RPS vs RCB: RCB crumble to yet another heavy defeat despite Virat Kohli heroics
Pune: Rising Pune Supergiant completed a brilliant comeback, to defend a low-ish total against Royal Challengers Bangalore, at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium, in Pune, on Saturday.
RPS got off to a decent start, with their skipper Steve Smith leading the way, scoring 45 from 32 balls. Manoj Tiwary carried forward the RPS innings, scoring an unbeaten 44, to guide his side to 157 for 3 at the end of 20 overs.
The total itself did not look too big, as RCB skipper Virat Kohli came out all guns blazing. However, cricket is not a one-man sport, and Kohli soon found himself running out of partners at the other end.
Kohli, who scored 55 from 48 balls, was the highest scorer for RCB; their second highest scorer was Kedar Jadhav (7).
Lockie Ferguson produced a brilliant performance with the ball, picking up two wickets for just seven runs from his quota of four overs; his performance earned him the Man of the Match award.
Imran Tahir also did well to pick up three wickets in the end, ending with figures of 3-18 from his quota of four overs.
RCB: 96-9 from 20 overs
Its all over. RCB have lost yet another match, as they cement their place firmly at the bottom of the table. Imran Tahir did brilliantly to be the pick of the bowlers yet again, ending with figures of 3-18.
RCB: 84-9 from 17.4 overs
WICKET! Christian gets the main man. Virat Kohli finally departs after a valliant effort. Played a lofted drive on the off side, but he only managed to pick out Mayank Agarwal.
RCB: 82-8 from 16.5 overs
WICKET! Virat Kohli brings up his 50 with a powerful six, but that will probably not be enough to save RCB's fate now. Samuel Badree falls prey to Imran Tahir's googly, as the ball went on to hit the stumps.
RCB: 71-7 from 15 overs
WICKET! Imran Tahir works his magic with the googly this time. Milne failed to pick the ball, and flicked it straight to Steve Smith at mid-wicket.
RCB: 61-6 from 12.4 overs
WICKET! Another one bites the dust! Pawan Negi goes for the big lobbed shot down the ground against Tahir, but only manages to find Daniel Christian in the deep.
RCB: 49-5 from 10 overs
Its all crumbling down for RCB again. Travis Head, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny all departed cheaply, leaving the Bengaluru side in deep trouble. However, their iconic skipper Virat Kohli is still at the crease, and could make the difference.
RCB: 48-5 from 9.5 overs
WICKET! Lockie Ferguson is having a brilliant IPL debut. Sends it in short to Binny, and picks up his 2nd wicket of the evening, as the RCB batsman lobs a high catch for Washington Sundar.
RCB: 47-4 from 8.4 overs
WICKET! Sachin Baby plays a weak shot on the leg side, as Steve Smith pounces upon the ball. However, the RPS skipper was himself confused as to whether he caught it. After a long review by the third umpire, Sachin Baby was finally adjudged to have been dismissed.
RCB: 44-3 from 7.4 overs
WICKET! That was exactly what RCB did not want at this moment. Jadhav and Kohli fumbled for a single at first, and then decided against it. An overthrow led the former to believe that he could steal a single. However, that single was never on as Kohli kept shouting "no". His partner though, ran on to the other end, as Dhoni easily whipped off the bails.
RCB: 32-2 from 4.4 overs
WICKET! And they get the big wicket! AB de Villiers smashes it on the off side, but his shot is directed straight at Manoj Tiwary at short extra cover. The Bengal lad did well to cling on to the catch.
RPS: 157-3 from 20 overs
Pune end their innings at a modest 157-3 from their quota of 20 overs, as Dhoni skips away for 2 runs after driving it on the off side. RPS will be disappointed with this total. They had wickets in hand towards the end, but just could not launch into the overdrive mode, despite two big hitters -- Manoj Tiwary and Mahendra Singh Dhoni being at the crease.
RPS: 111-3 from 15 overs
RPS have finally started to play the big shots. Both Steve Smith and Manoj Tiwary have had a few goes at the RCB bowlers. However, a lapse in concentration meant that Steve Smith top-edged a Binny delivery, to get dismissed on 45 from 32 balls. Pune’s run rate though, has increased considerably.
RPS: 108-3 from 13.5 overs
WICKET! RPS are just not being able to get things going here. Steve Smith tries to play a big shot off Binny, but only managed to top-edge it, as Milne took an easy catch.
RPS: 67-2 from 10 overs
RCB have got off to a decent start here. While RPS have scored at a decent rate, RCB have been able to pick up two crucial wickets, to rein the scoring rates a bit.
RPS: 58-2 from 8.2 overs
WICKET! Pawan Negi has got the danger man. Tripathi completely misjudged the line of the ball, as he nicked it straight into Kedar Jadhav's gloves.
RPS: 31-1 from 5 overs
Despite Samuel Badree picking up the important wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, it is youngster Rahul Tripathi, who is being the real thorn in the side of the RDB bowlers. He was dropped by RCB skipper Kohli in the second over of the match.
RPS: 18-1 from 3.1 overs
WICKET! Opening with Badree has done the trick for RCB here. Rahane goes for a pre-meditated sweep, but only managed to top-edge the ball to Milne at short fine-leg.
Big change in the RCB lineup. Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss has been dropped.
Teams:
Rising Pune Supergiant XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith (c), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat, Lockie Ferguson, Imran Tahir
Royal Challengers Bangalore XI: Virat Kohli (c), Travis Head, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Samuel Badree, Adam Milne, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal
Toss:
Virat Kohli has won the toss, at the MCA stadium in Pune, and have elected to field first.
Preview: Its D-Day for Virat Kohli and co! Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have had a poor run of form in the IPL so far, find themselves in a situation where they need to win all of their remaining matches, in order to keep their hopes of making it to the top-four alive.
Despite having a side that boasts of star names like Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Tymal Mills, and Shane Watson, RCB have failed to conjure-up the form that was expected of them; they have won only two of their nine matches.
Meanwhile, Rising Pune Supergiant have managed to come out of their rut, and register three wins in their last four matches.
Despite an early stutter, Steve Smith seems to have rallied his side around, as they find themselves in the top-four of the IPL. A win against RCB will consolidate their position in the top half of the table.
