Rishabh Pant ,the south paw who announced his arrival in IPl 2017 with a six has the kind of presence which Sir Vivian Richards will be proud of . His half century was worth its weight in gold ..coming in the circumstances it came in because of a personal bereavement , it deserved nothing less than a win . The rest of his team mates though seemed happy to be in the dugout playing musical chairs with each other losing wickets in a flurry , trying to become millionaires with their shot selection.
Royal Challengers Bangalore with the kind of support they get across the globe and in a city which was once known as the pensioners paradise came to the party at last. The absence of the charismatic Virat Kohli , the hard working KL Rahul and ABD - the man who defies geometric conventions with his audacious shots were sorely felt. It's also an opportunity for the other lesser known team members to make their presence felt and like that line in the trippy movie - Sholay-"Loha Garam hain mar do hatoda" loosely translated as "strike the iron when it's hot" .. Kedhar Jadhav did just that . He played unconventional shots all across the park racing to 69 off just 37 balls giving the Bold army the impetus to cheer the home side all the way through. RCB ended up with 157 for the loss of 8 wickets and from the looks of it on a batting paradise like the Chinnaswamy Stadium one felt they were 20 -30 runs short .. but then destiny has other plans.
The Delhi innings was all about Pant .He showed a lot of heart and spirit to fight till the end whilst his team members did not show the alacrity to partner with him to weather the Rcbian bowling which was top notch. RCB was in control of the game right throughout making the moments count . The spinners making the ball mumble a bit , the pacers with sheer pace and variations unsettling the Delhi batsmen. 21 runs were needed off the last 2 overs and the penultimate over bowled by Shane Watson was a template on how to bowl right at the death . He gave nothing away and Amit Mishra swishing his blade like Zorro in thin air managed just two runs . The last over was a master stroke by the captain , he gave the ball to left arm spinner Negi . 19 needed off the last over and Pant tried hitting Negi out of the park ended up losing his leg stump and the game was in Royal Challengers Bangalore's pocket. This win could just be the shot in the arm for RCB to kick start their winning ways and let their numerous fans across the globes rejoice with cheer and unbridled excitement
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