New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in Match 33 of IPL 2015. Mandeep Singh was the star of the match with an undefeated knock of 45 runs off 18 balls.
RCB Innings
Over 10 | Score 115/3
Mandeep Singh delivered when it mattered most two sixes off the last over from Andre Russell. What a blinder this young man has played.
Over 9 | Score 100/3
Mandeep managed to pick up two boundaries off Yadav's last 2 balls to give a fresh twist to this incredible match.
Over 8 | Score 87/3
Russell came into the attack and delivered a huge blow to RCB, dismissing skipper Kohli. The right-hander mistimed a length ball from the West Indian straight into the hands of Suryakumar at long-on. Great over from Russell.
Kohli c S Yadav b Russell 34 (20b)
Over 7 | Score 80/2
Mandeep went after Chawla in the 7th over, hitting two boundaries off the first 4 balls. Kohli then got in on the act, clobbering the last ball for a huge six over long-on. Big over for RCB!
Over 6 | Score 62/2
After a quiet over, Mandeep got down on one knee and swept Hogg for a six over the square leg boundary.
Over 5 | 52/2
Gambhir introduced Chawla into the attack and the leg-spinner got rid of the dangerous ABdV. The leg-spinner pushed through a quick delivery and the South African played it on to his stumps. Huge wicket for KKR.
AB de Villiers b Chawla 2 (4b)
Over 4 | 49/1
After clobbering Brand Hogg for two massive sixes, Gayle was caught at long-on by countryman Russell. AB de Villiers came out to bat after the fall of RCB's first wicket.
Gayle c Russell b Hogg 21 (9b)
Over 3 | 34/0
Kohli tucked Cummins' waist-high full toss down to fine leg for a four. The right-hander then hit a ball that was in the slot over the wide long-on boundary for his second six of the innings.
Over 2 | 22/0
Umesh Yadav was welcomed into the bowling attack with a six straight back over his head by Kohli. The right-hander then pulled the next delivery to the square leg boundary for a four. Gayle, who had been quiet, capped off the the second over with huge six over long-off.
Over 1 | Score 4/0
Pat Cummins took the new ball for KKR as Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle opened RCB's innings. The Aussie bowled brilliantly to the duo and conceded just 4 runs.
KKR Innings
Over 10 | Score 111/4
Despite bowling a wide and a no-ball, Mitchell Starc managed to restrict the KKR batsmen as they failed to hit the big shots. Skipper Kohli applauded the Aussie for his effort.
R ten Doeschate c de Villiers b Starc 12 (7b)
Over 9 | Score 102/3
Doeschate picked up Patel's slower ball from the off-stump and planted it for a six over the square leg boundary. He then sliced another ball for a four through backward point. Catastrophe struck KKR on the very next ball as Russell was run out in an attempt to reach the striker's end after Tendo failed to connect a delivery.
Yusuf came out to bat after that dismissal and flat-batted Patel for a six, wide off the long-on fieldsman.
Russell run out 45 (17b 5x4 3x6)
Over 8 | Score 86/2
Wiese was treated to Russell's brutality as the West Indian muscled a full delivery straight the all-rounder's head for a six.
Over 7 | Score 73/2
Despite being hit for two back-to-back fours by Russell off his first two balls, Chahal tossed up the ball to Robbie for him to top edge it for Karthik to complete a running catch.
Uthappa c Karthik b Chahal 23 (21b)
Over 6 | Score 61/1
After having dropped by Kohli at long-off, Russell rubbed salt into RCB's wounds on the very next ball as he slammed Aaron for a huge six over midwicket. Luck continued to side with the West Indian he wild swing off a full delivery flew past the keeper for a four. The right-hander capped off a good over for KKR with another six straight back over the bowler's head.
Over 5 | Score 44/1
Spin was introduced for the first time in the match as Yuzvendra Chahal was brought into the attack. Andre Russell, promoted to number 3. cut a short and wide delivery from the leg-spinner for his first boundary.
Over 4 | Score 34/1
Gambhir planted Wiese's length delivery over midwicket for a boundary. The all-sounder got his revenge a ball later as the left-hander chipped a full delivery into the hands of Mandeep Singhat point.
Gambhir c Mandeep Singh b Wiese 12 (8b)
Over 3 | Score 27/0
After bowling a good over, Harshal Patel erred on the last bowl with a length delivery outside the off-stump. Robbie pounced on it, playing a lofted drive over covers for his 4th four of the innings.
Over 2 | Score 20/0
Robbie went after Varun Aaron in the second over, clobbering him for two back-to-back fours.
