Medium pacer Vinay Kumar produced a dream final over to shatter Mumbai Indians’ dreams. Needing 10 runs to win, they lost two wickets and with four to be got off the last ball, they managed just one and Royal Challengers Bangalore triumphed by three runs in their IPL cricket clash.
If Mumbai Indians debutant made a dream debut with three scalps, Mumbai skipper Ricky Ponting realised his dreams of opening with Sachin Tendulkar.
The one-two of cricket batting records were cruising when Sachin was run out and Ricky was stumped after they had put on 52 runs for the opening wicket.
But Dinesh Karthik brought Mumbai close to a dream victory with a brilliant knock of 60 off 37 balls.
He clouted Daniel Christian for three huge sixers when 51 were needed off 24. It came down to 27 off 18 and 17 off 12. Finally it was 10 off six. Vinay had Dinesh caught by Mayank Agarwal at deep square. He sent Ambatti Rayadu’s off stump flying with a low delivery. On a hattrick, Harbhajan denied him the same. It was eight off 2 and Keiron Pollard got four. It was four off one but Pollard managed only one and RCB exploded in joy even as Mumbai Indians managed to realise some dreams and had many others shattered eventually.
Earlier it was about a limping Chris Gayle remaining unbeaten with 92 runs containing 11 fours and fives sixers in RCB’s 156. But it was more about how a debutant rose from being reduced to a nervous wreck to shake the foundations of the opponent batting line up.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai Indians’ medium pacer was making his debut. In his very first over RCB skipper Virat Kohli swung him for three fours. With two legends Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Ricky Ponting coming around to pat him and bolster his confidence, Jaspreet angled one into Kohli and wrapped him on the pads. The Punjabi bowler who plays for Gujarat bent low and appealed with all the force he could muster. The finger then slowly went up as Virat walked back.
Jaspreet then celebrated and had his tails up. Confidence restored, the lad bowled with a lot more purpose and accuracy in the next over and soon picked up two more wickets to reduce RCB to 59 for 3. Mayank Agarwal holed out Jaspreet to Sachin at mid-off and then he trapped Karun Nair leg before first ball. He had not just done the damage but had made a very satisfying and fruitful debut. He ended up with figures of 3 for 32 off his quota of four overs.
The presence of Chris Gayle at the other end did not deter him and he pegged away to achieve tremendous success. Gayle could easily have forced him off the attack as he did with countryman Keiron Pollard whom he swung for two fours and a six.
Prashant Parameshwaran had Gayle clout him for five sixers in one over. But this was Jaspreet’s day. Probably, the injury to Lasith Malinga proved to be a blessing in disguise.
But somehow RCB failed to take advantage of Malinga’s absence losing wickets regularly.
In trying to go for a return catch that Daniel Christian offered, Harbhajan collided with Gayle. Both went down in a heap and Gayle suffered a muscle injury forcing him to curb his aggression and play around what with wickets falling too. But Gayle produced a rather unhurried yet charaterestic knock as he lost no chance to flog them around.