New Delhi: Welcome to the live coverage of the match between RCB and KXIP to be played at Bengaluru.
RCB beat KXIP by 138 runs.
KXIP innings:
OVERS 13.4// RUNS 88// WICKETS 10
Wiese bowls and Axar gets a run. Sandeep then defends the next two balls. Chahal gets Sandeep. It's all over.
Sandeep Sharma c and b Chahal 7(9)
OVERS 12// RUNS 78// WICKETS 9
Chahal bowls and Axar sweeps him to get a brace. A sweep shot is fine again and he gets a four. Good line and length from Chahal though. He goes down the ground and cleans Chahal for a six. A run to end the over.
OVERS 11// RUNS 65// WICKETS 9
Karanveer runs a single and Axar then gets a run too. The next ball is left alone. He then cleans Karanveer. Damage of the woodwork done. Starc is the best bowler in the world now. He almost finds another wicket but misses. A poke at a ball and he misses.
OVERS 10// RUNS 63// WICKETS 8
12 runs come from Patel's over. Axar with two fours there.
OVERS 9// RUNS 51// WICKETS 8
Starc comes to bowl and after a dot, he bowls a wide. He cleans Johnson next. The batsman goes for a huge heave and is cleaned. Another good ball and it misses the leg stump. He then knocks Anureet who lacked any clue. Karanveer pushes a ball sweetly for a brace.
Anureet Singh b Starc 0 (2)
Johnson b Starc 1 (4)
OVERS 8// RUNS 48// WICKETS 6
Aravind then cleans up Bailey too. Six wickets gone for KXIP! The ball came back lively and beat Bailey's drive. Johnson defends to prevent the bowler take a hat-trick. Johnson runs a single next. Axar pulls a ball for four runs. A shot on the off-side sees him earn another one.
OVERS 7// RUNS 39// WICKETS 5
Chahal is introduced and Axar runs a ball fine for four. Just five runs come from the over.
OVERS 6// RUNS 34// WICKETS 5
Aravind bowls and Saha swings hard and gets a four. Saha goes out and tries to clear the fielder at mid-on but Kohli takes a smart catch. Bailey gets off the mark. Miller departs next. He is bowled too.
D Miller b Aravind 7(10)
W Saha c Kohli b Aravind 13(11)
OVERS 5// RUNS 29// WICKETS 3
Starc bowls and a good over continues. An LBW appeal against Miller but it isn't out.
OVERS 4// RUNS 25// WICKETS 3
Aravind then cleans Maxwell for a run only. Terrible form for Maxi continues. Miller comes in and hits a four.
Maxwell b Aravind 1(5)
OVERS 3// RUNS 20// WICKETS 2
S Aravind is hit for a six by Saha. Eight runs come. Harshal Patel cleans up Vijay. He tries to go on leg side and gets clean bowled. Maxwell is in and a good ball to start with from Patel. A solid defence follows next. A good ball next sees Maxwell miss the edge. A short ball sees Maxi get off the mark.
Vijay b Harshal Patel 2(6)
OVERS 1// RUNS 11// WICKETS 1
Starc starts to bowl and Vijay gets off the mark. A wide ball and DK doesn't collect it well and the batsmen run for another brace. A hint of swing and Vohra collects a couple on the leg side. An appeal for a catch but umpire isn't interested. Good stuff from Starc here. A drive from Vohra and Wiese claims a catch at cover. A referral is made and the decision of out stays. RCB celebrate. Saha is the new man in. A LBW appeal and the batsmen run and an overthrow sees them collect four more.
Vohra c Wiese b Starc 2 (3)
Twitter time!
I never saw an alien...But I have seen Chris Gayle...what a man...BRILLIANT.. #RCBvsKXIP
— Paresh Rawal (@Babu_Bhaiyaa) May 6, 2015
He is the World Boss & he's showing us why - @henrygayle #Peter #Bird
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) May 6, 2015
. @KP24 is absolutely right. For Sarfaraz to walk back with the great AB de Villiers putting his arm around him is priceless #PepsiIPL
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2015
KXIP need 227 runs to win from 20 overs.
