High flying RCB meet more than their equals
Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered their first reverse of the season but will bounce back.
Finals Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 140 for 4 in 20 overs
Mumbai Indians 143 for 1 in 18.3 overs
Result: Mumbai Indians won by 9 wickets and 1.3 overs
Royal Challengers Bangalore did not put it across Mumbai Indians in their only encounter with the team this IPL season, however, fans are not entirely sore. “An early upset can come in any campaign and can raise the side’s performance,” said M Sathish a ‘senior’ fan.
The Mumbai Indians’ faith in bowling first was vindicated because they
restricted a trying RCB side to 140 and when chasing, did not lose
wickets. Moreover, their hits to loose balls came off good and allowed
them to raise the tempo.
RCB opening batsman Mayank Agrawal received a near perfect first ball from Sri Lankan star Lasith Malinga, an outswinging yorker which bowled him. Thereafter Virat Kohli batted through the over sensibly, showing that RCB were playing thinking cricket. ‘When your tail is not up, stay low,’ was the thinking.
At a team score of 19 for 1 off 4.2 overs, Kohli couldn’t put away a ball from West Indian giant Kieron Pollard and merely miscued it to a running wicketkeeper Davy Jacobs. Virat was sorely disappointed that he couldn’t give his side the fillip. A B de Villiers strode out and partnered Tilakaratne Dilshan for 91 runs before he fell for 38 at the team score of 110 by which time 16.5 overs were consumed.
At this juncture the diehard RCB fan may have been tempted to say the run rate was not optimum but remember the famous words of MS Dhoni after a match India lost to South Africa in the World Cup, “In trying to go for 20 extra runs, you end up about 30 runs short.” RCB was trying to avert such a situation.
Asad Pathan could not do an encore of the Kochi match when he’d finished the game with two boundaries. Here, he fell early. Saurabh Tiwary with his flowing mane marauded 16 off 10 balls which included three boundaries, therefore raising the tempo towards the end, an oft deciding factor.
The last over itself fetched 16 runs to the team total and one couldn’t help thinking the Challengers has gauged an innocuous danger from a possibly unfriendly pitch to reach a par total of 140. Only the next one and a half hours would tell.
For the Mumbai Indians, Malinga and Pollard had taken a wicket each.
When the Mumbai Indians chased, they were watchful but did not miss out on opportunities to utilise the hard new ball and the field restrictions. They improvised slightly to create full opportunities out of balls pitching nearly ‘in the slot’ and the sixes stuck by opening batsman Davy Jacobs pegged back the Challengers a shade.
Tendulkar contributed 55 off 46 balls, Jacobs 22 (16 balls, 2 sixes, 2 fours) and A Rayadu 63 at his number 3 position. The Mumbai strategy seemed to be that Tendulkar would preserve himself at a moderate-to-lively pace of scoring, while Rayadu would take calculated risks. In the end, it didn’t seem that many risks needed to be taken by the Indians as they cantered to a victory.
For the RCB bowlers, left arm Aussie quick Dirk Nannes secured the lone wicket as he bowled an ominous looking Davy Jacobs.
RCB will be analyzing their shortcomings and fans are confident they will change their fortunes as they fly out to Hyderabad to play the Deccan Chargers in two days time. Stay loyal and stay rooted to your RCB team!
-RCB Web TV Crew
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2. Hey today's may be another revenge match for our close 'non-finish' against DC in the 2009 finals. Cheer em gals and guys!