Sports
Kohli, Karthik star as Royal Challengers Bangalore overcome Punjab in style
Virat Kohli’s 100th T20 half-century set the platform as RCB got off the mark with a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday night. Having restricted PBKS to 176/8 in their 20 overs, Kohli made the most of an early reprieve when he was yet to open his account, set up the chase while Dinesh Karthik provided the finishing touches at death to help RCB over the line with four balls to spare.
Despite Dhawan playing a couple of lovely aerial drives, RCB managed to keep a lid on Punjab’s scoring all through the PowerPlay. Yash Dayal got the ball to swing early in a tight new-ball spell, and Siraj accounted for Jonny Bairstow’s wicket. After a couple of pitched-up deliveries that the English opener dispatched to the on-side fence, Siraj pulled his length back and Bairstow miscued his pull in the covers region. Prabhsimram Singh’s positive start set the base for a steady second-wicket stand to follow but RCB were the happier side at the end of the powerplay with only 40/1 on the board.
Maxwell, after the time-out, was welcomed with a boundary by Dhawan and smashed for a six to deep backward square by Prabhsimran but the allrounder managed to cut short the latter’s entertaining knock on 25. It was the extra bounce that did him in as Prabhsimran looked to pull but instead top-edged. Maxwell was in for some more punishment with Liam Livingstone pulling a short ball for four and even managing to clear the ropes despite mistiming his slog-sweep. However, Maxwell began his third over of the middle-overs spell with the key wicket of Dhawan, getting the ball to spin away as the batter gave the charge. This was one ball after Alzarri Joseph made a good comeback from a 10-run opening over to end the Livingstone threat on 17. As RCB continued to chip away, Punjab managed just 71 runs for 3 wickets in the middle-overs period.
Jitesh Sharma drove the half-century partnership with Sam Curran, the highlight of which was the back-to-back sixes off Mayank Dagar in an expensive 17-run over. However, miserly 17th and 19th overs from Joseph and Siraj respectively managed to keep Punjab under the lid for most of the death overs as well. Their 170-plus total was only possible due to a Shashank Sngh blinder in the final over from Joseph that went for 20. The Punjab batter made an excellent first impression in his 8-ball 21, hammering a couple of maximums off a flick and a hook and following it up with a four more.
It was the second ball of RCB’s chase and Kohli was yet to get off the mark when Bairstow failed to hold on to a regulation take at first slip. That drop cost RCB 77 runs starting with the four off the same delivery as the ball raced to the third region. Kohli dealt in boundaries – driving Curran through the covers twice more in the opening over, gave the charge to Rabada for a gorgeous lofted drive and picking three more in Arshdeep Singh’s second over. In just the four overs, Kohli had eight of them to his name, giving RCB control even as Kagiso Rabada removed compatriot Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green for three each. The fifty – 100th in T20 cricket – came off just 31 balls, and Kohli kept bringing out the release shots every time as Punjab managed to pull things back a little. The inside-out six off Chahar after a couple of miserly overs and the pull to welcome Harshal Patel back in the attack helped RCB move on after Harpreet Brar cleaned up Rajat Patidar and sent back Maxwell cheaply. He moved into the 70s with back-to-back fours off Harshal – a full toss down leg and a short one outside off – but the bowler had the last laugh as Punjab sensed an opening.
The seventh-wicket pair both began with boundaries off Curran to catch up with the asking rate. Lomror went after Arshdeep with a six down the ground and a short ball pulled to the fence next in a 13-run over, while Harshal came in the firing line next as Karthik did the same in the penultimate over that also went for 13. With 10 to get off the final over, the experienced finisher polished off the chase in just two balls – a premeditated scoop for a first-ball six followed by a four hammered down straight past the bowler to help RCB collect their first points.
What’s next for them:
Bangalore will host KKR next at home on Friday, whereas Punjab heads back north, to Lucknow, for their second away game on the trot.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 176/6 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 46; Mohd. Siraj 2-26, Glenn Maxwell 2-29) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 178/6 in 19.2 overs (Virat Kohli 77, Dinesh Karthik 28*; Harpreet Brar 2-13, Kagiso Rabada 2-23) by 4 wickets
(Cricbuzz)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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