Photographs: BCCI
Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting chose to field on a greenish wicket against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the Indian Premier League match, in Bangalore, on Thursday.
Pacer Mitchell Johnson made most of the early help and bowled Bangalore opener Tillakaratne Dilshan for a duck in the third over of the match.
Bangalore went on to win by two runs off the last ball in a thrilling finish and register their first victory over Mumbai at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.
Kohli falls for 24
Image: Virat KohliPhotographs: BCCI
With Bangalore struggling on nine for one after three overs, captain Virat Kohli decided to break the shackles.
The right-hander charged down the track to Munaf Patel and lofted him down the ground for a six.
In the next over from debutant Jasprit Bumrah, Kohli slammed him for three fours from the first four deliveries of the over before losing his wicket to the young pacer.
Bumrah got one to come in sharply and dismissed Kohli leg before wicket for a quick 24 from 14 balls.
Bumrah's double strike lifts Mumbai
Image: Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Mayank AgarwalPhotographs: BCCI
Bumrah then struck with another wicket in his next over.
Mayank Agarwal tried to chip it over the off-side but ended up offering a simple catch to Sachin Tendulkar at mid-off after scoring just one.
Bumrah also accounted for the wicket of Karun Nair, who was trapped leg before wicket for a duck as he finished with impressive figures of three for 32 in his four overs on debut.
Bangalore were in early trouble at 36 for three after seven overs.
Gayle cuts loose after slow start
Image: Chris GaylePhotographs: BCCI
With wickets falling from the other end, Chris Gayle was cautious at the start of his innings -- he had scored just 10 from 17 balls.
The left-hander cut loose when he hit Bumrah for a boundary through the leg side and then slammed the next delivery straight down the ground for his first six.
Gayle then took his fellow-West Indian Kieron Pollard to the cleaners, hitting him for two boundaries and a six to score 15 runs from his opening over.
Harbhajan impresses with the ball
Image: Ricky Ponting congratulates Harbhajan Singh on taking the wicket of Dan ChristianPhotographs: BCCI
Dan Christian struggled, scoring 4 from 13 balls, before he chipped Harbhajan Singh straight to Johnson at deep midwicket.
Harbhajan made a good contribution with the ball, claiming one for 21 in his four overs.
Gayle on fire despite injury
Image: Harbhajan Singh attends to the injured Chris Gayle after the two players collidedPhotographs: BCCI
Gayle injured his leg when he collided with Harbhajan on his follow through.
He had to receive treatment from the physio and it affected his batting as he was seen limping while running for singles or twos.
But he tried to make up for the injury by attacking the bowlers and hitting as many boundaries as possible.
Gayle's blast lifts RCB to 156
Image: Chris GaylePhotographs: BCCI
Gayle's attacking approach helped Bangalore recover to post 156 for five in their 20 overs.
The hosts smashed 56 runs in their last five overs with Gayle leading the charge as he smashed 92 from a mere 58 balls, hitting 11 fours and five sixes.
Gayle went after pacer Munaf, who he carted for 33 runs in his last two overs.
Ponting, Tendulkar open for Mumbai
Image: Ricky Ponting (left) with Sachin TendulkarPhotographs: BCCI
Veterans Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings for Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai made a slow start, as just four runs came from the first two overs. Tendulkar broke the shackles in the third over as he played Jaidev Unadkat fine on the leg side for a boundary.
In the next over, Ponting charged down the track to Christian and lofted him over long-on for a six.
Tendulkar run out for 23
Image: Sachin Tendulkar is run outPhotographs: BCCI
Tendulkar went after veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, hitting him for back-to-back boundaries over the leg side in the sixth over.
But the Mumbai opener fell in the next over when he was run out for 23 (19 balls) after a misunderstanding with his partner, Ponting.
Ponting falls for 28
Image: Murali Kartik (right) celebrates wicket of Ricky Ponting with wicketkeeper Arun KarthikPhotographs: BCCI
Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik impressed in his first match for RCB.
He claimed the vital wicket of Ponting, who was stumped after a quick 23 from 19 balls, reducing Mumbai to 62 for two after 10 overs.
Kartik had a good outing with the ball, taking one for 24 in four overs.
Rohit fails with the bat
Image: Rohit SharmaPhotographs: BCCI
Rohit Sharma failed with the bat; he was bowled by Vinay Kumar for 11 as he tried to slog it across the line on the leg side but missed.
Karthik hits quickfire half-century
Image: Dinesh KarthikPhotographs: BCCI
Dinesh Karthik brought Mumbai back into the contest with a quickfire 60 from 37 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes.
He smashed Christian for three consecutive sixes followed by a boundary to make it 27 runs needed from the last three overs.
Vinay is RCB's hero with the ball
Image: R Vinay KumarPhotographs: BCCI
With 10 runs needed from the last over, Bangalore handed the ball to the experienced pacer Vinay Kumar.
Vinay struck with the key wicket of Karthik off the second ball of the over, as the right-hander top edged his slog and was caught on the leg side.
Ambati Rayudu was bowled off the next ball for 18 as he tried to play the cut shot but missed.
Kieron Pollard smashed the fifth ball for a boundary down the ground to make it four needed from the last ball.
But Vinay held his nerve and came up with a yorker that Pollard could only stroke to long-on for a single to give Bangalore victory.
Vinay finished with good figures of three for 27, handing Bangalore a narrow two-run victory off the last ball of the match.
Comment
article