Royal Challengers take down Kings XI Punjab in slow chase
AB de Villiers hits fifty to guide RCB to four–wicket win after Umesh’s strikes peg down KXIP
BANGALORE: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday is likely to be remembered more for that one moment of bowling magic than one over of impact, or even the result.
And that was 17-year-old Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rehman conjuring up something beyond his wildest dreams – foxing Virat Kohli with a googly that beat his defence. Mujeeb, the latest among quality spinners Afghanistan is churning out, was bought by KXIP for ~4 crore. Last week, 11 days after celebrating his 17th birthday, he became the youngest to play in IPL, taking 2/28 in the win over Delhi Daredevils.
CONFIDENT APPROACH
His confidence shone through after KXIP skipper R Ashwin, defending just 155, threw the ball to him in the third over.
AB de Villiers took charge though, smashing his 23rd IPL fifty (57 – 40b, 2x4, 4x6) before RCB won. De Villiers hit two big sixes off Mujeeb before holing out to deep point in the 19th over, but by then the team was almost home.
But it was more about bowlers on Friday. Virat Kohli (21) had eased into his innings and was left shell-shocked, and the packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium was left silently admiring the audacity of Mujeeb. Although Brendon McCullum fell first ball to leftarm spinner Axar Patel before Kohli’s dismissal, RCB look set for a romp. However, Ashwin dismissed opener Quinton de Kock (45) with an off-break and new batsman Sarfaraz Khan next ball.
UMESH ROCKS
Umesh Yadav had rattled KXIP after a racy start by striking three blows in the fourth over, reining in the innings after KL Rahul had provided a racy start after Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to chase, as per the trend in IPL 2018.
KXIP had raced to 32 for no loss in three overs when Umesh struck.
He had Mayank Agarwal (15) caught behind, nicking a drive and then trapped Aaron Finch for a first ball duck, the Australia finding no cheer in his first game after his wedding. Yuvraj Singh’s (4) place could be in doubt after a second failure, Umesh Yadav bowling him from around the wicket.