Hello and welcome to the live commentary and match updates for the IPL clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiants at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
------------------------------------------
So, that is that. What a match. What a man. Virat Kohli finally experienced how it is to score a T20 century and not lose the game. MS Dhoni and his men have been trounced here in Bengaluru tonight. KL Rahul gave the captain company for 94 runs before falling in the 12th over. And then in came Shane Watson, the man who can't do anything wrong. He went on a rampage for 13 balls, during which he altogether wrested the game away from Rising Pune Supergiants and slapped them in the face with it. Then, once he had his fill, Kohli burst forth and ransacked 38 runs off his final 11 deliveries to ram the victory home in a canter. And RCB has averted the third-straight loss with a thumping win.
MS Dhoni didn't bring Ashwin in till the 17th over. That was certainly odd, if not inexplicable.
MSD doesn't return the pen after signing.But Virat didn't allow Mahi to take the pen today and so Mahi didn't speak at the ceremony >#RCBvRPS
— Shayan Salim (@shayansalim17) >May 7, 2016
Man of the Match and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli says it was a crunch game for his side, who needed to win 6 out of 7 to make it ahead in the tournament. Says it was a good run chase. Keeping calm and looking within himself helped him win the game under pressure, he says. This guy is surely a Buddhist Zen-Ninja playing cricket.
------------------------------------------
RCB 195/3 after 19.3 overs (T Head 6 off 9 | V Kohli 108 off 58 || win by 7 wickets)
>#RCBvRPS>#Bangalore>pic.twitter.com/gWAKefforO
— Mani (@cmani) >May 7, 2016
And that's that. Kohli plays yet ANOTHER scintillating shot, easy as pie, flicking it uppishly but powerfully and arrogantly through Square-leg for four .
RCB 188/3 after 19 overs (T Head 5 off 8 | V Kohli 102 off 56 || need 4 from 6 balls)
Bradman once said: Sachin reminds me of myself. Kohli doesn't remind any great batsman of past of himself. He is unique. >#RCBvRPS
— Optimist (@DesiOptimystic) >May 7, 2016
RP! What a time to pick to bowl to a no-ball for height that is caught at Midwicket, leaving a free-hit next ball. But Kohli can't get it away, though he comes back for a manically-run two. And Kohli has played the most insouciant flick into the Square-leg boundary for six , and then hoists it straight over for another six . And that's his 100. He is a man possessed, driven by the idea of victory. Dhoni can't even look forlorn, because of his poker face. That's pretty much it, folks.
RCB 170/3 after 18 overs (T Head 3 off 5 | V Kohli 87 off 52 || need 22 from 12 balls)
13.3 an over needed. Zampa into the attack. Kohli slams a full, flighted one flat towards Mid-wicket, and it sails over a leaping Rahane for six . And the next ball goes straight over the bowler's head for another six . He tries again, but Zampa has bowled it into his body with no width or length. Next one is swung at viciously, and a thick edge sails over the Point cordon and races away into teh boundary for four . And Kohli is devastated that the next ball didn't go to the boundary. He really wants to cruise to his second T20 century. What a stress-buster for RCB that over was. Just 22 needed from 12 now.
RCB 152/3 after 17 overs (T Head 2 off 4 | V Kohli 70 off 47 || need 40 from 18 balls)
And there's Ashwin. I thought he had fallen asleep on the toilet. He comes in to bowl his first over with 4 to go. So he won't be bowling his full quota. Kohli slaps him to the Cover boundary for four with a violent shot struck on the up.
RCB 145/3 after 16 overs (T Head 1 off 2 | V Kohli 64 off 43 || need 47 from 24 balls)
RP Singh has done the impossible. He has stopped a rampaging Watson (36 from 13) by giving no width and bowling on his pads, and getting an LBW as Watto stoops to lift it out of the ground. And a brilliant over from the veteran bwler comes to an end with a dropped chance at Mid-on as George Bailey is unable to hold on to a lofted flick from Kohli. Just 3 runs — and a wicket that was worth at least another 40 runs — that over.
RCB 142/2 after 15 overs (S Watson 36 off 12 | V Kohli 62 off 40 || need 50 from 30 balls)
And Watto is still burning! My, my, my. Forget dominating the bowlers. He is absolutely bashing their heads in. After allowing Kohli to get a four in through Point, the burly all-rounder launches two gigantic sixes over Long-on. The second one went a mile. Well, ok 109 metres. But it felt like a mile.
