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Flops of the Day
S Sreesanth (2 no balls and a dropped catch)
Often a risky hit-or-miss bowler, he features as both a hero and a villain in this game. Bowling a front foot no-ball in a 20-20 game is criminal. Bowling two, is a sin. Sandwiched between these was an absolute dolly from AB de Villiers that he dropped on the sweeper cover boundary.
Ajinkya Rahane (2 off 7)
Rahane set high standards last season and has been unable to match the same this year. Playing out 4 dot balls from Rampaul, he mistimed a pull off the 5th and was caught at fine leg.
AB de Villiers (Dropped once, not twice)
Having been dropped on the sweeper cover boundary in the previous over, he attempted the same loft in the next over. This time the fielder made no mistake and took a comfortable catch and de Villiers departed at a crucial stage.
Murali Karthik (0 for 32 in 3 overs)
Unfit for the last game, young Sanju Samson welcomed this veteran back with an inside-out six over cover. That can happen to the best of spinners they say. The problem was, Karthik couldn’t adjust and Samson calmly did it again on the next ball.
Heroes of the Day
S Sreesanth (Wicket maiden)
You can’t keep him out of the game, can you? A villain till then, Sree got a reprieve for his dropped catch as ABD repeated the same shot in the 13th over. To follow up, Sree bowled 5 more dot balls for a wicket maiden.
Ravi Rampaul (2 for 28)
Ravi Rampaul has added a little bit of experience to the RCB lineup. He got his length perfect today for the first 3 overs and picked up the wickets of Rahane and Samson with back of the length deliveries. Unfortunately, he went full in the final over and Hodge hammered him over long-off twice to pretty much end the game.
Shane Watson (3 for 22 and 41 off 31)
He first won the battle of the big guns, dismissing Gayle in his first over. There was hardly a celebration, as his job was still not done. With the Royals not playing Cooper, Watson had to be on top of his game and this time he delivered the best figures in the game, also picking up Kohli in the 16th over. With the bat, he didn’t look as fluent as in the last 2 games but played the supporting act in partnerships with Samson and Hodge.
Sanju Samson (63 off 41)
From where Rahul Dravid keeps on pulling out these young gems is anybody’s guess. At 18 years and 169 days, he is the youngest player to score a half century in the IPL. The highlight of Samson’s innings was not just the way he lofted Bangalore’s bowlers over the infield or the two inside-out sixes he hit off Murali Karthik. It was the way he timed his innings, and went from being a mere pinch hitter in the Powerplay to playing proper cricketing shots and being the senior partner in the partnership with Watson. A player to watch out for.
Virat Kohli and Stuart Binny (Cool heads in the last over)
Kohli led from the front in the field and gave RCB a glimmer of hope with his run out of Owais Shah in the last over. Stuart Binny though had other ideas, and perfectly picked Vinay Kumar’s slower ball to win the game for the Royals.
