Pune quicks defend 161 against RCB
Rising Pune Supergiant's middle order froze on sluggish Chinnaswamy track, losing five wickets for three runs, but their bowlers bailed them out of trouble in emphatic fashion
Rising Pune Supergiant's middle order froze on sluggish Chinnaswamy track, losing five wickets for three runs, but their bowlers bailed them out of trouble in emphatic fashion
Commentator: Alagappan Muthu
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Ben Stokes is the Man of the Match for his 3 for 18, not to mention a spectacular fielding effort late in the innings. "I think we assessed the way the wicket turned when we were batting. So we went into the bowling innings with a better understanding and we executed our bowling plans really really well. We tried to stay away from full deliveries because those were the ones that were hit. Then we slowed it up and hit hard on a good length which was the hardest to hit. I thought we were struggling with our total, but we did excellently with the ball. First few games didn't go to play, we've got some quality bowlers, hoping to build on this. [Great crowd here?]I think wherever you go when Dhoni's in your team is a home ground"
"We were in a pretty good position at one point at 0 for 60. Then we lost our way in the middle, losing 5 for 3. But I thought Tiwary finished off well for us and I thought 160 was par on that wicket, it was slow and up and down," Steven Smith says, "Bowling changes worked out well tonight, it's nice when it works. Had a lot better energy and presence in the field today so it was nice to turn it around. We have some great characters and some really good players. Hopefully this is the start of a little run for us"
"It's very important to find the winning formula," Virat Kohli says, after his team's third loss in four matches. "If we play like this, we don't deserve to win. The last game, we fought hard. Today we let the game go away right in front of our eyes. We have a few things to address. We can't think we can sweep sides away at home. One of the best catches that I have taken ever. Just reflexes. All the training drills go into that. Milne bowled really well, assessed conditions really nicely, just his second or third opportunity in the IPL. Guys coming in have to learn form that, they can't play without intent, without fear. :Last year we had to win four out of four to qualify but that can't happen every time. As professional cricketers, you're playing for a franchise, you're playing in front of a lot of people, we can't keep doing this. Hopefully we can turn things around and the players can take the responsibility"
11.40 pm Pune have the record for the lowest total defended by a visiting team at M Chinnaswamy. It is also their first win batting first in 10 tries. Smith and his men only had 161 on the board. And getting there looked like it took an awful lot out of them. Smith and Dhoni struggled badly, but it seems they had read the pitch a lot better than everyone else, including me, had. Then Manoj Tiwary played a blinder, hitting 27 off only 11 balls to give the bowlers something to defend.
After that, the story was simply Pune and their slower balls. The dew that people expected to come did not. And that meant a pitch that had begun slowing down midway through the match kept slowing up. Some balls even kept low and hitting through the line just wasn't possible. Pune understood it, bowled tons of slower balls, Shardul Thakur even used the knuckle ball to take 3 for 35. Ben Stokes took 3 for 18 off his four overs - and his wickets included Virat Kohli and Shane Watson. It was thought that Pune's threat was only from Imran Tahir, but their quicks have won them this game.
Only 112 runs were scored in the middle overs (7th to 15th) in this match from both innings, the second-lowest in an IPL match at Chinnaswamy where both teams played all those 9 overs.
Smith with a smile of disbelief on his face. Which hat have they pulled this rabbit out of?
Chahal is the last man in
Huzefa: "This IPL it looks like Chinnaswamy and Eden have swapped roles with former being the low and slow while the latter offering pace and bounce to score heavily."
AF Milne b Stokes 2 (9m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66
Ben Stokes for the last over. He has a whopping 30 runs to defend. Four sixes won't do this time
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiant, who have lost three out of four matches each, will face each other in Bengaluru on Sunday
Manoj Tiwary, who struck a crucial 27 to lift Rising Pune Supergiant in their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, said he had carefully watched Shane Watson's bowling and figured out his plan of attack
Daniel Vettori admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore were still struggling to find balance, particularly when it came to the selection of overseas players in the XI
Ben Stokes and Shardul Thakur bagged six wickets between them to help Pune defend 161 against Bangalore
On a pitch where other more established batsmen struggled to go a strike rate above 120, Manoj Tiwary's cameo at 245.45 set up a total Rising Pune could defend