Super Giant dampner on Bangalore’s play-off hopes
Formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore led by India captain Virat Kohli became first team to be thrown out of contention for play-offs after a humiliating 61 -run defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in an Indian Premier League encounter, here on Saturday. Although the RCB bowlers managed to keep the Pune batsmen under a tight leash restricting them to 157 for three but another shoddy batting performance saw them finish at a dismal 96 for 9 after 20 overs.
While Pune kept themselves in contention with their fifth win in nine games, RCB are practically out of the tournament with their seventh defeat in 10 games and only five points in their kitty. Pune bowlers rose to the occasion defending a sub-par total with a controlled bowling performance. Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/18 from four overs, while Lockie Ferguson claimed 2/7 in four overs to claim the Man of the match award. This is one of the rarest occasions when a team has been bundled out below 100 runs twice in the Indian Premier League. RCB were shot out for 49 by KKR in an earlier game in the tournament. Chasing a modest 158, Bangalore just kept losing wickets despite skipper Kohli holding his ground at one end. Apart from Kohli, who came up with an uncharacteristic 48-ball-55, studded with four boundaries and a six, none of the other RCB batsmen could reach the doubledigit mark. Brief Scores: Rising Pune Supergiant vs Royal Challengers Bangalore RSP: 157/3 (Steven Smith 45, Manoj Tiwary 44, Imran Tahir 3/18).
RCB: 96/9 (Virat Kohli 55, Pawan Negi 1/18).