This IPL 2022 is proving to be a season for the pacers and the pitches on offer have been offering them plenty of assistance in the powerplay. It has made for compelling viewing as batters have been forced to either go out swinging or buckle down and withstand pressure. The same script played out perfectly in Mumbai as Royal Challengers Bangalore pipped Kolkata Knight Riders in an absolute thriller.
RCB failed to defend 205 in their first game and after having restricted KKR to 128, their innings meandered along and at one stage, they looked stranded and in real danger of stuffing up this chase. However, Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel kept their calm, picked the right deliveries and dragged RCB over the line.
Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first and his bowlers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj rattled KKR’s top order. It was Andre Russell who provided heft in the lower middle order but Wanindu Hasaranga with his four-wicket haul broke the back of the middle order. Harshal Patel then stepped up and picked up two wickets to bundle out KKR for 128.
However, the pitch still offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers and Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee opted for the Test match line and lengths. There was considerable seam movement on offer and Umesh Yadav got rid of Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli with the perfect away swinging ball. Tim Southee too sent back Faf du Plessis after catching his leading edge. There was pressure and some consistent bowling and at one stage RCB needed 67 from 54 balls.
Wickets kept coming, but it was the former KKR captain Dinesh Karthik who stood amidst the chaos and smacked the first ball of the final over for a six to seal the deal. This was after Harshal Patel smacked two boundaries in the 19th over.
After watching the thrilling match, Twitter users were all praise for the fight shown by both teams:
Former India batter Kris Srikkanth said the IPL came alive today.
Irfan Pathan was all praise for Harshal Patel.
R Vinay Kumar seemed to be pumped for Dinesh Karthik.
Suresh Raina hailed RCB’s team performance.
Here are some other reactions:
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