Chris Gayle (82), Virat Kohli (36) fire RCB to nine-wicket win over Mumbai
What was expected to be a cracker of a game turned out to be a one-sided affair after Chris Gayle’s power-hitting stole the show at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s big-hitting West Indian left everyone stunned with his exuberant knock of 82 from 59 balls (5x4s, 6x6s) to successfully chase down Mumbai Indians’ 142-run target with 12 balls to spare in the Indian Premier League-V.
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Double delight: Chris Gayle (left) and Virat Kohli congratulate each other after their win against MI yesterday. Pic/AFP
The nine-wicket win helped RCB move to fourth position from seventh in the table while Mumbai retain third spot. Though the crowd was initially reluctant to cheer Gayle’s strokeplay, they joined the celebration later after a spineless MI attack failed to make inroads.
Dwayne Smith’s failure to hold on to a top edge from Gayle proved to be a costly miss for MI. The southpaw, who retained the IPL’s Orange Cap, belted three consecutive sixes off Pragyan Ojha’s second over to smash 22 runs of it.
However, Lasith Malinga prevailed in the most anticipated battle with Gayle. The big-hitting Jamaican could manage only seven in 11 balls. But lack of support from the other end for Malinga, meant Gayle could free his arms at will.
Put into bat, Mumbai started off horrendouslylosing two quick wickets. At one stage, the scoreboard read 5 for 2 — their lowest score after four overs in IPL history. Their previous low was 7 for 2 versus Delhi Daredevils earlier this season.
Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu rescued Mumbai after Sachin Tendulkar fell for 24. Karthik particularly was impressive during his 39-ball 44 knock. Muttiah Muralitharan’s strikes in back-to-back deliveries (Karthik and Smith) put MI in further trouble.u00a0
Score card:
Mumbai Indians: J Franklin c Khan b Vinay Kumar 1, S Tendulkar c&b Patel 24, R Sharma lbw Vinay Kumar 0, D Karthik c Kohli b Murali 44, A Rayudu c Murali b Patel 22, D Smith c Vinay Kumar b Murali 2, K Pollard not out 21, H Singh not out 20; Extras: (LB-5, W-2) 7; Total: (For 6 wkts in 20 overs) 141; Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-2, 3-41, 4-85, 5-100, 6-100; Bowling: Zaheer 4-0-16-0, Vinay Kumar 4-0-34-2, Patel 4-0-24-2, Mohammad 4-0-38-0, Murali 4-0-24-2
Royal Challengers Bangalore: T Dilshan lbw b Ojha 19, C Gayle not out 82, V Kohli not out 36. Extras: (Lb-2, W-2, Nb-1) 5. Total: (for one wicket in 18 overs) 142. Fall of wicket: 1-48. Bowling: L Malinga 4-0-20-0, RP Singh 4-0-28-0, K Pollard 3-0-33-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-18-0, P Ojha 2-0-25-1, R Sharma 1-0-16-0.
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