On this day in 2009 - RCB beat KKR

RCB had a topsy-turvy season in 2009. The season began with a resounding win over the defending champions, the Rajasthan Royals, but four defeats followed. Just when everyone was writing them off, the team fought back and won a hattrick of games to gallop into the top four places. Having experienced another downward slump with consecutive defeats, the Royal Challengers Bangalore needed to quickly stem the bad results. With only four wins on the board and as many matches to go, every game was now going to be a virtual knockout. The opponents for RCB were Kolkata Knight Riders and the venue, the Supersport Park in Centurion.

Having chosen to bowl first, RCB seamers got the team off to a perfect start. Vinay Kumar pushed Saurav Ganguly onto the backfoot and then produced an outswinger on a good length which took his outside edge. Arindam Ghosh soon followed and KKR were in trouble at 21/2 in the fifth over of the innings. Brendon McCullum looked scratchy but had managed to stay at the crease and was now joined by David Hussey, as the responsibility now fell on their shoulders to rescue the sinking KKR ship.

David Hussey provided the perfect foil for a struggling McCullum as he counter-attacked. Hussey’s approach took the pressure off the KKR skipper to score quick runs and allowed him to find his rhythm. The partnership worth 70 runs was threatening to take the game away from Bangalore. David Hussey’s innings came to an abrupt end when he tried to swipe B Akhil across the line and missed. 

Hussey’s dismissal, however, did not provide any respite to RCB bowlers as it only woke up the sleeping giant in McCullum. With four overs left in the innings, McCullum set his sights on Akhil and smashed consecutive sixers. The over went for 20 runs as the KKR captain reached his half-century. With pressure off, McCullum opened his shoulders and the runs started to flow. McCullum remained not out on 84; the first half of his runs were scored in 46 balls, the second half in 18. The last four overs had gone for 60 runs, as KKR set a stiff target of 174 for RCB to keep their campaign afloat.

With their hopes of making the top four on the line, the overseas opening pair of Jesse Ryder and Jacques Kallis provided RCB with a good start. The opening stand was worth 58 and came to an end only thanks to a stupendous catch by McCullum who flew to his left and plucked the ball out of thin air as Kallis looked to power one through the covers. Ryder fell to Agarkar in the very next over, and when Uthappa fell, RCB had thrown away the advantage and now looked to be withering away at 74/3 after 11 overs. 

Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 81 off 33 took RCB over the line  

With 100 runs needed off the last 9 overs, Ross Taylor and Rahul Dravid needed to not only stitch a partnership together but also needed to be mindful of the soaring required rate. Ross Taylor decided to take over the mantle of keeping the required rate in check, by taking on Murali Karthik and clearing the on-side boundary twice in successive balls in typical Taylor fashion. Taylor kept going, Angelo Matthews’ 14th over yielding 16 runs which consisted of 3 boundaries. With five overs to go, Taylor’s blitzkrieg had ensured that RCB were within reach of the target with 55 needed from them.

Just when the momentum looked to be on RCB’s side, the mystery spin of Ajantha Mendis gave the game another turn. Rahul Dravid chipped one back to Mendis bringing an end to the 48 run partnership. Two more dot balls followed, and the over had gone for only 3 runs. With 52 needed off the last four overs, Taylor had no other option but to keep going. Taylor brought up his half-century with the second boundary of the over which was worth 12 runs.

RCB needed one big over to bring the run chase back under control. That over came in the 18th when Ishant Sharma endured a terrible spell of 7 balls. With 10 runs coming off the first 5 balls, and the required rate over 13 an over, a good finish would have resulted in a successful over. But, Ishant Sharma bowled a no-ball which was muscled away by Mark Boucher for a six, and suddenly, the complexion of the game changed entirely. RCB now needed a very manageable 21 off the last two overs. With Ross Taylor in the kind of mood, he was in on the day, that was never going to be a problem. He cleared the rope twice off Agarkar’s penultimate over of the innings, and RCB only needed 5 from the last over. Taylor finished off the run-chase with a shot which his career would be defined by - a six over mid-wicket. Ross Taylor 81 off only 33 balls had singlehandedly lead RCB to a win with four balls to spare.