Russell, Pathan power KKR's successful chase

Rahul, Kohli hit fifties; Chris Gayle has another failure, manages to score only seven

May 02, 2016 07:34 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 04:05 am IST

Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets in Bengaluru on Monday. Sent into bat, RCB scored 185/7 in the stipulated 20 overs, and then saw KKR chase down the target of 186 with five balls to spare

Commentary:

And it's over. Yadav clips on off his legs and finishes it for KKR, who've managed to go past the target with few balls to spare. Super stuff, this, especially from Russell and Pathan.

KKR 185/5 after 19 overs (Y. Pathan 60*, Suryakumar Yadav 6*)

Pathan's in a mood to finish this early. He clears the long-on boundary with some ease, and follows that up with a four -- more subtle this time. And Suryakumar Yadav joins the party now -- sweeps a googly behind square leg and brings up another boundary in this over. Just one needed of six balls now. Pathan also brings up his fifty.

KKR 169/5 after 18 overs (Y. Pathan 49*, Suryakumar Yadav 0*)

Russell's out but he's changed it for KKR. He stretches for that one but the connection is not great -- a wonderful 24-ball 39 comes to an end. 17 needed off 12 balls

KKR 163/4/4 after 17 overs (Y. Pathan 45*, A. Russell 38*)

Watto's here. RCB fans are shocked! 4,4,4,6, 2, 4. Is that the match? This was expected at this stage -- small ground, big bats and two clean hitters at the middle.The required run rate's come down considerably. Only 23 runs needed off 18 balls.

KKR 139/4 after 16 overs (Y. Pathan 21*, A. Russell 38*)

Aaron's feeling the pressure -- the first ball's a wide. And another wide. Wow! Pathan flicks a 148 kmph ball to the square leg boundary -- that went even faster off the bat. And Russell goes better than that, steps out and smashes it over the cover boundary -- that's not quite in the league of some of his other hits, but still a body blow to RCB, that. It's getting closer - KKR need 47 runs from 24 balls.

KKR 123/4 after 15 overs (Y. Pathan 14*, A. Russell 31*)

Russell goes back and smashes it over the long on boundary -- a 96-m six. Another one, this one's even bigger, longer -- he deposits it in the second tier. He follows that with a powerful drive -- this time, a boundary. Wow! This is some clean hitting from Russell and made things a lot more interesting.

KKR 105/4 after 14 overs (Y. Pathan 13*, A. Russell 14*)

Chahal still flighting the ball up to the batsman. 'keeper Rahul's feeling the pressure here. The ball's managed to escape his gloves on three occassions -- all of which will hurt the chasing team. He's missed a stumping, a catch and a wide. And, that also runs away for a boundary. Kohli's is clearly not happy with this. Now, 81 runs needed off 36 balls.

KKR 93/4 after thirteen (Y. Pathan 11*, A. Russell 13*)

Aaron's taking up the challenge from the batsmen. After Pathan's brutal six over long-on, the Jharkhand lad has come back well. Still, a decent over in the circumstances -- only nine off this. KKR need 93 from 42 balls.

KKR 84/4 after twelve (Y. Pathan 4*, A. Russell 11*)

How many times have we seen this? Russell pouncing on a short one and depositing it in the stands. Chahal will still feel he's got a chance against the pair -- one mistimed shot or a top edge is all he'll be looking for. KKR still need 102 runs from 48 balls.

KKR 73/4 after eleven overs (Y. Pathan 3*, A. Russell 2*)

Watto strikes in his first ball of second over. Pandey, looking to increase the scoring rate, pulls it in front of the wicket and gives an easy catch to a running Sachin Baby. Watson's provided the much-needed breakthrough for RCB. The next pair -- of Andre Russell and Pathan -- remains the key to this chase.

KKR 66/3 after ten overs (Y. Pathan 1*, M. Pandey 8*)

The required run rate's over 11.15 now. Shamsi to continue. RCB's bowling well as a unit -- this over yields ony three runs. KKR needs to get a move on. They need 117 runs from 60 balls.

KKR 66/3 after nine overs (G. Gambhir 37, M. Pandey 7*)

Aravind to bowl his second over.He strikes! Gambhir's (37 off 29 balls) been trapped lbw -- he was deceived by the slower one and goes through his shot before the ball reaches him and manages to sneak under his bat. A big, big wicket, this one.

KKR 59/2 after eight overs (G. Gambhir 32*, M. Pandey 6*)

Aaron to continue. The Indian pacer mixing it up nicely -- he throws in a couple of mid-140 kmph balls and slower ones in this over. He's managed to restrict the run flow just when KKR were looking to up the tempo -- seven came off this one.

