IPL 9, Match 48 Review: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers power RCB home

Virat Kohli, the guardian angel of the Royal Challengers Bangalore kept his side’s hopes alive with yet another virtuoso half century that saw his side secure a 9-wicket win. Kohli was joined by his partner-in-crime AB de Villiers as the latter also threaded a fine 50, a knock that almost single-handedly secured the IPL title for the Challengers. Nevertheless, the spotlight was well and truly on Virat Kohli as the latter secured the highest run aggregate by an individual in the tournament’s history.

Virat Kohli won only his fourth toss from 12 tosses he has featured in the IPL and invited his compatriot Gautam Gambhir to have a bat first. Needing nothing less than a win to keep their playoffs hopes alive, it was perhaps the right decision from the point of view of Virat Kohli. The target setting went awry for the home team as Iqbal Abdulla picked up Robin Uthappa in the first over of the match. The crowd at the Eden Gardens went silent as Uthappa walked back with his head down.

However, no one could account for the unprecedented partnership between skipper Gautam Gambhir and his colonel Manish Pandey. Initially, the duo found it difficult to get the RCB bowlers away. However, a few deliveries and hoicks to different parts of the Eden Gardens saw the duo settle themselves rather perfectly at the middle. Pandey initially proved to be the aggressor of the innings as he swept the RCB spin twins Abdullah and Chahal into the stands at will and with a stern authority.

Even the likes of Chris Jordan and Shane Watson did little to stop the dangerous pair. They smashed the ball with authority, adding a valuable and quickfire 76 off just 50 odd deliveries. Both batsmen got to half-centuries before a rush of blood from Gambhir saw him sent back to the dugout for 51. Pandey also failed to build on his 50 runs he scored as he was caught by AB de Villiers at long-on. The situation was thrown into a crisis when Yusuf Pathan was stumped by KL Rahul after scoring just the four runs. 118-4 with barely a few overs left certainly painted a bad picture at the time for the Knight Riders.

However, once again, the Challengers didn’t account for the impact that could have been made by West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell. Russell took the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners. Russell slammed 39 runs in just 19 balls including 2 boundaries and 3 sixes was simply phenomenal. He put the icing on the cake as far as the Knight Riders were concerned. Shakib Al Hasan also chipped in with a useful 18 off just 11 deliveries as the Knight Riders reached a score of 183-5 in their quota of 20 overs.

Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli walked out in a bid to chase the mammoth 183 runs with the rain threatening to make its intervention. However, the rains held back, and I’d like to think it was to watch a genius in action. Chris Gayle hadn’t crossed the divine and psychological figure of 10 runs in his last few innings. However, as Glenn Miller once jazzed, Gayle was ‘In the mood’. The rhythmic notes of his amazing six hitting prowess flew from his bat. He was going to make a difference today. And he did. He slammed 49 in 31 deliveries before being trapped by his countryman Sunil Narine.

In accordance with American folklore, Bonnie was reunited with Clyde. As AB de Villiers walked in, the cheer of the crowd slowly turned to a moan. They knew what they were dealing with. The Proteas skipper got straight down to business, and the twos started flowing in. Virat Kohli was playing the long game as he always does as de Villiers clobbered the ball with the meaty blows he always does.

Despite the best chasers in the world plying their trade, the pressure was on. However, a six over the mid-wicket fence saw the target trimmed well below six an over. The duo put on 115 runs for the second wicket with Kohli and de Villiers remained unbeaten on 75 and 59 respectively. Without much of a doubt, Virat Kohli was adjudged the man of the match.

Brief Scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 183/5 in 20 overs (Gambhir 51; Aravind 2/41)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 186/1 in 18.4 overs (Kohli 75*; Narine 1/34)

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli

How did Twitter react to the game? – Twitter Reactions: Gayle, Kohli and ABD storm RCB to a dominant victory