Gayle blitz downs Mumbai
The Royal Challengers Bangalore made light work of a mediocre Mumbai side as they eased to an eight-wicket win in Wednesday's Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore made light work of a mediocre Mumbai side as they eased to an eight-wicket win in Wednesday's Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium.
Having posted a below-par score of 141, Mumbai were always going to be in trouble as the Bangalore batsmen were able to approach the chase without much feverish hitting.
With the required run-rate a touch over seven, openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chris Gayle were able to successfully see off the dangerous Lasith Malinga's extended spell of three overs for just ten runs.
The cautious start never let the asking rate get out of control and, once Gayle got going, the visitors took an iron-clad hold on proceedings.
The loss of Dilshan , adjudged lbw off the bowling of Pragyan Ojha, had little impact as Gayle continued to control the tempo of the game.
The big West Indian welcomed a fine half-century, ending unbeaten on 82, as he and skipper Virat Kohli (36 not out) secured a comprehensive victory with two overs to spare.
Put into bat, the hosts were not able to fully recover from the loss of two early wickets, performing in spits and spurts throughout.
Vinay Kumar was the man who did the damage initially for Bangalore, dismissing James Franklin for one and Rohit Sharma for a duck in his first over.
Sachin Tendulkar added a sedate 24 off 27 balls before Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu combined to give the innings some impetus.
The pair put on 44 for the fourth wicket before Rayudu (22) was caught in the deep off the bowling of Harshal Patel.
Karthik continued to up the rate before yet another double strike left Mumbai struggling.
Muttiah Muralitharan was the architect this time as he dismissed Karthik for 44 and Dwayne Smith with consecutive deliveries.
Had Kieron Pollard, who was sent in surprisingly late, and skipper Harbhajan Singh not been able to take 18 off the final over, the Mumbai total would have been an even tougher one to defend.
The result saw Bangalore climb to fourth spot in the nine-team standings, while Mumbai remained third.
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