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Sharjah in Dubai: Last ball RCB take home against Capitals who are penalized for poor fielding

October 9, 2021
Bharat Times English News

Six runs were needed. One ball left. Avesh Khan Goes for a yorker but sprays it for a wide below legside. This was followed by a full toss and Srikar Bharat tonked it in the night sky. For a moment, it was unclear if it was just height and not distance, but it landed well over the limit to celebrate at the Royal Challengers Bangalore dugout.

Actually, the ball before the wide proved to be important in itself. Bharat has launched a drive towards long-on and appears to be ready for a single. He was Glen Maxwell who not only felt that Axar Patel He was cooking it in the outfield but was also understanding the importance of that run. That single meant Bangalore would need a six off the last ball and had Maxwell kept the strike going with just one single, they would have needed seven. And who knows that without the pressure to block a six, which could have won the game, Khan would not have bowled the next ball wide. So, Maxwell urges Bharat to return on strike – and boy! Did he seize the opportunity in style.

Till that wide and full toss, Khan had kept his heart open. Just like Enrique Nortje did before him. Nortje not only dismissed the openers devdutt padikkal (Caught for the third time again on short ball for another wrong-timed ramp shot) and Virat KohliChasing the target, he bowled the 19th over. Bangalore needed 19 runs in two overs and Nortje conceded just four runs in the final over to keep the game open. Until Bharat decided to seize the moment.

Bharata performs a miandadi

Bharat sensed the pressure of the early wickets and allowed Maxwell to go for it. Whenever Patel came, Bharat was waiting for him. Or it seemed. A six and a four in the powerplay and when the left-arm spinner came in the middle overs, Bharat repeated the dose. He charged up the track to keep the pressure on the spinner, swung the arm-ball quickly and crashed over cover. And when Maxwell was exhausted in the humidity and sweaty, Bharat took over.

The shot that proved he was up to the challenge came in the 17th over. When 39 runs were needed from 21 balls, he took a brilliant pull-off. Kagiso Rabada Over midwicket. Not only did it get him six runs but it signaled to Maxwell that he didn’t need to do the heavy lifting.

Maxwell shines again

After two seasons when he finally admitted to himself and the world that he was suffering from depression and sought medical help, Maxwell 2.0 is going as smoothly as he could have hoped. Over the years, he has faced some criticism for his salary not matching his performance in the IPL. But they have paid off the trust shown by RCB this year and this has been the main reason for them to qualify for the playoffs.

Delhi with smooth palms

If only Delhi had created two relatively easy chances for Patel to be dismissed by Maxwell in the 14th over, the match would not have even reached the last over with all the options. Needing 80 runs in seven overs, the Aussies tried to make up for it against the left-arm spinner. First, Shreyas Iyer A sitter fell on the first ball over deep midwicket. Maxwell then hoisted a reverse sweep and a switch-hit, sweeping only to drop R Ashwin at short-third man. Maxwell then slowed down and swung his way to bring down the required run rate before Bharat made the final touch.

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