KKR 52/2 after seven overs (G. Gambhir 29*, M. Pandey 4*)

Now Tabraiz Shamsi to bowl -- the sixth bowler of the innings. Gambhir's put his foot on the accelerator -- a four and a six off this one. And they've also managed to get two singles and a double. A healthy over for KKR, this -- 15 runs.

KKR 37/2 at the end of powerplay overs (G. Gambhir 17*, M. Pandey 1*)

Varun Aaron's the next bowler -- fifth one to be used. He's bowling at a brisk pace and maybe a bit on the shorter side. But only three runs off Aaron's first. The run rate is jsut above six now.

KKR 34/2 after five overs (G. Gambhir 16*, M. Pandey 0*)

Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl the fourth over. And he's made an impact already , rips one across Lynn's bat and hits the off stump -- top delivery, that. Only two runs and a wicket off this over. The run rate's inching above 10 now.

KKR 32/1 after four overs (G. Gambhir 15*, C. Lynn 14*)

Kohli's go to man, Shane Watson's into the attack. Lynn's going after Watson here, thumps one straight down the wicket but only two off it. Watson bowls a short one next ball and Lynn only manages to get a top edge on that. And somehow manages to evade the the two fielders stationed at midwicket and long on -- a lucky escape for the Australian.

KKR: 22/1 after the third over (G. Gambhir 9*, C. Lynn 10*)

Lynn's gets under that one, clears the front leg and gives it a good whack -- that's gone well into the stands. Danger time for Binny as the ball's not swinging as much. But the batsmen aren't entirely confident of going all out at this stage -- they're picking the bad ones to score boundaries. A good over for KKR, 11 came off it.

KKR: 11/1 after the second over (G. Gambhir 7*, C. Lynn 1*)

Chris Lynn's been sent to make the most of the powerplay overs. Sreenath Aravind to bowl the second over. He's getting a lot a swing off this flat Bengaluru deck. Super over, this -- only 5 runs off it.

KKR: 8/1 after the first over

Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir will look to give KKR a quick start. Stuart Binny will open the bowling for RCB -- he must be feeling confident after his cameo with the bat. He's getting ball the curve away from Uthappa and move in to Gambhir. Binny strikes! Uthappa chases a wide one and manages to get a thick edge -- Kohli takes an easy catch at point. What a start to the innings!

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What a finish to this innings! RCB finish at 185/7

Umesh Yadav's had a terrible outing today. Local boy Stuart Binny's on fire here -- a six, a four and another six! Wow, another gem from a lower-order RCB batsman. Binny's scored 16 off 3 balls and in the process, RCB have gone past 180. And two wickets fall off the last two balls. Yadav's final figures read: 4.0 - 0 - 56 -1. Fifty-four runs have come off the last 18 balls!

RCB 167/5 after 19 overs (Stuart Binny 0*, Shane Watson 32*)

Runs coming in boundaries, here. The ball's flying of the willow in all directions -- the third man region's been a high-traffic area today. Three fours off Russelll's last. And Baby's out off the last ball -- gives an easy catch to Russelll. Still, thirteen off this one.

RCB 154/4 after 18 overs (Sachin Baby 16*, Shane Watson 19*)

Gambhir will not be happy with this -- two free-hits in this over! Only one of the free-hit balls is converted into a boundary -- it was wide and bowled at 144 kmph. All Watson had to do was connect that one -- poor bowling, this. He's been spraying them all over the wicket -- just what RCB want. Wow! Baby's cashing in on the wayward bowling now -- two fours and a six to end this over. With this over, RCB have pushed the run rate past 8.

RCB 131/4 after 17 overs (Sachin Baby 0*, Shane Watson 14*)

Out! Kohli perishes now, looking to up the scoring rate. He's gone for 52 runs -- Morkel bowls a wide one and Kohli, who's trying to smash that over covers, only manages to get the outside half of the bat and as a result, there's no distance on that one. Sachin Baby's here.

RCB: 125/3 after 16 overs (V. Kohli 49*, Shane Watson 12*)

Narine to bowl his last over. Watson likes the pace -- thumps one over the midwicket region for a six. And follows that with a boundary -- a low full toss and that's exactly what Watto was looking for. Good over, this but RCB need more of this. The run rate's 7.81.

RCB 112/3 at the end of 15 overs (V. Kohli 47*, Shane Watson 1*)

Morkel's to bowl his third -- he'll look to get Watson early. And the pressure's on Watson already. Only three runs came off this over -- Morkel's bowling a tight lines here and there's absolutely no width on offer. With that, the run rate's dipped below 7.5.

RCB: 109/3 after 14 overs (V. Kohli 45*, Shane Watson 0*)

Another big wicket, this time it's AB. Chawla fires a quick one and AB fails to pick that one and gets trapped lbw. An easy decision for the umpire to make -- that's heading towards the middle of middle stump! Watto replaces AB.

