In its final home game of what has been a wretched, painful IPL season, there was no relief for Royal Challengers Bangalore. There was no consolation, no respite. All that was in store for the host at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday was a savage thrashing.
Sunil Narine smashed a 15-ball fifty, equalling Yusuf Pathan’s record for the fastest half-century in the IPL as Kolkata Knight Riders completed a run chase of 159 as if it were an evening stroll. The six-wicket victory more or less assured Gautam Gambhir’s men of a spot in the playoffs.
Following Travis Head’s unbeaten 75, the large numbers of RCB supporters may have hoped for an intriguing second innings. What followed, though, was embarrassing. Openers Narine and Chris Lynn clobbered 105 runs in six overs, the highest PowerPlay score in the tournament’s history.
Blazing away
Returning from a shoulder injury, Lynn batted like he had never been away, striking the ball with a brutal ferocity. Aniket Chaudhary was hammered for 14 runs in the first over, and Yuzvendra Chahal was next targeted for the same treatment.
Sunil Narine then took over, unfurling three identical sixes off Samuel Badree. Next over, he struck S. Arvind for a hat-trick of fours before raising his fifty with a six over long on. Narine fell for 54, edging Choudhary behind. Lynn departed not long after, having brought his half century up in 21 balls. The contest, though, was long dead.
Earlier, the RCB innings began in predictably poor fashion. Batting first after losing the toss, the home side endured another difficult PowerPlay, its three big guns silenced inside five overs.
Chris Gayle was dismissed off the game’s first ball, held in the covers via a leading edge off Umesh Yadav. The Vidarbha bowler struck again in his next over, trapping Virat Kohli in front with a leg-cutter. A.B. de Villiers was bowled trying to sweep Narine, having shuffled over to the off-side.
Another collapse seemed imminent, but Mandeep Singh and Head set about rebuilding. Mandeep had begun in aggressive fashion, but Head and he went about their work cautiously. Indeed, when the Australian pulled Ankit Rajput for four in the 12th over, a full five overs had passed without a boundary.
The RCB total entered three figures when Mandeep steered Colin de Grandhomme behind point at the start of the 15th over. The rain came down at that stage, though, forcing a 38-minute stoppage in play.
Mandeep, who made a patient 52, fell upon resumption, snapping a partnership of 71. Head took centre-stage. The 23-year-old reached his half-century in 48 balls and then accelerated, guiding RCB to a somewhat respectable total.
