviously quite enamoured with this thrilling and handsome new batsman. In a game at Headingley, India were batting and the order of their players was a little loose and changeable, so the fans demanded their man. “DHONI! DHONI! DHONI! DHONI!” they yelled, as they waited for the new batsman to come in. “DHONI! DHONI! DHONI! DHONI!” But no, for the fates, and the India coaching staff, had other ideas, and instead sent in Rahul Dravid. As you’ll know, Dravid is one of the most wonderful players to have ever carried a slice of willow to the crease, and one who finished his Test career with an average of 52 and ODIs at just shy of 40.
“DHONI! DHONI! DHONI! DHONI!” the fans demanded. ‘Rahul...Dravid’ deliberately announced the man on the Yorkshire PA. Silence. Absolute silence. The greeting of, behind only perhaps Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar the greatest batsman India have ever produced, with disappointed and confused apathy, goes some way to indicating exactly what MS Dhoni means to Indian fans.
The old boy might not be Indian captain anymore, but he’s still a colossus, and one that can still pull stuff out of the bag when required. He probably needs to do it soon, though: batting down the order, he’s got 117 runs at a strike rate of about 118 in this IPL, which a few years ago would’ve been superb, but not these days. Still, he of course, is not the main man for the Chennai Super Kings in this tournament - that title goes to Brendan McCullum, who welted that century against Sunrisers Hyderabad the other week, and who along with AB de Villiers is still just the most extraordinary batsman to watch, in all forms of the game.
Oh, and speaking of AB, he’ll be in the Royal Challengers Bangalore side today. Along with Chris Gayle. And Virat Kohli. With Mitchell Starc bowling. The IPL might be a mind-boggling assault of style over substance, but when the style is this...well, stylish, it’s more difficult to complain.
First ball: 15.30 BST
Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, read Daniel Harris’s report of yesterday’s dramatic match between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab:
A spectacular performance from Kings XI Punjab somehow relieved Rajasthan Royals of their 100% record, in the best game of the IPL so far. Set 192 to win, determined and enterprising batting from Shaun Marsh and David Miller delivered the rarity of a high-scoring thriller, eventually earning a super over in which Marsh excelled once again; he scored 14 of his side’s 15 runs, after which two wickets in four balls secured a memorable win.
Just a short while earlier, things had looked very different. Ajinkya Rahane, whose 74 was his third consecutive half-century, and Shane Watson, who bludgeoned 45 from 35 deliveries, gave Rajasthan the ideal base from which to post a huge total. Their opening partnership was worth 95 in 11.3 overs, and when Deepak Hooda – promoted to No3 – added 19 from only nine balls, a score of above 200 looked possible.
But, though Rajasthan maintained their pace, they could not increase it as expected. Steve Smith and James Faulkner contributed only one between them, so it was left to Karun Nair and Stuart Binny to whack the late boundaries that took the game out of Punjab’s reach.
