Image Credit- BCCI
An intense pursuit
featuring a Virat Kohli masterclass at a full Chinnaswamy Stadium. a
suspenseful last round. A victory for RCB. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru
supporters received everything they could have hoped for from their team’s
opening home game of the year. abundantly. It wasn’t without a fear, though.
The king of the chase, Kohli, had everything under control for the longest. He
had the fans dancing to his music as he hit the Punjab Kings bowlers for a
49-ball 77 while chasing 177. Until he didn’t.
RCB was in a bind
following Kagiso Rabada’s two-wicket burst in the powerplay, but Harpreet
Brar’s economical performance of 2 for 13 saved them. The assembly fell silent.
Would RCB end up becoming the first team this IPL season to lose at home?
Dinesh Karthik please have a seat.
He claims to be 38 on his bio. Indeed he is! However, you wouldn’t believe how
much he moved up and down the pitch and around the crease. Karthik came in and
blasted an undefeated 28 off 10 balls, including three fours and two sixes, to
help RCB cross the finish line with four balls remaining when they needed 47
off 22.
With a boisterous
crowd roaring behind him, Kohli strode out to bat and struck. Sam Curran
managed to get the ball to leave his first ball’s tail. It went to short third
after taking a hefty edge. Curran moved closer to the next ball, calling for a
drive. Taking the bait, Kohli gained a thick edge, but the ball moved too
quickly for Bairstow to react, bursting past his hands at the first slip. Just
the right amount of luck for Kohli. The following ball he blasted Curran over
the covers, then clipped him past short fine-leg, and to complete it 16 runs
off the first over, he creamed a half-volley through the covers.
As soon as Rabada
entered the game, Kohli showed no regard for him at all, haring down the track
and blasting him over cover. Next, Kohli faced Arshdeep Singh, who he hammered
for three fours in an over as he accelerated to 33 off 15 balls—the most number
of runs he has ever hit in the opening 15 balls of a T20 innings. In his first
15 balls, he hit eight fours. Both RCB and Kohli were absent.
Rabada was first
among the wickets. He removed Faf du Plessis for the third time in three IPL
innings. After that, Jitesh Sharma made a nice low catch to stop Cameron Green
from getting ahead.
But Harpreet Brar was the one who really put the pressure on. Thirteen runs in
four overs, two wickets, and that was during Kohli’s rampage.
Brar bowled 24
balls, 16 of which were on a length. from a considerable height. In addition to
maintaining a faster pace, he prevented the hitters from getting a chance to
get underneath the ball. He was dismissed by two balls that were bowled at a
length.
Rajat Patidar, exasperated at not being able to get anything away, returned to
a flatter delivery in an attempt to hoick the ball to the leg side. However, he
missed and turned to find his stumps in disarray. After that, Glenn Maxwell
attempted to open the off side up, but an arm ball undid him, and he was only
able to get an under-edge back onto his stumps.
In T20 cricket, on
the other hand, Kohli achieved his 100th 50-plus score. However, the needed
rate was skyrocketing. After hitting two fours against Harshal, he fell short
of the mark, his slash barely going as far as the deep third. After two balls
were dropped by Anuj Rawat, it appeared as though RCB’s situation was out of
control.
Karthik, however, discovered a supporter in the impact sub Mahipal Lomror.
After clipping Curran past short fine-leg for four on the opening ball, Lomror
hit Arshdeep for a six and four in the following over. After that, Harshal
Patel leaked 13 off the penultimate over, and Karthik took over. Karthik hit
Arshdeep for six with the opening ball of the final over, needing 10 to win.
Then came a wide before Karthik aced the chase with a hit over the
bowler’s head.