IPL 6: RR vs RCB – The Quick Flicks

It was the clash of the Royals in IPL today as Rajasthan Royals took on Royal Challengers Bangalore. Today’s build up was all about Gayle vs Watson. It was also a tale of two captains, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli, with their personalities lying at different ends of the spectrum. Coming back to Gayle vs Watson, both superstars didn’t disappoint their fans today as Chris Gayle made 32 in double quick time while Watson picked up 3 for 22 from his four allotted overs. Shane Watson claimed the wicket of Gayle so it was Watson who won that battle.

Here are some of the highlights of the day:

Virat Kohli’s goof up

There was some confusion about the final XI before the start of the play. AB de Villiers was listed as playing in the XI, according to the television coverage. But at the toss, Virat Kohli said AB had been replaced by Henriques, which would have shocked most RCB fans. But it turned out that Henriques had actually replaced Tillakaratne Dilshan! A mistake by Kohli, and it seems he is finding captaincy too hot to handle!

Chris Gayle sparks but fails to fire  

Chris Gayle showed the sparks of his brilliance today as well, but unfortunately for RCB he got out after making a blistering 34 off 16 balls. It was fitting that Shane Watson got Gayle’s wicket as there was a big build up about who will win the battle – Gayle vs Watson. Chris Gayle needs to perform in the big matches otherwise his critics will be talking about how Gayle can only play against weaker teams, which so far has been true as Mitchell Johnson and co. would happily testify to after they bullied Chris Gayle at Wankhede the other night.

It goes from bad to worse for Virat Kohli

If that goof up at the toss was bad, then what was to come from Virat Kohli on the field was even worse. The RCB captain would surely like to forget this game as quickly as possible as firstly he made a pedestrian 32 off 35 balls, which served the opposition more than his team, and then when it came to fielding he dropped a sitter off the bowling of Ravi Rampaul. After a dream start to his career as the captain of RCB, Kohli is finding it tough, at least away from home. His form with the bat in the last 10 days is also nothing to write home about.

Sanju Samson becomes the youngest to make an IPL fifty

Rajasthan’s Sanju Samson, at 18 years and 169 days, created a new record by becoming the youngest player to make an IPL fifty. Previously, this distinction was held by Shreevats Goswami who scored a fifty when he was 19 years and 1 day old, for RCB at Bangalore way back in 2008. But today it was all about young Sanju Samson, as he was the difference between the two teams. He smashed 63 off 41 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes.

Brad Hodge blitz ensures a Rajasthan victory

For the majority of his career, Hodge remained in the shadows of Australian legend Ricky Ponting and lost his golden days as he could not get in to team because of Ponting. At the age of 38, he seems to have found solace in being a freelance T20 cricketer. He is the highest run-getter in the shortest format of the game. Even today, when he came to the crease, he was under pressure and the asking rate was over 10. But he kept calm and, along with Sanju Samson, brought his team to the brink of victory.