Pollard crashes Kohlibadree party An IPL first: Two hattricks in a day
Windies star hammers blistering 70 to help Mumbai overcome Kohli’s fifty and Badree’s hattrick
Kieron Pollard’s power-packed 47-ball 70 guided Mumbai Indians to a four-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore despite Samuel Badree’s hattrick on RCB debut in a low-scoring IPL match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.
Asked to bat after losing the toss, Royal Challengers Bangalore could only score 142/5 in their quota of 20 overs. Mumbai Indians, once reduced to 33/5, overtook the target with seven balls remaining.
RCB captain Virat Kohli scored a 47-ball 62 after returning from a shoulder injury but the home team still managed a subpar score at one of the smallest grounds in India. Samuel Badree however gave the visitors a good chance to win with a hattrick in only his second over of this match as he dismissed Parthiv Patel, Mitchell Mcclenaghan and Rohit Sharma.
This was after Stuart Binny got rid of English opener Jos Buttler in only the previous over for just 2. Mumbai Indians slid into bigger trouble when they lost their top-five after Nitish Rana’s dismissal with the team score reading 33.
But Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya got together to stitch a 93-run partnership for the sixth wicket that got Mumbai Indians to within 17 runs of victory. In the process, Pollard scored 70 off 47 balls, helped by three boundaries and five towering sixes. Krunal Pandya (37*) however took on the reins of the chase after Pollard’s dismissal as he safely guided Mumbai Indians to a four-wicket victory with brother Hardik (9*) at the other end.
The victory should have come much easier given the way Mumbai were able to keep Royal Challengers Bangalore to a below-par score.
While bowling, Mumbai Indians gave RCB large vacant areas in the infield, posted fielders at boundaries and tried to cut down the pace on the ball as much as possible.
It worked like a charm. Not only did RCB struggle to score swifty at the start, but Chris Gayle’s wait to hit the 10,000 run mark in T20 cricket also stretched to the next match.
His arduous 27-ball innings of 22 ended while trying to power a pull off Hardik Pandya but the big Jamaican only got a faint edge.
What punched holes in RCB’S sails however were the quick dismissals of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Kohli looked good in his 47-ball 62 but fell prey to clever field placements as he hit Mitchell Mcclenaghan straight to Jos Buttler at deep extra cover in the 16th over.
Apart from the third and the 14th overs when Mumbai Indians conceded 17 and 19 runs respectively, Royal Challengers failed to get any momentum in the form of big hits at a small ground.
When it rains, it pours. And Friday was a day of hattricks in the Indian Premier League. West Indies leg spinner Samuel Badree made a memorable debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore by taking three-inthree versus Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
In the night, it was the turn of an Australian pacer from Perth, Andrew Tye, who made a massive impression for Gujarat Lions on his IPL debut by grabbing a hattrick against Rising Pune Supergiant, finishing with a superb 5/17.
Badree dismissed Parthiv Patel, Mitchell Mcclenaghan and skipper Rohit Sharma off consecutive deliveries in the third over, in his happy hunting ground.
The spinner took 3/12, striking thrice in 10 deliveries, in the World T20 win over Sri Lanka last year in Bangalore. However, his Trinidad teammate Kieron Pollard rallied MI to victory with a blistering half-century.
Mumbai Indians pacer Mitchell Mcclenaghan said Badree has been a world class bowler for a long time.
“That (hattrick against us) was a terrible thing for a start. Badree is a world class bowler for a long time. He took a hattrick in this match and put us on the backfoot, and almost put us on a position where there was no way back,” he said.
LONG WAIT
Perth-based Tye had to wait three years to get his maiden IPL match. And when it finally arrived, the 30-year-old made it unforgettable. Tye removed Ankit Sharma (25), Manoj Tiwary (31) and Shardul Thakur (0) with the first three deliveries of the final over.
Ankit Sharma holed out to square leg, and Tiwary, who missed the last match following his father’s death, went next with Thakur bowled for zero on his debut for RPS. Tye marked a dramatic turnaround for Lions, who took only one wicket in the first two matches together. Still, Tye’s figures are only the ninth best IPL bowling. Two have taken six wickets, Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir and Aussie leg spinner, Adam Zampa. Tye’s is the seventh best among five wicket hauls.
There have been 16 hattricks in the IPL, with 13 bowlers accounting for them. Delh Daredevils leg spinner, Amit Mishra, has taken the most hat tricks, three.
The IPL hattrick heroes’ list includes Yuvraj Singh, who achieved the feat twice for Kings XI Punjab, against RCB and the now-defunct Deccan Chargers Rohit Sharma did it for DC against MI, all three hattricks coming in 2009.