IPL 6: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians - Heroes of the day

The 2nd match of the Pepsi IPL between the Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians was nothing short of an absolute thriller. The fantastic crowd were surely in for a treat when the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chris Gayle were to play in the same match. It was also a test for the young RCB captain Virat Kohli to marshal his resources against a side led by Ricky Ponting, who is one of the greatest captains of all time. And the script could not have been written any better for Kohli, as some tight bowling by his bowlers and electric fielding sealed the nail-biter for RCB on the last ball. Here are some of the stars who had great impact on the game.

1) Chris Gayle : (92* off 58)

Chris Gayle celebrates his half-century

The West Indian giant once again came to the rescue for the red army. It appears as if his form always returns along with the IPL every year. The Jamaican looked in brilliant touch while striking those vintage Gayle sixes, sending the ball flying above the stands. He was timing the ball exquisitely and hit 11 boundaries along with his 5 massive sixes, making a match-winning score of 92 from just 58 deliveries. This was more than half of what the rest of the team managed to contribute. He was also awarded the man-of-the match award for his stupendous performance.

2) Dinesh Karthik : (60 off 36)

The MI wicket keeper had a very good day out in the middle, even though he was not able to guide his side to the winning shores after scoring 60 runs of just 37 deliveries. He looked in sublime form and was striking the ball quite easily into the stands and finding the gaps as well. Although it went in vain, this is definitely a good sign for the Mumbai Indians skipper, Ricky Ponting. He completely shifted the match towards the Mumbai Indians in the 17th over when he struck 3 sixes and one boundary off Dan Christian’s bowling. However, after a valiant effort, he got out in the last over to Vinay Kumar at a vital time and Mumbai were unable to chase down the target in the end.

3) Vinay Kumar : (4-0-27-3)

Vinay Kumar celebrates

The Karnataka born RCB medium-pacer had a day he’ll remember for a long time. With ten runs required in the last over and two set batsmen at the crease, anyone would have placed their bets on the batting team to reach home safely. But this was not what happened, as there was a twist in the tale. He managed to dismiss both of them in the 2nd and 3rd ball of that over, leaving the Mumbai Indians with 9 runs to score off the last 3 deliveries. With 4 runs needed off the last ball and Kieron Pollard on strike, he bowled a fantastic full-length delivery off which Pollard could manage to score only one run. The rest was history, and RCB sealed their first home win against their rivals Mumbai Indians. He also picked up the vital wicket of Rohit Sharma and gave away just 27 runs in the 24 balls he bowled.

4) Jaspreet Bumrah : (4-0-32-3)

The 19-year-old medium-pacer proved to be a surprise package in the match. Despite a bad start to his bowling with Virat Kohli smashing him all over the park with 3 magnificent boundaries, he managed to get him out plumb in the same over with a fantastic in-swinger. Following this, he picked up the wicket of the cameo-specialist Mayank Aggarwal, who was left surprised by his in-swinging bouncer and got caught at mid off. After this, another in-swinger got the wicket of Karun Nair. His unorthodox action coupled with his fantastic ability to swing as well as provide variations certainly troubled the men in red to a great extent.

5) Virat Kohli : ( 24 off 13)

Although he did not bat for a long time, the cameo he played really helped the Challengers to seal the match in the end. When the run rate was around 3.5 runs per over, he came in and accelerated the scoring. Scoring 24 of just 13 balls, he helped in increasing the scoring rate drastically. His captaincy skills impressed as well. The Indian vice-captain showcased some wonderful leadership skills in his bowling changes and field placements, which helped in building up pressure on Mumbai. He also used his resources really well and was successful in defending a total which is considered to be below par in Bengaluru. The team has certainly got an aggressive tinge to it with him as the captain.

6) Arun Karthik : ( 19 off 19, one key stumping and run out)

Arun Karthik in action

What might go unnoticed about Arun Karthik is that he played an important part in giving support to Chris Gayle by holding onto his wicket. He came in when his team was tottering at 80-5 and no one really was supporting the lone battle Gayle was waging at one end. Also, he ran Sachin Tendulkar out using his quick reflexes, and stumped a relatively well-set Ricky Ponting soon after .

7) Murali Kartik : (4-0-24-1)

It was an excellent day of cricket for all the Karthiks in the match today. The Chennai-born RCB spinner bowled at an excellent economy rate, giving away just 24 runs in his 4 overs and was instrumental in building up pressure during the middle overs and increasing the required rate. He picked up the vital wicket of Ricky Ponting too.