#playbold

It was always going to be Royal challengers Bangalores batting versus the sunrisers Hyderabad . The Chinnaswamy stadium has traditionally been a batsmans paradise and it didn't disappoint this time . David Warner won the toss and chose to field first and I guess that's the one and only point he won . Chris Gayle who has a walk and persona reminscent of Undertaker from WWF walked out along with Virat Kohli - the numero uno of Indian cricket leading from the front literally , figuratively and metaphorically to the loud din of the trumpets at  Chinnaswamy stadium. Chris was done in by a Bhuvanesh kumar special which scraped his thigh pad and poked his stumps .. The undertaker made the long way back to the shed .. And then the ground reverbated with the chants of " AB , AB " . AB is quite popular in Bangalore for his batting pyrotechnics and the way he defies geometry hitting the ball all over the park is a sight for sore eyes . Kohli and AB launched into the sunrisers bowling .. Helped in no small measure by Nehraji returning back to the sunrisers shed injured in the middle of an eventful over. Spinners and Seamers ( if we can call them that in this format of the game ) were treated with utter disdain . Ab using the batting crease , getting his shape ,body balance just right whilst Kohli ran the singles hard and hit the big ones clean and straight . It was a batting display straight out of a movie - poetry in motion in the fastest format of the game . Kohli & AB set the foundation for a strong total allowing the rest of the players to come and express themselves . The pocket sized Sarfaraz khan ( yeah good things in life come in small packets ) capitalised on the opportunity , he expressed himself and how .. Bisecting the fielders & finding the gaps at will during the business end of the first innings taking the team total to 227. This format is extremely unforgiving to bowlers but spare a thought for mustafizur Rahman . It was his bowling guile versus the rcb batsmen with the wily bowler getting two wickets off consecutive balls with his change of pace This lad will do well on batting pitches with his versatility






The south paws - shikhar Gambhir and David Warner had to come to the party and freeload on the shots to chase 228. Shikhar was deceived by a straighter one from the spinner Pervez before he could get his eye in . David as is his wont smoked a few sixes scoring a quick fire fifty  but then a short ball bowled by arguably the best all rounder who can bat at any position did him in Holing out a fielder in the deep . Virat leading the challengers beautifully ... Fielding like a panther inspiring the challengers around him . He brought in the spinners , making bowling changes showing the same kind of urgency he displayed while batting . The leg & off spinners chawal & Rasool got into the act , getting hit for the odd four and sixes buying their wickets with a mean line on a batting wicket. 228 is always a big score to chase and with wickets falling in a hurry . The inevitable had to happen .. The sunrisers 
needed a big partnership and with wickets falling in a hurry it was always going to be difficult .. The sunrisers ended up losing  by 45 runs.

The Royal challengers played true to their motto in the first game of the 2016 season - play bold . Let the drum rolls begin .. 

Virat Kohli - you love him , you hate .. But you just cannot ignore him #wt20

This man with that perfectly manicured facial fuzz has taken the cricketing world by storm with his run scoring acumen.

Hairy issues aside , Virat kohli has made this World Cup t20 2016 his own . He came , he saw and he single handedly conquered .. well almost . He had a platinum run in this tournament and those intense and steely eyes gave us a glimpse of what he is really made of . The unbeaten innings of 55 against the Pakistanis on a rank turner in Eden Gardens was a case study for all batsmen on application. Another masterclass was to follow in the game against the mates from down under , a sublime 82 which had class written all over it . He played shots all across the Mohali ground playing the anchor role to perfection , pacing his innings like a marathoner and when it was time to deliver the counter punch hit  shots which the champion boxer Mohammed Ali would have been proud of . It was not just about fours and sixes but the way the scorpion ran his one's &two's like India's life depended on it speaks volumes about his fitness levels and mental alacrity. Finally the game against the West Indians at Mumbai where Virat once against paced his innings to the t scoring 89 odd runs playing proper cricket shots and picking gaps like an expert surgeon.He almost won this game for us with his batting and his one over as a bowler too but no balls and the West Indians had other plans on that fateful day.

When you look at Virat Kohli in the cricket field .. He is passion personified .. Quite like a gladiator , loving the idea of a challenge in a battle and he will go the whole hog  in spirit and mind to achieve the impossible .This man with his touch , timing and class  can make you win matches from any situation and in this World Cup when the entire nations expectations are on you , he delivered and how bringing his A game to the table . Let's chew on some numbers to get an inkling of what he was all about in #wt20 2016

273 runs in 5 games
Average-136.50
3 half centuries
Strike rate of just under 147
Nominated as Captain of ICC world T20 team of the tournament
Nominated as ICC World T20 men's player of the tournament


Enough said.. I like that glint in Virat's  eyes in the midst of a cricket battle which says "you never win the silver , you only lose the gold "


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