RCB firsts: Our first ever win at Chinnaswamy

Royal Challengers Bangalore is a team which has had its fair share of ups and downs over the course of its history. But one factor that has remained constant amidst all the valleys and troughs are the fans. The crowd at the Chinnaswamy stadium and the millions of supporters across the globe have given the team its identity. The Chinnaswamy stadium is often considered one of the most intense and passionate of all the venues in the IPL and perhaps even in the world. In this article we look back to the game in which the home crowd of the Royal Challengers Bangalore experienced the first sweet taste of victory in the IPL.

The two teams who were at the bottom of the IPL points table in 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers, were up against each other. Batting first, RCB were pegged back early by the dismissal of Bharat Chipli. But, veteran Wasim Jaffer and young Virat Kohli fresh off a world cup win as the captain of the India U-19 team stitched together a key partnership. Jaffer’s 37-ball knock of 44 was laced with 6 silky shots to the boundary. The partnership of 72 came at 8 an over and laid the perfect platform for the innings to launch in the second half.

Wasim Jaffer and Virat Kohli put on a 72 runs partnership off 54 balls

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But the RCB innings went through an all too familiar collapse in the middle overs; Jacques Kallis, Misbah Ul Haq and the set Virat Kohli, all falling in a span of 9 runs and 9 deliveries. With the score at 111/5 in the 15th over, the innings had lost all momentum. The next 25 balls yielded a below par 24 runs at the expense of the protean Mark Boucher. Skipper Rahul Dravid however, managed to resurrect the innings in the final over and a half, launching two into the crowd. The innings ended on 156/8, a score that Deccan Chargers would have been delighted with halfway through the innings.

RCB’s defence of a paltry total started well. Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, two of Deccan Chargers’ brightest stars were sent back to the hut with the score on 31. The dismissal of Gibbs brought Rohit Sharma to the crease, and the duo of Sharma and VVS Laxman looked like they had taken the game beyond Bangalore’s reach. Both the batsmen got past their half centuries on the way to a 96-run partnership. With only 30 runs required off 20 balls and 8 wickets still left in the hut, DC looked well on course to scale the target. But, Rohit Sharma looking for a big shot but only hit one straight to long-on off Kallis and Jaffer accepted the gift with both hands.

The fall of Sharma brought Shahid Afridi to the crease. In his trademark style, Afridi looked to hit one out of the park the first ball he faced, but managed to miscue it for a sprinting Dale Steyn to dive forward and take a stunner. VVS Laxman played one across the line and was adjudged leg-before. The equation now read heavily in favour of Bangalore with 25 needed off 2 overs. Styris fell off the very next ball in a similar fashion to Laxman and RCB were well on top. The game had flipped on its head in a span of 8 deliveries, where 4 wickets had fallen and only 5 runs had been scored.

Deccan Chargers needed 20 off the last over. Anil Kumble was entrusted with the task of defending the runs. The first two balls went for only two singles and the game seemed to be done and dusted. But, Sanjay Bangar had other ideas. He deposited the next two balls over the fence. Suddenly, the team from Hyderabad were only a big hit away off the last two balls and Anil Kumble was under enormous pressure. Bangar tried to heave one away and only managed an inside edge which resulted in a single. A yorker off the last ball was only squeezed out to deep mid-wicket for a single and RCB had emerged victorious on their home turf for the very first time in the team’s history. The Bangalore crowd went bonkers.