Over 1 | Score 8/0
Robin Uthappa played a glorious straight drive to register his first boundary of the match off Mitchell Starc's bowling.
We have a match on.
KKR vs RCB is now schedules for 6:45 pm start and it will be a 10 overs per side match.
Weather update
The rain has returned. The inspection has been delayed.
Light drizzle has returned and the covers back on. The next inspection will happen at 5:45 PM IST.
The Super Sopper
The Super Sopper is in full flow. Let us hope for the best #RCBvsKKR #RCB #KKR #IPL pic.twitter.com/1ynZ4um5D1
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2015
The rain has stopped. We should have a game today. Will the numbers of overs be curtailed? We are waiting for an official announcement.
The rain has stopped and the field is being cleared out very quickly. #RCBvsKKR #PepsiIPL #RCB #KKR pic.twitter.com/RzkSYO2yVV
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2015
Finally, a bit of good news...
Rain has mellowed down but still persistent. They have begun clearing out the puddles though. #RCBvsKKR #PepsiIPL
— Shirin Sadikot (@ShirinSadikot) May 2, 2015
Puddles on the field.
Puddles on the field. #RCBvsKKR #PepsiIPL pic.twitter.com/cKYDGdHIB0
— Shirin Sadikot (@ShirinSadikot) May 2, 2015
It is bucketing down in Bengaluru now.
It is bucketing down in Bengaluru. The start of #RCBvsKKR has been delayed. #PepsiIPL pic.twitter.com/2WTo84msUI
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2015
Not good news coming in from in from Bengaluru...
And here comes the rain... #Rcbvskkr #PepsiIPL pic.twitter.com/UdoKxOxmhV
— Shirin Sadikot (@ShirinSadikot) May 2, 2015
It is going to pour down in not very long from now #Rcbvskkr pic.twitter.com/omFkWeKtqT
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) May 2, 2015
Toss and team news
Virat Kohli won the toss and RCB will bowl first against KKR. Both teams have made changes to the playing eleven from their previous matches.
RCB XI: C Gayle, V Kohli, AB de Villiers, M Singh, D Karthik, S Khan, D Wiese, M Starc, H Patel, V Aaron, Y Chahal
KKR XI: R Uthappa, G Gambhir, M Pandey, S Yadav, Y Pathan, R ten Doeschate, A Russell, P Chawla, P Cummins, B Hogg, U Yadav
Match preview
Pumped up after a thrilling win over the smooth-sailing Chennai Super Kings, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPLcricket match here on Saturday.
Also read: IPL 2015 Full Coverage
With a win over CSKm KKR moved up a rung to the third position on the points table with four wins, two losses and one abandoned match.
RCB, on the other hand, have won three and lost as many in seven games and are on fourth position.
For KKR, the last-over win against CSK came as a massive shot in the arm as they prepare to take on a rejuvenated RCB, who posted 200 runs despite the failures of Kohli and West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle, against Rajasthan Royals.
Also read: IPL 2015 Points Table
Captain Gautam Gambhir lauded the power-packed innings of Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell, which helped KKR come back on track.
Uthappa cracked a match winning unbeaten 80 and stitched a superb partnership for the fourth wicket along with Russell, who scored a brilliant unbeaten 55 in no time.
Other batsmen, including Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan, have been inconsistent and bowling has been a bit patchy. However, Australian Chinaman bowler Brad Hogg has bolstered the bowling after he picked up crucial wickets against CSK in the last match.
For RCB, it has been a mixed bag so far, recording three wins and as many loses.
Also read: IPL 2015 Schedule
But after a sedate start, RCB returned to form with two consecutive away wins against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad and Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. But a dismal record at home would be a major concern for RCB going into tomorrow's game.
RCB have so far failed to take the home advantage. They lost all three matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings before their home crowd.
With the likes of Gayle, Kohli and A B de Villiers in their ranks, RCB boasts of a formidable batting line-up.
Gayle and Kohli have had a slow start to this year's campaign but have gained momentum with time. Kohli, in fact, returned to form with two half centuries in the last three games.
Also see: IPL 2015 Photos
RCB's bowling attack, seen as a weak link, also came good against Delhi the other day.
Led by Australian Mitchell Starc and supported well by Varun Aaron and David Wiese, RCB's pacers produced a lethal display to bundle out Delhi for meagre 95 runs in their last match and set the platform for the easy win.
On the spin front, RCB's leading wicket-taker this season with 10 scalps, Yuzvendra Chahal, will be a hard nut to crack.
