When Pune Warriors India last met Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, they learned that Chris Gayle in full flow is an irresistible force.
Yesterday, it was AB de Villiers’ turn to give a hitting exhibition, stroking the ball to any part of the ground that caught his fancy as Bangalore registered their first away win of the season. His cultured hitting outshone a valiant half-century by Robin Uthappa, who almost single-handedly kept Pune in the hunt.
While Uthappa distributed his runs equally, Ashok Dinda faced the brunt of de Villiers’ refined bludgeoning, hit for 26 runs off the final over of Bangalore’s innings after they chose to bat. What looked like a good score turned into a daunting187 for 3, with de Villiers unbeaten on a 23-ball 50. That was enough to complete a 17-run win, and consign Pune to a sixth straight defeat.
Immediately after the Power play overs, Pune would have been forgiven for thinking they had won half the battle, when Chris Gayle, their tormentor-in-chief, fell to a leading edge off T Suman for 21 off 21 balls. That left Bangalore at 36 for 1 in 6.3 overs. However, Saurabh Tiwary, who had come out to open the innings in a surprise move, and Virat Kohli prevented a collapse with a good 63-run stand.
Tiwary ended up playing a quite different role, doing duty as the innings’ anchor. He finished with 50 off 42 balls, and when he fell, the stage was set for de Villiers to do his thing. Moises Henriques, who contributed 27 not out off 13 balls, also played an important part in the unbroken fifth-wicket stand that yielded 68 in just 29 balls.
Pune needed their top order to fire to make a good fist of the target, but Aaron Finch (15) and Yuvraj Singh (16) both fell cheaply. Uthappa fought a lone battle, and he wasn’t helped by Pune’s strange tactic of persisting with Suman at No.3, ahead of Yuvraj and the returning Angelo Mathews.
Uthappa and Mathews then got on a roll and started to make Bangalore sweat. Uthappa rediscovered his six-hitting side, while Mathews, who had relinquished the captaincy in favor of Finch, looked in good touch for the first time in the tournament.
The duo put on 63 in 33 balls, with both particularly harsh on Muttiah Muralitharan. At 144 for 5 in 16.2 overs, it was all down to Uthappa. The decisive blow was struck by Murali Kartik. After that, Pune’s resistance ended, and with it even mathematical hopes of making it to the playoffs.
n FROM: WISDEN INDIA
De Villiers helps RCB overcome Pune Warriors
