RCB are the "Daredevils" - Review

The stage was set for a big game as Sehwag won the toss and put the Challengers in to bat. The crowd roared as Pujara and McDonald made their way onto the field.

The second over was where the action started in which Maxwell almost pulled off a stunner of a catch. McDonald slammed the next ball for a six and almost got bowled on the following delivery. The balance in the the two sides was beginning to show.

If you thought Pathan’s first “uneventful” over was going to be something consistent through the game, you were evidently wrong. McDonald hit him for three fours and a six to get the Bangalore roller coaster on course. Morkel was’nt in the mood to follow Pathan’s steps, as he needled Pujara, only to instigate him to go for the big one and get caught in the process. The plan worked!

Pathan was in the thick of action as he dropped a sitter,which fortunately for him was’nt a significant one. Bracewell showed him how the job is done, taking what could be one of the catches of the season, running backwards and diving with a one-handed effort to send McDonald back to the pavilion.

The crowd were’nt really worried though, as the two men at the crease were ” Mr. Consistent” AB De Villiers and “Mr. Man-in-form” Virat Kohli, . However the “man-in-form” did’nt do too well and left AB alone at the crease within the span of an over.

Saurabh Tiwary walked out with a big task on-hand. But when an umpire makes a horrible mistake , there is little you can do about it. A clear inside edge along with a faint appeal from the bowler saw him retrace Kohli’s steps. 69/4 after 10 overs! Things were’nt looking good for the men in red and gold.

After a heap of wickets tumbled, out came Vinay Kumar, as De Villiers sang “Men may come and men may go, but i go on forever”. A strong partnership between these two and Pathan’s “contribution” of course, saw them end at a respectable 157 with De Villiers, the saviour, being the highest scorer, with 63 off just 41 deliveries.

Was the score enough to grab a win?

Out came Finch and Sehwag as the former took Zaheer for a ride only to see the latter going for a golden duck. Zaheer seemed to be in a pretty grumpy mood and the wicket of the captain did’nt seem to help him much. As the fifty came up for the side, Muralitharan, the new buy, was introduced into the attack, who instantly started causing problems.

Naman Ojha looked uncomfortable and played a ball to the slips where luckily there was’nt any fielder. A quick chat with the bowler made Vettori place Kohli in that position, and such is the expertise of the man, he forced him into playing the same shot again with Virat making no mistake.

Murali had the batsmen under his spell as they tried helplessly to connect with the ball and soon Finch was the next victim of the Sri Lankan. He almost made every new batsman’s padding efforts go in vain as they somehow struggled to survive. And when you have two of the best spinners bowling to you alternately (Vettori and Murali), the run rate moved at snail’s pace.

Soon Maxwell was cramped up to a well bowled delivery which saw the experienced Murali grab three for the night. Even debutant Harshal Patel impressed with variations in pace, proving to be quite a menace to the already troubled batsmen. Mayank Agarwal then, showed Maxwell that taking spectacular catches was’nt his job alone as he came running in from the boundary, dived at full stretch and picked off the ball, inches above the grass to dismiss the next batsmen.

He almost repeated his heroics when the new man-at-crease Irfan Pathan was short of his ground as Mayank’s throw went agonisingly close to the stumps. That would’ve been nearly the “perfect” ending to Pathan’s woeful day.

A twist on the tale seemed to be on the cards as Pathan hammered Murali for two consecutive boundaries. Vettori’s costly 17th over was supporting that, until he got a much needed wicket off the last ball as the scoreboard read 115/6. Just when the match looked to be peeking at a close finish, Pathan’s run out off the last ball of the 19th over, all but determined the result of the game.

So the game ended, with the more consistent side coming out on top, winning the fixture by a comfortable 20 runs and showing they can do the job without the “Gayle storm” hitting the field. The crowd played a huge role as the stadium rocked with the “RCB! RCB!” chants while the players walked off the pitch in jubilation.