RCB 123/2 after 14 overs (S Watson 23 off 9 | V Kohli 56 off 37 || need 69 from 36 balls)
Watson is on fire today. After his defining bowling spell, he is blasting Perera like a cocked gun — first, a slashed four over Point; then a similar slash, but all along the ground, for four ; then edging it through Third-man for four ; then a swing-and-miss later, another thick-edge that runs away to Third-man fence for four ; but wait, he's not done; last ball is bunted straight down the ground for a fifth four .
RCB 103/2 after 13 overs (S Watson 3 off 3 | V Kohli 56 off 37 || need 89 from 42 balls)
Bhatia again. Bowls a quiet over. Just 6 runs off it. RCB need to regroup now.
RCB 97/2 after 12 overs (S Watson 0 off 0 | V Kohli 55 off 35 || need 95 from 48 balls)
Rahul (38 from 35) is gone to bring the 94-run partnership to a close. Zampa has him mistime a drive and he is taken at Deep Cover. Now that RPS has broken through, they should have an easy time of it. Oh, wait. No. It's AB de Villiers. Zampa, though, is still bowling a challenging line and length. Appeals for LBW and yet another cover-drive has been mishit, this time by de Villiers (1 from 3) for Perera to pouch at the Extra Cover boundary.
RCB 94/0 after 11 overs (KL Rahul 37 off 33 | V Kohli 52 off 32 || need 98 from 54 balls)
What a shot from Kohli! Immense. There is no word for what he did to that ball as it rocketed to the Cover boundary for four . And another superb four with a full-toss flicked nonchalantly on the on-side. And now, Kohli raises his bat like a club as the crowd cheers his fifty. 13 runs that over.
RCB 81/0 after 10 overs (KL Rahul 36 off 32 | V Kohli 41 off 28 || need 111 from 60 balls)
Rahul resumes after the Timeout as though he just got a refill. Flicks Perera for a huge six over Mid-wicket. Strong wrists and pure timing. 11 runs off that over. And the RRR is still pegged at 11.
RCB 70/0 after 9 overs (KL Rahul 27 off 28 | V Kohli 39 off 26 || need 122 from 66 balls)
Where is Ashwin? This time Kohli gets over Zampa's flight, flicking it through Mid-wicket for four . Then the RCB captain skips down and creams the most sweetly-timed Cover drive for four through a pinhead gap between the two boundary-riders.
RCB 59/0 after 8 overs (KL Rahul 26 off 26 | V Kohli 30 off 22 || need 133 from 72 balls)
Still no Ashwin. Rajat Bhatia to blow some bubbles. And you know the thing about bubbles. They're well hard to catch hold off. Has Kohli chopping it like a lumberjack but the ball gets nowhere. Then he beats Rahul with lack of pace. But that's that, as Kohli hits a nine-iron straight onto the green for six .
RCB 50/0 after 7 overs (KL Rahul 25 off 24 | V Kohli 23 off 18 || need 142 from 78 balls)
No Aswhin. As the Powerplay ends, Shane Warne — beg pardon... Adam Zampa ambles into the crease with his leg-break. Kohli and Rahul are unable to get him away through to the fence as he bowls a tight and cramping line and length. Just 4 off the over. Keep an eye on the Required Run-rate, which is creeping up on 11.
RCB 46/0 after 6 overs (KL Rahul 23 off 20 | V Kohli 21 off 16 || need 146 from 84 balls)
Ahh. What a glorious and majestic off-drive from Kohli for six ! He waited that extra second so he could get underneath that full delivery from Perera. Dabs the next ball to take a quick single. Disciplined aggression, Kohli gives you. Perera finishes the over with a confounding line outside off and forces Rahul to shoulder arms in the most athletic of fashions.
RCB 37/0 after 5 overs (KL Rahul 22 off 18 | V Kohli 13 off 12 || need 155 from 90 balls)
Rahul is now in a marauding frame of mind. Hacks Dinda's first ball straight over his head for a four . Then top-edges it, attempting a whippy pull-shot for two and drives it through Cover for another two.
They Are Giving Too Much Respect To Ashoke Dinda Than He Deserves. ;) >#RCBvRPS>#IPL2016>#IPL9>#IPL>#RPSvRCB
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) >May 7, 2016
Really, Sir?
