Bangalore lose to Bhajji-led MI

RCB made no changes to their playing eleven.

MI made one change to their playing eleven – Rudra Pratap Singh made way for Pragyan Ojha.

On winning the toss, Harbhajan Singh, MI’s skipper, chose to field.

The start of play was interrupted by rain.

The first Powerplay of RCB’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 40, and lost a couple of wickets.

Chris Gayle, who faced eight balls, scored half-a-dozen. His runs came by way of a six. Fourteen balls into the match, Munaf Patel broke the eight-run stand.

The second-wicket pair put on three. Virat Kohli, who faced a ball, scored three. A couple of balls later, Herschelle Gibbs ran him out.

Saurabh Tiwary, whose 16-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, scored 21. Twenty-three balls later, he was dismissed hit wicket by Harbhajan, who broke the 36-run stand.

RCB scored 50 off 7.5 overs (50 balls). MI had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

De Villiers, whose 13-ball innings included A Boundary, scored 14. (Lasi)Thirty balls after Tiwary’s dismissal, he was caught by Malinga. Kieron Pollard broke the 30-run stand.

RCB scored 100 off 14.1 overs (88 balls). MI had conceded 11 extras at that point.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose 50-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 47. Thirty-six balls after de Villiers’ dismissal, Rudra Pratap Singh broke the 46-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair put on a run. Vinay Kumar, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. A couple of balls later, Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik ran him out.

RCB scored 150 off 19.1 overs (118 balls). MI had conceded 14 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Mayank Agarwal’s half-century – which included five boundaries and three sixes – came off 26 balls.

He scored 64 off 30 balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries and four sixes. He was unbeaten, as was Zaheer Khan, who faced three balls, scoring a run.

RCB scored 171 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets off 20 overs.

Smith, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 10. He was wicketless, as was Malinga, who bowled four overs, conceding 29.

Harbhajan and Pollard bowled three overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 33, the latter conceded 20.

Patel and Rudra Pratap bowled three overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. While the former conceded 54, the latter conceded 23.

The first Powerplay of MI’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 32, and lost three wickets.

MI’s openers failed to get off the mark. Tendulkar, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. Five ballS(ach)into the chase, he was caught by Kohli. Khan broke the two-run stand.

The second-wicket pair put on a couple. Gibbs, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a couple. Three balls later, Tiwary and K P Appanna ran him out.

Although his innings included a boundary, Rohit Sharma had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored five. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Vinay, who broke the 15-run stand.

Karthik, whose 14-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 16. Twenty-five balls later, he was caught by Patel. Muttiah Muralitharan broke the run-a-ball stand.

MI scored 50 off 8.4 overs (52 balls). RCB had conceded five extras at that point.

Smith, whose five-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Half-a-dozen balls after Karthik’s dismissal, he was caught by Dilshan. Needless to say, Harshal Patel was in seventh heaven.

Sixty-seven balls (11.1 overs) into MI’s innings, the floodlights failed. They had scored 75, and lost five wickets at that point. While Ambati Rayudu, the player of the match, had scored 27 at that point, Pollard had scored 14.

MI scored 100 off 14.2 overs (86 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave RCB no reason to be in seventh heaven.

The sixth-wicket pair put on 50 off 34 balls. While Rayudu’s contribution to the partnership was 30, Pollard’s contribution to the partnership was 18. Extras’ contribution to it was five.

Rayudu’s half-century – which included five boundaries and a six – came off 41 balls.

MI scored 150 off 18.1 overs (109 balls). RCB had conceded 10 extras at that point.

The sixth-wicket pair put on 100 off 57 balls. While Rayudu’s contribution to the partnership was 62, Pollard’s contribution to the partnership was 36. Extras’ contribution to it was five.

Pollard’s half-century – which included five boundaries and three sixes – came off 31 balls.

Rayudu eventually scored 81 off 54 balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries and four sixes. He was unbeaten, as was Pollard, who eventually scored 52.

RCB eventually conceded 11 extras. MI, who scored 173 for the loss of five wickets off 19.4 overs, won by five wickets with a couple of balls to spare.

Appanna, who bowled an over, conceded 19. He was wicketless, as Gayle, who bowled 2.4 overs, conceding 39.

Vinay, Khan, Harshal and Muralitharan bowled four overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. They conceded 36, 34, 25, and 16, respectively.