IPL 2018, RCB vs KXIP: Hits and Misses
After being put into bat by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) were off to a blazing start, courtesy of home boys KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.
KL Rahul struck a couple of sixes and a four in the first over, before Mayank Agarwal struck 3 fours in the next two overs, as KXIP made 32 in the first three overs. But a three-wicket over from a fiery Umesh Yadav derailed the Punjab batting.
KL Rahul and Karun Nair rebuilt the innings with a 58-run stand but, the latter’s wicket snatched the momentum away once again. KXIP ended with 155 after Ravichandran Ashwin scored a very good 21-ball 33.
In reply, RCB lost Brendon McCullum off the second ball of the innings. Virat Kohli came in and looked good but, was undone by a brilliant wrong’un from the 17-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
But, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers got the chase back on track with a 54-run partnership. Just when everything was going well for RCB, Ashwin took two wickets in two balls to bring the match back in the balance. But AB de Villiers’ brilliance helped RCB record their first win of the season.
#5 Miss: Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh is arguably one of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball but, he has had an interesting 12 months. He was dropped from the Indian team after his failures in the Champions Trophy and due to fitness issues.
This year, he returned to his first IPL side and his home team, KXIP. In the first game, he struggled with the bat. He scored a sluggish 12 in 22 balls in the chase of 167, as KL Rahul’s fastest ever IPL fifty masked the southpaw’s struggles.
Yuvraj walked out to bat after KXIP had lost two wickets in two balls against an on-song Umesh Yadav. He played a very good cover drive off his first delivery but, it was straight to the fielder. On his third delivery, he hit a pull shot which went just over the fine-leg fielder who was well inside the boundary.
Umesh Yadav then knocked over Yuvraj as the latter’s struggles continued, as he was dismissed for just 4.