RCB 25/0 after 4 overs (KL Rahul 10 off 11 | V Kohli 12 off 11 || need 167 from 96 balls)
RP is still bowling that hard line across the right-hander. Now, Rahul stands firm and gives the full delivery some elevation over Extra Cover for six . And next ball, Rahul gets hit on his rib-cage, but Kohli is down, clutching his ribs after sliding back in to the crease for a tight single. And boom! Kohli seems to be alright now. He stays back, gives himself some room and whacks it over the Cover boundary for six . And now, a run-out is not to be as Kohli smashes it out to Cover, and Rahul makes his ground as Dhoni collects the throw and flicks the bails off slyly.
RCB 10/0 after 3 overs (KL Rahul 4 off 9 | V Kohli 4 off 9 || need 182 from 102 balls)
Dinda is bowling at 141 kph, but MS Dhoni is standing right up at the stumps. Oof. Kohli crashes this one to Cover, where Bailey swoops down, picks the ball up one-handed and fires it towards the non-striker's stumps, missing marginally.
RCB 6/0 after 2 overs (KL Rahul 2 off 6 | V Kohli 4 off 6)
Now, RP Singh into the attack. Left-handed seamer over the wicket to two right-handers who are great off their pads. Should be interesting. RP bowls some great lines across the right-handers and troubles them, even precipitating a close LBW call as the ball raps Rahul on his pads.
RCB 4/0 after 1 over (KL Rahul 1 off 2 | V Kohli 3 off 4)
Well, that was a quick break. I didn't even have time to go get myself a packet of crisps for the RCB innings. KL Rahul walks out with captain Virat Kohli as Ashok Dinda steams in. The batsmen don't attempt any big shots. Just 4 runs.
------------------------------------------
So, that was a great comeback from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final three-or-so overs. They found it tremendously challenging in the field at the start and during the middle overs, allowing Ajinkya Rahane and Saurabh Tiwary to get a couple of confident fifties. Rising Pune Supergiants batsmen were dropped at least four times, and were gifted a few surplus runs thanks to some instances of poor fielding. Then Rahul effected a stumping, Shane Watson came back to pack MS Dhoni, Rahane and George Bailey off in the space of two overs. But Jordan was unable to live up to his reputation as a death-over specialist and the Pune team reach 191.
RCB have their work cut out. Without Gayle's initial impetus, Kohli and de Villiers become crucial yet again.
RPS 191/6 after 20 overs (R Bhatia 8 off 3 | R Ashwin 10 off 5)
Right. Jordan at the death. Ashwin begins the over with a confident flick over Mid-wicket for four . And RCB are suddenly fielding like panthers again; Rasool dives on his belly and saves a four at Point. Ashwin now swings at a full delivery outside off and gets an under-edge to bounce through to the 'keeper. Just a single to Long-on for Ashwin. Now, Bhatia triggers his wrists quick and sends it sailing over Cover for six .
RPS 175/6 after 19 overs (R Ashwin 1 off 1 | R Bhatia 2 off 2)
Oh, now! Rahane (74 from 48) attempts yet another uncharacteristic brute-ish shot — a wild horizontal-batted slog — and Watson's length-ball cuts back in and dislodges the bails. And now Watson works out his Aussie teammate George Bailey (0 from 2), making him reach out to a wide, full ball and edge it behind to Rahul. That's Watto's 12th wicket this IPL.
RPS 171/4 after 18 overs (A Rahane 74 off 47 | R Bhatia 0 off 0)
Now, Rahane steps aside to a Jordan full-toss and times a slog-slice to perfection for a six over Long-off. Jordan was obviously going for the yorker and it went awry there. Jordan rectifies it now. Gets Perera swiping his club at a short one, and the everyone around the ground gets a wave of fresh air. Then bowls it full and wide, for more fresh air. And induces a miscued slog that floats and drops past Kohli at Mid-off. And then, Jordan targets Perera's (14 from 8) weak offside play once again, and Shane Watson holds on to a low catch at Cover. Great bowling from the Englishman.
RPS 162/3 after 17 overs (A Rahane 67 off 45 | T Perera 12 off 4)
Right. Last four overs. Is 200 on the cards?
Rahane, the attacking swashbuckler, thinks so. He stays in the crease and wallops a sixer over Extra Cover, and then tries his darnedest to muscle the next two away with slog-sweeps. Perera now assumes a wide stance and bashes it for a straight six and then slog-sweeps it powerfully over cow corner for the third six of the over.
RPS 146/3 after 16 overs (A Rahane 62 off 42 | T Perera 1 off 1)
Wow, what a shot! Dhoni swivels vertically and plays a ramp-pull-hook-top-edge for six over Fine-leg. Now he slices it wildly into the air and is caught by Rasool at Third-man. Dhoni (9 from 8) and his shenanigans, flattering to deceive every single time.
