Must Win-Mast Win: Review of Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challenger Bangalore

deadly duo

Forecast said it would drizzle, but it rained rather poured heavily in 4s and 6s. The Australian left handed combo was much more determined than expected. It was a must win match for Kings XI to survive in the competition and keep the chances for qualification for playoffs alive. It was a pressure match but pressure shifting on RCB as the game went on which was clearly visible on Virat Kohli’s face(RCB captain). The captain (Adam Gilchrist ) striking 106(55b, 8×4,9×6) accompanied by his partner Shaun Marsh hitting 79(49b, 7×4, 5×6) set up a total of 232 which was the highest total so far in the IPL 2011 season. But the innings said much more.

FEARLESS ATTITUDE

In a must win match, it is expected to play safe but the match demanded not only win but a hike in Net Run Rate. Some years back, in an interview it was asked that what is the secret of Australia being the World Champions and at the top of list for a long time to which the Australians replied by saying “We play different kind of cricket”. This could easily be seen in the temperament of the left handed combo. The clean shots along with deadly blows portrayed their confidence level. The 15^th over bowled by Van Der Wath, the most destructive over of the innings costing 30 runs(3×4,3×6) all hit by Shaun Marsh gracefully and clean. This shows the fearlessness in the batsman who determined to go after every ball. After a slow start Gilchrist paced up the innings with his lifetime experience all put to use.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

The 40 year old man, retired 3-4 years back showed that he still has the passion to cross the ball over the ropes. When the number of sixes hit exceeds the number of boundaries, nothing more can be said. His tremendous experience could be seen the 9 sixes and the way they were hit. If you had seen the match live, you would have noticed the 19^th over when Shaun Marsh was at the strike. The first three balls of the over were dot balls as Marsh was ready to go for a big one every ball but was unable to nick even a single one. Gilchrist came down the pitch and asked him to take a single and let the captain come to face. As expected, the fourth ball went for a single. After coming to strike , Gilchrist hits the ball over the rope for a Six and next ball for a boundary(though it was leg byes). Later on Gilchrist grabbed a wonderful catch and won the Karbonn Kamal catch award.

DEVASTATING VICTORY

After a total of 232 set up, RCB relied on GAYLE, KOHLI and De Villiers to play the same kind of innings as Kings XI. But all in vain. The very first over of the match faced by Gayle ended maiden. The first three bowls of the next over went for wides and it seemed only wides and no balls could make RCB achieve the impossible target. In the second over itself, Gayle fell to the hands of Gilchrist and the beginning of end could be felt. Later on, none of the batsmen proved worthy except De Villiers hitting 34 which was not so good in the context of the game. The RCB fell in the 17^th over ending at 121 and losing by 111 runs. The team at the fifth spot in the score table had beaten the Top team by a tremendous margin and left them devastated. It hardly made a difference to RCB as they had already qualified for playoffs but the loss was no better than a nightmare. In the presentation ceremony, Kohli had nothing to say but to praise the opposition.

RECORD BREAKING MATCH

This match broke the record for the highest partnership in the T20 cricket. It was the second highest runs(111) by which a team had lost in IPL.