Now, Kohli's on the charge. He's picking them from outside off and smashing them through the packed midwicket region. The ball's racing off Kohli's willow here. RCB 106/2 after 13 overs

RCB 97/2 after 12 overs (V. Kohli 34*, A.B. de Villiers 3*)

This is was bound to happen at some stage -- Rahul mistimes one that is bowled wide and full. He tries to drive that one but only manages to slice it to the deep point fielder. He's gone for 52 and also notched up a hat-trick of 50s! AB's the next man in.

RCB 92/1 after 11 overs (V. Kohli 32*, K.L. Rahul 52*)

Another fifty for the Karnataka batsman here. He's going after every bowler now; a four and a six off the first two balls. Another healthy over for RCB. Run rate's over 8 now.

RCB 79/1 at the halfway mark (V. Kohli 31*, K.L. Rahul 40*)

It's obvious Rahul's been to lead the charge here and leggie Chawla will be hoping that the batsmen mistime one in the process.

He's effortlessly lofts one over the ropes -- pure timing that one. And he follows that six with a boundary -- great improvisation from Rahul. He's looking to sweep that one but changes his mind at the last moment -- cuts its late for a four.

RCB 64/1 after nine overs (V. Kohli 28*, K.L. Rahul 28*)

Yadav to bowl his second. A super over from the Indian pacer, he's given away only four runs this over. And more importantly, it comes at at time when RCB's looking to increase the pace of scoring.

RCB 60/1 after eight overs (V. Kohli 26*, K.L. Rahul 26*)

Another bowling change and it's KKR's go to man, Piyush Chawla to bowl. There's an definite attempt at upping the tempo here -- it's been the pattern in the last few overs. A boundary and singles or doubles off the other deliveries. A backfoot cut-boundary and a couple of singles and a double off this one. The run rate's climbing all the time -- 7.5 now.

RCB: 51/1 (7.28) after seven overs; V. Kohli 18*, K.L. Rahul 25*

More pace here, Yadav's into the attack. Another good over for RCB, eleven coming off this one. Kohli's playing a quiet knock here, Rahul's been the man who's taken the risks and going after runs. Maybe that's the plan for RCB.

RCB: 40/1 at the end of powerplay overs

Sunil Narine's introduced inside the first six over and he's greeted with two boundaries. They're sensing an oppourtunity to score some easy runs here -- there's no turn on offer and the short boundaries aren't helping him either. Ten came off Narine's first.

The bowlers are making it hard for RCB to score; RCB: 30/1 after five overs

Russelll to bowl his third. He's not just bowling them at good pace but also changing his lengths -- one got even Kolhi ducking for cover! Just five off this one. Russelll's got excellent bowling figures -- he's conceded only 11 off his three overs.

RCB 25/1 after four overs

Rahul's continuing from where he left last match, pulls a pacy delivery easily in front of midwicket, for a boundary.They're bowling tight lines here and but these two are easily negotiating them. RCB get a move on - the two have managed to get 10 off this one. Not a bad over at all, but these two are making it look easy.

RCB off to slow start, 15/1 after three overs

Russelll to continue. He's generating some serious pace here -- bowling in the mid-140s. Only three singles came off this one.

Morkel gets Gayle! RCB: 11/1 after two overs

No Gaylestorm today! Morne Morkel gets the Jamaican with a sharp bouncer that climbs too high on him. Gayle (7 off 7 balls) tries to smash that one but ends top-edging it to the 'keeper. A big, big wicket, this one. Gayle had smashed the previous one for a 77-m six. Kohli is the next man.

RCB: 2/0 after the first over

Skipper Virat Kohli is not opening today -- it's going to be Chris Gayle and K.L. Rahul. And they'll have to face Andre Russelll. He's getting some shape on the ball and moving them at good pace too! Gayle's finding it difficult to negotiate them -- good contest, this. A terrific first over from Russelll, only two off this.

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The final playing XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, K.L. Rahul, Varun Aaron, S Aravind, YS Chahal, T Shamsi

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Chris Lynn, Andre Russelll, Piyush Chawla, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel

Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Gautam Gambhir wins the toss and his team will bowl first.

Our match preview: RCB battles bowling concerns as it takes on KKR

It has been a difficult fortnight for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Four games away from home have produced one win, leaving the team with four points from six. All along, the bowling has caused Virat Kohli headaches.

After failing to defend 191, 170 and 180, RCB batted second for the first time this IPL season on Saturday, but conceded too many runs to chase. Not one of the 12 bowlers used so far this season averages under eight runs an over; five of them have gone at over 10. > More...

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