RCB innings:
OVERS 20// RUNS 226// WICKETS 3
Anureet bowls the last over and Sarfaraz gets off strike with a single. A yorker length ball and AB clears his legs and gets a run. A cheeky shot earns Sarfaraz a four. A run comes next. A leg-bye means AB will stay unbeaten on 47. Another cheeky shot and the deep fine-leg fielder cuts the ball off.
OVERS 19// RUNS 216// WICKETS 3
Axar bowls and starts with two decent balls. AB then goes brutal and kills him for a six straight over his head. A golf shot that! A full toss is sweeped for a four. He picks the gap again and gets another four. 15 from the over.
OVERS 18// RUNS 201// WICKETS 3
The dangerous Gayle is finally out. He hit a four and a six before that. Sandeep bowls his last over and DK is the new man in and gets a brace after a direct throw earns him an extra. Karthik goes big and clears long-on. Another six hit. What a batting display from the side. Next ball is right on the money and DK departs. Sarfaraz tries a scoop and the fielder at deep fine leg misses a tough chance.
D Karthik b Sandeep Sharma 8 (3)
Gayle c and b A Patel 117 (57)
OVERS 16// RUNS 179// WICKETS 1
A flip shot sees AB get a four off Anureet's over. Seven runs come from the over.
One more entertaining&power packed innings from @henrygayle. Spare a thought for the bowlers where even good balls also go for a 6 #IPL2015
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) May 6, 2015
OVERS 15// RUNS 171// WICKETS 1
Karanveer bowls and AB gets going. He latches on to a short ball and hits a huge six. A tossed up ball and AB this time hits another six. And another, that is a hat-trick of sixes. RCB have plundered KXIP here. A four comes from the final ball.
OVERS 14// RUNS 148// WICKETS 1
AB gets an inside edge and gets a run. Gayle gets a four off Johnson and gets his 100! What an innings from the big man. The next ball is defended by the man. A slower ball and Gayle gets a single. A dot ball follows. AB swings and manages a run.
OVERS 13// RUNS 141// WICKETS 1
Gayle faces Karanveer and he starts off with a wide. A run is taken next and then AB drives a ball for a single. Gayle then goes big and hammers two huge sixes.
OVERS 12// RUNS 123// WICKETS 1
Kohli gets cleaned by Sandeep. Good bowling here from the paceman. AB is the new man and he gets a single. A full length ball angled in and Gayle gets a single. A run is taken from the next ball by AB. A single is run by Gayle off the last ball.
Kohli b Sandeep Sharma 32 (30)
OVERS 11// RUNS 119// WICKETS 0
Three runs come from Anureet's over. Eight runs come from the next over, Glenn Maxwell bowled the over. Vohra drops Gayle and a six too is hit. 10 runs come from the over. Axar bowled the over. 15 runs come from next over with Maxwell getting cleaned. Axar then gets hammered for 15 runs again.
OVERS 6// RUNS 68// WICKETS 0
Johnson starts with a wide outside the leg stump. Gayle hits another six. It is his fifth already. A pull sees the ball sail long. Gayle then gets to his 50 with a single. Another wide from Johnson. A single from Kohli and it ends the over.
OVERS 5// RUNS 58// WICKETS 0
Anureet replaces Sandeep and gayle gets a leg-bye before Kohli makes room again and smashes him for a four. Short ball and Gayle hits another six! Oops it is called a dead ball with the ball hitting the cable. A run ends the over.
OVERS 4// RUNS 51// WICKETS 0
Kohli faces Johnson and a good comeback from the Aussie. Kohli unable to get his pace so far. He then makes room and charges Johnson for four over covers. A brace to end the over.