You said it @Hazardesque_, albeit with dubious grammar...
Dhoni have lost his touch with the bat >#RCBvRPS>#IPL
— Prantik (@Hazardesque_) >May 7, 2016
RPS 137/2 after 15 overs (A Rahane 61 off 41 | MS Dhoni 3 off 4)
KL Rahul has finally shown some semblance of reliability in the field for RCB. He whips off the bails as Tiwary (52 from 39) swings-and-misses a wide low-kept delivery from Chahal. Finally, some relief for the hosts, as Kohli looks bright again. 5 singles, 3 wides, and a wicket that over.
RPS 130/1 after 14 overs (A Rahane 59 off 39 | S Tiwary 52 off 39)
Jordan bowls a 9-run over to Rahane and Tiwary without any boundaries. These two are running quite well, though. What a partnership it has been.
RPS 120/1 after 13 overs (A Rahane 53 off 35 | S Tiwary 50 off 37)
Aaron gives Rahane some pace to work with and the batsman pulls it for a one-bounce four . And Tiwary reaches his half-century — his second this IPL — with a pull-shot. And Aaron bowls another one short and into the body and Rahane dismisses it through Fine-leg for four and his umpeenth fifty this IPL. 11 runs and 2 fifties celebrated in this over, as the second Strategic Timeout for the innings comes on.
RPS 109/1 after 12 overs (A Rahane 43 off 30 | S Tiwary 49 off 36)
Rasool sporting the latest in eyewear, a fashionable pair of bright blue googles. Tiwary advances and smashes two fours — one whizzing past Rahane's head and through Long-on, and then the other in an identical fashion — to end the over with 13 runs.
RPS 96/1 after 11 overs (A Rahane 41 off 28 | S Tiwary 38 off 32)
Binny lets that one fly wide and full, and Tiwary puts it away for four through Extra Cover. AB de Villiers shines in the field, prevents an extra run being taken, and the crowd erupts with the hope that things will turn around for their team in the field.
RPS 89/1 after 10 overs (A Rahane 39 off 25 | S Tiwary 32 off 29)
Watson bowls two wides and goes for 7 runs. And that's the halfway mark.
RPS 82/1 after 9 overs (A Rahane 35 off 24 | S Tiwary 31 off 24 )
And the butterfingering continues. Rahul can't collect a Chahal googly that floats up into his gloves, missing an easy stumping. Tiwary now sweeps it for a four through Square-leg. 7 runs off the over. Pune need to cash all these gifts in.
RPS 75/1 after 8 overs (A Rahane 34 off 23 | S Tiwary 25 off 19)
Aaron. Now, Rahane pops it up into the air and Watson doesn't want to take the dolly at Short Mid-on. Wouldn't call that a drop, since he didn't even attempt to get a hand to it as it floated down by his feet. And now a misfield on the Fine-leg boundary earns Rahane another four , and earns the unfortunate misfielder a glare from his captain.
RPS 67/1 after 7 overs (A Rahane 27 off 18 | S Tiwary 24 off 18)
Yuzvendra Chahal, the man with cricket-show-anchoring ambitions, is in now. Whether he can or can't host a variety show, he bowls with a whole lot of variation. Beats Tiwary on a couple occasions, but is smacked for a flat-swept four through Midwicket off the last ball. Travis Head let it through there.
On a side-note, if you ever happen to glimpse wicket-keeper Rahul and batsman Rahane in the same frame, they are quite the doppelgangers.
RPS 60/1 after 6 overs (A Rahane 23 off 14 | S Tiwary 20 off 15)
Varun Aaron to provide some pace. Tiwary manages to play a Cover-drive — one of the most elegant of shots — in the manner of a Dothraki hordesman. It goes for a four . And now, he repeats the shot and is dropped by Binny. Now, he square-cuts it straight into Sachin Baby's hands at Point, and is dropped a second time in two balls. And Rahane rubs salt into RCB's wound in the most cruel way possible, by tapping it for a six over Third-man.
Binny has however held the most important catch of his life - Mayanti Langar. >#IPL2016>#RCBvRPS
— SarcasticParrotSays (@Harshvardhan499) >May 7, 2016
RPS 48/1 after 5 overs (A Rahane 17 off 13 | S Tiwary 15 off 11)
Rasool back and bowling with flight. Tiwary gets down on his knees and bunts it through Extra Cover for four . He looks to be in an attacking frame of mind. Rahane may not be the most scintillating of strokemakers, but he has just played one of the most nimble-footed and athletic of square-cuts, which absolutely races away for four , to end the 11-run over.
