Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Kings XI Punjab by 82 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore yesterday to go within one victory of reaching the knockout stages of this year’s IPL.
The Punjab side only managed 120-9 before rain finally brought an end to things after they were tasked with chasing a monstrous 212.
The match was reduced to 15-overs-apiece after a deluge of rain threatened to dampen RCB’s playoff hopes before a ball was bowled. Miraculously, the heavens closed shut and an otherworldly batting display by RCB ensued.
Gayle (73 from 31 balls) looks to be officially back to his belligerent best, but all the plaudits will once again rightfully go to RCB captain Virat Kohli. His 113 from 50 deliveries is arguably the best of all the knocks this season.
The way his feet move, especially when playing inside-out over cover, is majestic. The speed with which his hands fly through the shot defy the physical constraints of the human form. One runs out of superlatives watching this man bat.
Before the start of the season, Kohli had no hundreds in T20 cricket. Thirteen innings later he has four. He is now the only batsman in the world to pass 4000 IPL runs.
On top of all that, and just to stir rumours that he is in fact from another planet, he held on to a sky-high catch with a hand full of stitches. Kohli’s opening stand with Gayle was worth 147, contained 12 fours and sixes apiece and was scored at 13.36 to the over. It was carnage.
It was destructive. One almost felt sorry for the bowlers. The crowd couldn’t care less, they were baying for more. All credit to the near capacity crowd for sticking it out when heading for somewhere dry seemed the sensible option.
They stayed on past midnight cheering their heroes on. Critics who argue that the IPL is nothing more than a money-making circus should have a word with an RCB loyalist. These fans exude the same passion and love that football or rugby fans bestow on the athletes who represent their teams.
Only the most diehard RCB fan will claim that this was a perfect performance. Once again their bowlers were riddled with errors, often straying both sides of the wicket and offering the odd long hop.
The table propping Kings XI Punjab were never in the game. When captain Murali Vijay hasn’t scored runs his team has struggled with the bat and so it was again here. He played on for 16 from 8 balls off Sreesanth Aravind (2-18 from 2).
That brought Wriddhman Saha to the crease who tonked a brief cameo of 24 before we was struck lbw to a ball that kept a touch low from Yuzvendra Chahal (4-24 from 3). He might feel somewhat aggrieved as the third umpire upheld the decision when a front foot no-ball could have easily been the call. The man upstairs was called upon again to confirm a catch when Hashim Amla (9 off 6) couldn’t roll his wrists over the ball and was caught athletically by Chris Jordan. David Miller’s indifferent season continued, just 3 from 6.
Shane Watson was tidy with the ball yet again. His 2-7 from 2 overs was full of variations in pace and length. He may not be setting the tournament ablaze with his bat, but he is justifying his record price tag with the ball.
Another impressive performance in a sensational run for RCB, they move up to second from seventh just a week ago but that could change depending on other results. They next head to Delhi to face Paddy Upton’s Daredevils in a match that might very well see the winner progress to the playoffs.
Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 211 for 3 in 15 overs (V Kohli 113, C Gayle 73) beat Kings XI Punjab 120 for 9 in 14 overs (W Saha 24; Y Chahal 4-25) by 82 runs (D/L method)