OVERS 3// RUNS 45// WICKETS 0
Kohli drives and it gets his inner edge and goes to 3rd man for a run. Gayle swings and clears mid-wicket for another six. Gayle storm has hit Bengaluru. A half volley and Gayle hits again, it rises high above but Bailey fails to hold on and it rolls away for four. A single follows next. It is a no ball and RCB get a free-hit. Kohli hits the ball towards mid-off and gets a run. Gayle swings and dispatches a full toss for a six. A punch down the ground earns him a four.
OVERS 2// RUNS 21// WICKETS 0
Johnson to bowl and Gayle pulls him away for a boundary. He then goes big over long-off and that's a six. Another six from Gayle, this time too over long-off. He pulls Johnson next in a flash and it's a four. A bouncer to end the over.
OVERS 1// RUNS 1// WICKETS 0
Sandeep starts with the proceedings and Gayle defnds early on. The next ball he leaves alone as it seams away. Third ball to swings outside, Gayle leaves it alone. Another tossed up ball and it teases Gayle all the way. Good over from Sandeep. Gayle gets a single and that's first runs on the board. A dot ball and its the over.
Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and have opted to field.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad:
Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Sarfaraz Khan, David Wiese, Harshal Patel, Mitchell Starc, Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Vijay Zol, Abu Nechim, Sandeep Warrier, Yogesh Takawale, Rilee Rossouw, Manvinder Bisla, S Badrinath, Darren Sammy, Sean Abbott, Sreenath Aravind, Jalaj Saxena, Shishir Bhavane
Kings XI Punjab Squad:
Manan Vohra, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, David Miller, Axar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh, Karanveer Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Beuran Hendricks, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Virender Sehwag, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar
Umpires: Richard Illingworth(Eng), Vineet Kulkarni(Ind)
Third Umpire: S Ravi(Ind)
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle(SL)
Preview: Royal Challengers Bangalore would seek to consolidate their position in the top four, while the bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab would try to end a four-match losing streak when the two sides lock horns in an Indian Premier League cricket match here on Wednesday.
Placed fourth in the points table, RCB is coming off a 24-run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings.
ALSO READ: IPL SCHEDULE
The hosts, led by Virat Kohli, would be the favourites to emerge victorious against Kings XI Punjab, whose chances of making the playoffs are all but over after seven losses from nine matches.
RCB have four wins and as many losses in nine matches they have played so far, while KXIP remained at the bottom with four points against their name.
RCB would like to forget their defeat against CSK and return to winning ways at the crucial business end of the season. In fact, a loss here and there could spell doom for the hosts.
ALSO READ: IPL POINTS TABLE
RCB could not get past the paltry CSK total of 148 for nine as they were all out for 124 following a horrendous batting display during which they lost seven wickets for 27 runs in 5.5 overs.
RCB have struggled to come good before their home crowd and lost three matches before pulling off a 10-over-a-side match against Kolkata Knight Riders. With the likes of the big-hitting Chris Gayle, who missed out against CSK, A B de Villiers and Kohli himself in the team, the hosts can fancy their chances at Chinnaswamy stadium.
Mandeep Singh, hero against KKR, was unfortunately run out in the last match but he would look to impress one more time. De Villiers, who made 21 in the last game, would be eager to get a big one, which is due from his willow.
On the bowling front, Mitchell Starc has infused confidence into other RCB bowlers, which was reflected in the last game where David Wiese and Harshal Patel, took two wickets. The Australian bowler ended with figures of three for 24 in four overs.
On the other side, KXIP have made changes in their playing eleven, often resting Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, without much gain. Their batting has been a great letdown compared to last year when they reached the finals.
Virender Sehwag, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to make the kind of impact they were expected to ahead of the tournament. KXIP's bowlers too have been a huge disappointment with pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson being the biggest flop. Barring pacer Sandeep Sharma and left-arm spinner Axar Patel, the KXIP bowling has never looked threatening.