Dear >@RCBTweets plz let Rahane score 50... Means 10-12 overs are gone . Concentrate on remaining 8-10 overs >#RCBvRPS
— ಪ್ರವೀಣ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಎಂ (@praveenkumarblr) >May 7, 2016
RPS 37/1 after 4 overs (A Rahane 12 off 11 | S Tiwary 9 off 7)
It's one over per bowler here for RCB. Shane Watson comes in. Bowls a tidy over till the fifth ball, which he drags short and Tiwary swivels and heaves into the Square-leg fence for four .
RPS 31/1 after 3 overs (A Rahane 11 off 9 | S Tiwary 4 off 3)
Debutant Chris Jordan runs in, and Rahane lofts it above Point for four . Oh, my! What a mix-up. Khawaja (16 from 6) and Rahane find themselves at the striking end and the Aussie southpaw is run-out. It was Khawaja's call and Rahane was ball-watching. Saurabh Tiwary comes in to replace the left-hander. And gets off the mark with a well-controlled square-cut for four .
RPS 22/0 after 2 overs (A Rahane 6 off 6 | U Khawaja 16 off 5)
Pervez Rasool to bowl the second over. Travis Head uses his entire body to save a four, but Khawaja is excited about this wicket. He steps out and thumps Rasool for a flat straight six , and then leg-glances him for a four . 13 runs from the over.
RPS 9/0 after 1 over (A Rahane 5 off 5 | U Khawaja 4 off 1)
Stuart Binny opening the bowling for RCB today. Hoping for some swing, probably, is Virat Kohli. And Ajinkya Rahane gets off the mark with a stylish square drive for four . Beautiful timing and grace. The tiny man looks in good touch. Oh! He taps one uppishly and it clips Binny's fingers on his follow-through. Khawaja goes for a drive and edges it away for four on the final delivery through Third-man.
Lot of grassy patches on the wicket. The ball will probably skid on.
1600 hrs | Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khawaja walk in to open for Supergiants.
Royal Challengers Bangalore win the toss and opt to bowl . This is becoming a trend in modern cricket. Runs on the board, batting first, applying pressure on the opposition with the initiative, all myths of a bygone era.
Travis Head, Chris Jordan (debutant), Pervez Rasool come in for Royal Challengers Bangalore , who have finally left out Chris Gayle. Also not playing are S Aravind and the exciting Tabraiz Shamsi.
KL Rahul†, V Kohli*, AB de Villiers, TM Head, SR Watson, Sachin Baby, STR Binny, Parvez Rasool, CJ Jordan, VR Aaron, YS Chahal
M Ashwin is injured for Rising Pune Supergiants , so Adam Zampa debuts. And RP Singh is in for Scot Boland...
AM Rahane, UT Khawaja, SS Tiwary, MS Dhoni*†, NLTC Perera, GJ Bailey, R Bhatia, A Zampa, R Ashwin, AB Dinda, RP Singh
. >@RPSupergiants are gearing-up for their game against >@RCBTweets>#RCBvRPS>#VIVOIPL>https://t.co/ABdsn1j8Fw
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) >May 7, 2016
There has been a bit of rain around in Bengaluru. And while it has cleared up, it has left the air warm and sultry. Ok... hot and humid, I was just trying to soften the blow.
----------------------------------------------
Royal Challengers Bangalore squad
V Kohli*, VR Aaron, AN Ahmed, S Aravind, STR Binny, YS Chahal, AB de Villiers, P Dubey, CH Gayle, TM Head, Iqbal Abdulla, KM Jadhav, CJ Jordan, AK Karnewar, SN Khan, VS Malik, Mandeep Singh, Parvez Rasool, HV Patel, KL Rahul, KW Richardson, Sachin Baby, T Shamsi, V Tokas, SR Watson, D Wiese
Rising Pune Supergiants squad
MS Dhoni*, Ankit Sharma, B Aparajith, M Ashwin, R Ashwin, GJ Bailey, AK Bains, R Bhatia, SM Boland, DL Chahar, AB Dinda, PSP Handscomb, Jaskaran Singh, UT Khawaja, JA Morkel, IC Pandey, IK Pathan, NLTC Perera, AM Rahane, I Sharma, RP Singh, SS Tiwary, A Zampa
