Memorable games of the decade: Vol 1. Arun Karthik
From Arun Karthik's last-ball heroics to Parthiv Patel's glove magic, the decade was embedded with happy lang syne. We've got you all covered, sit back and reminisce about the bold legacy.
The vibrant and exuberant Chinnaswamy crowd was ready to welcome their heroes as they took the field against the South Australian Redbacks on Wednesday night, little did we know that history will be created.
Daniel Harris and Callum Ferguson lead the charge for the South Aussie Redbacks
South Australian Redbacks openers Daniel Harris and M Klinger straight away made their intentions clear as they pressed the accelerator button and began to score at a fair clip thereby putting RCB bowlers under pressure. The left-arm spinner, Syed Mohammed provided the first blood for RCB by sending the skipper Michael Klinger (7) back to the hut. There was some fine display of stroke play from the willow of Daniel Harris as he scored a brilliant hundred which included 17 boundaries and two sixes. The RCB bowling unit which comprised of the veteran spinner Daniel Vettori, Dirk Nannes and Sreenath Aravind just couldn’t put a lid on scoring. Daniel Harris and Callum Ferguson forged a 114-run partnership which steered the Redbacks past the 200-run mark. Vital contributions from Daniel Harris (108*), Callum Ferguson (70) and a late cameo from Daniel (27*) took the tally to 214 runs. In a do-or-die encounter, the Challengers had to chase a mammoth target of 215 runs to seal the semi-final berth of the Champions League.
The opening duo of Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan provided a right contour to RCB‘s chase
Chris Gayle joined forces with T Dilshan by maximizing the advantage of the fielding restrictions in the powerplay to give the Challengers a head start. Just when things looked good, RCB received a jolt when Chris Gayle (26) was dismissed by Daniel Christian in the 7th over. Chris Gayle's departure marked the arrival of Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli and T Dilshan set the right tone
The intensity Virat Kohli brought to the crease rubbed off on Dilshan too, the duo were in no mood to stop as they made the Redbacks bowling unit toil hard. The 100-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan provided the right platform for the other batters to follow. Michael Klinger bought his go-to man Shaun Tait in the 15th over and the latter reposed the faith shown by his skipper by scalping the big wicket of Virat Kohli (70) just when they were cruising. After the dismissal of Virat Kohli, the momentum slightly tilted towards the visiting side.
The Setback – Shaun Tait provides the breakthrough
Thanks to an impeccable spell from Shaun Tait, the middle-order muddle woes continued for the Challengers as they succumbed to pressure and lost wickets at regular wickets. After the departure of Dilshan (74), only a miracle would have saved the home side. The South Aussie pacer finished with a five-wicket which also included big scalps of Virat Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The last-ball spectacle at the Chinnaswamy ft. Arun Karthik
Arun Karthik - The Tamil Nadu born wicket-keeper walked into bat in the penultimate over. The sliver of hope rested on the shoulders of the wicket-keeper batsman to pull off a last-over finish in front of the passionate fans. It was a perfect setting at the Chinnaswamy – The fans were on their feet hoping for a miracle to happen. With RCB needing a six off the last ball, Arun Karthik's strike over the midwicket region off Daniel Christian's last ball delivery is a story for the ages. More importantly, Arun Karthik's effort steered the Royal Challengers Bangalore into the semifinal stage of the Champions League.
It has been over 3000 days since that spectacle but Arun Karthik's last-ball heroics will forever be itched in the minds of the Red Army!
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