If Sir Alex Ferguson was somehow related to cricket, the first thing he would have said after witnessing this game would be, “cricket, bloody hell!”
This was a game that defied all the norms. It is not normal for a team to post a target of 159 after their top order being dismantled to put them in an adverse position of 9/3. It is not normal for Virat Kohli to get out for a duck.
And it is certainly not normal for a team to win a game from being down and almost out at 29/5, that too with relative ease in the end.
However, it all happened. In a qualifier that went against the waves of regularity, AB de Villiers stood up like a mountain and did what he did best: produce a gem of an innings to win the game for his team from an almost impossible position.
In this match that had more turns than a roller coaster, there were plenty of memorable moments that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Let's take a look:
1) Iqbal Abdulla’s brave all-round display
At first, he stunned the Lions with his bowling and upfront and then played a very handy innings with the bat later to take the considerable burden off AB de Villiers’ shoulders.
Given the ball in the second over itself, he nabbed the wicket of the dangerous Brendon McCullum in his very first ball. 3 balls later, another incredible hitter of the ball was taken out when Aaron Finch shot Abdulla's delivery down Chris Gayle’s throat.
Finally, when he came out to bat, it was in the worst of situations as Bangalore were reeling at 68 for 6. The required-rate was creeping up, so was the pressure. But he kept his composure to a superb 33 off 25 balls and provided AB de Villiers with the perfect partner.
2) Shane Watson’s fine spell
The Australian is known for his superb batting that comes with some handy bowling. This year, however, he will be renowned for his trickery with the ball more than his art of wielding the willow.
Shane Watson came up with his best spell in IPL ever as he grabbed 4 wickets for just 29 runs, In fact, before he bowled his final over, his figures read 8 for 2 after 3 overs. But an expensive last over, albeit providing 2 wickets, ruined his figures a little bit.
Yet, it was a game-changing spell as the strong batting line up of the Lions might have scored a lot more runs if it weren’t for his performance.
3) Dwayne Smith’s special knock
Be it as an opener or as a middle-order batsman, the West Indian has done a great job in this IPL thus far. Having so many openers in the team meant that one of them had to play somewhere else, and it was Smith who sacrificed his most favourite position for the team.
Not that it was a bad decision, however, as for the second game running, he made a tremendous impact with the bat while batting at number 5.
At a time when the top order failed to make any sort of impact whatsoever, he scored 73 in just 41 balls. He made sure that his innings didn’t consume too many balls, which in turn allowed his team’s score to go beyond 150.
4) Dhawal Kulkarni’s wrath
Dhawal Kulkarni can be dubbed as a seasoned campaigner in the IPL. He has been a known face in the tournament from its very first edition and has been one of those underrated stars of the IPL.
Against the best batting line-up of the tournament, he displayed total fury as he picked up 4 wickets while giving away only 14 runs in the process. His brilliant start made one believe that there is no way the Bangalore team could make a comeback from their adversity.
It has to be said that Kulkarni never gets the praise he deserves and as luck would have it, his most impactful spell of his IPL career also went under the shadow of…
5) AB de Villiers’ special innings
It needed the special innings from this man to get RCB over the line. When he came to bat, his usual partner-in-crime, Virat Kohli, was already gone. Then Chris Gayle fell in front of him followed by the in-form Lokesh Rahul and the experienced Shane Watson.
However, cometh the occasion, cometh the man. And the man here was the South African. This just goes to show how a star-studded batting line-up does wonders for a team. If Gayle can’t get you, Kohli will. If Kohli doesn’t, Watson will. If even the Australian doesn’t, then ABD will.
From 68/6, he led the chase and won the game even before it could reach the last over. He ended up with numbers of 79 after 47 deliveries—playing one of the best innings of his life.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
