[1]RCB skipper Virat Kohli in action during their IPL-6 game against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday—R. Samuel
In the end there was so much drama in it that even a script writer couldn’t have conjured it up so convincingly. A sell-out crowd of 35,000 braved the rains, waited out patiently for a solid three hours before the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s final league game got underway.
What looked like a lost cause with an imminent washout turned delirious as the Challengers kept their playoffs hope alive with a thumping 24-run victory.
The Challengers have done their bit, though belatedly, and now need the Kolkata Knight Riders to do them a huge favour and throttle the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday to sneak in on a better run-rate on a day when the top-two in the league table slipped to defeats.
The truncated game which finally began at 11pm in an 8-over-a-side contest, saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni put the home team in on winning the toss.
Fired up by the situation, home skipper Virat Kohli’s belligerent, unbeaten 56 (29b, 6x4, 4x6) and a racy 67-run opening stand with Chris Gayle saw the Challengers rattle up a massive 106/2 in eight overs.
The Super Kings, who could manage just 11 in the powerplay lost the prolific Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina as an incisive Zaheer Khan (4/17) dealt them a double blow in the second over.
The asking rate, which was hovering around 14, rose steadily, leaving CSK to get 78 off the last four as they were restricted to 82/6 with the game stretching well past midnight.
Scorecard
Royal Challengers Bangalore: V. Kohli (not out) 56, C. Gayle c Hussey b Bravo 28, AB de Villiers c Jadeja b Sharma 5, M. Henriques (not out) 12. Extras: (lb 3, w 2) 5. Total: (for 2 wkts, in 8 overs) 106
FoW: 1-67, 2-76
Bowling: Ashwin 2-0-21-0, Morris 2-0-22-0, (1w), Holder 1-0-20-0, Bravo 2-0-26-1, Sharma 1-0-14-1 (1w)
Chennai Super Kings: M. Hussey c Rahul b Khan 6, M. Vijay c Gayle b Rampaul 32, S. Raina c Vinay Kumar b Khan 0, D. Bravo c Tiwary b Vinay Kumar 11, M.S. Dhoni c Unadkat b Khan 24, R. Jadejac & b Khan 7, S. Badrinath (not out) 0. Extras: (w2) 2. Total (for 6 wkts, in 8 overs) 82.
FoW: 1-11, 2-11, 3-29, 4-56, 5-78, 6-82.
Bowling: Rampaul 2-0-20-1 (1w), Khan 2-0-17-4, Unadkat 2-0-16-0 (1w), Vinay Kumar 1-0-10-1, R.P. Singh 1-0-19-0.
MoM: Virat Kohli (RCB)
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/rcb-skipper-virat-kohli-action-during-their-ipl-6-game-against-chennai-super-kings-saturday-r-samuel