May 2, 2015 - RCB beat KKR in rain-curtailed match

In the first game of the 2015 season, RCB had overcome KKR in a tough run chase at the Eden Gardens, with Chris Gayle singlehandedly taking the team within touching distance to the finish line. The fortunes fluctuated over the next few games, with three successive defeats. But, then RCB began to find form. The next two games had brought about two massive wins, by 9 wickets and 10 wickets against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils respectively. With the campaign seemingly back on track, RCB would have expected a 200 total sufficient to defend at home against the Royals, but rain forcing the points to be shared between the two teams. Despite the rich vein of form, RCB were still on only 7 points from a possible 14 and needed to rack up a win when they took on KKR in their next game of the season at the Chinnaswamy.

The rain had again threatened to end the game without a result after Virat Kohli had decided to field first. When the rain Gods finally decided to ease, the game had to be cut short to a 10 overs a side affair. KKR started off well, with Gambhir and Uthappa taking 20 off the first two overs. But the next two overs went for only 14 runs, with Harshal Patel and David Wiese’s lack of pace working well. Wiese got Gambhir with the score on 33 and the run rate was meandering along at around 8.5 an over, nothing to write home about in a curtailed game. But, the dismissal of Gambhir brought the giant Andre Russell out.

Russell began flexing his arms wasting no time. The sixth over of the innings bowled by Varun Aaron suffered two sixers and a four in between at the hands of the West Indian. Even Chahal was not spared the rough treatment as Russell crashed two consecutive boundaries off him. Chahal dismissed Uthappa, but KKR were now well on their way. With another boundary and a six in the next over off David Wiese, Russell was threatening to bat RCB out of the game completely. Ryan Ten Doeschate joined in on the act, Harshal Patel facing the brunt of the Dutchman. 

But, the turning point came when Dinesh Karthik, showed some incredible presence of mind. Stood having taken off one glove, Karthik collected a slower ball which Doeschate had missed to quickly throw down the stumps as the KKR batsmen tried to sneak a cheeky single. The result, the dangerous Russell had been caught short of the crease. The final over by Mitchell Starc went for only 9 runs and despite Russell’s 17-ball blitzkrieg for 45, RCB had managed to contain KKR to 111/4.

Mandeep Singh timed the run-chase to perfection as RCB hunted down 112

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With a stiff run-chase ahead, RCB needed a quick start from their openers and they got one. Gayle and Kohli raced off the blocks with the pace of Pat Cummins and Umesh Yadav being taken to the cleaners. The first three overs had yielded 36 runs. Ina desperate need of a breakthrough, Gambhir brought on Brad Hogg. The move seemed to have backfired as Gayle smashed him over mid-wicket twice in the first 3 balls; once down on one knee and the second time off the backfoot. But, the wily Aussie Chinaman got his revenge, as Gayle went for one shot too many and a diving effort at long-on by Andre Russell saw the back of the mighty Jamaican. As if that was not enough of a setback, De Villiers bottom-edged a cut on to his stumps, and the RCB chase which was well on course now suddenly found itself floundering at 51/2.

RCB still needed 60 runs with half the overs left. Kohli was joined by Mandeep Singh with the required rate at 12 an over. The duo had the unenviable job of having to instill calm and at the same time not letting the required rate get out of hand. Mandeep took the initiative by sweeping Hogg for a six after the first five balls had been only milked for four singles. Then came the attack. The chase master in Kohli planned the risk to perfection and took on Piyush Chawla with four overs left. The over went for 18 runs with two boundaries by Mandeep Singh and a six off the last ball by Kohli. The target suddenly seemed well within reach with 32 needed off the last 3 overs.

Then came another twist. Kohli mistimed a lofted shot straight to long-on and the game was back in the balance. But, if there was ever a day for Mandeep Singh to turn up, it was that day. And boy, did he. With 20 required off the last 8 balls, he took two boundaries off Umesh Yadav to reduce the equation to 12 off the last over. The first two balls of the last over went for only three runs. RCB needed 9 runs off the last 3 balls and Mandeep was on strike. Russell bowled a near-perfect yorker and Mandeep, making room for himself sliced the ball over backward point which cleared the ropes. Russell tried a bouncer off the next and Mandeep was up to the task. He pulled the ball for a six and RCB were home and dry. Mandeep had given Russell the dose of his own medicine. An 18-ball 45 by Mandeep had won RCB the game with 2 balls to spare.