CLT20: RCB Qualify With A Last Ball SIX!

In an almost unbelievable CLT20 league match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) chased down a massive total of 214 set by Redbacks, the fifth highest chase in T20 cricket matches. This win has boosted the net run rate for RCB and they qualify for the Semi-finals, ahead of Warriors and Kolkata Knight Riders with whom they are level on points. RCB have been drawn to play the semi-finals with New South Wales (NSW) in Bangalore, on October 7, and with both teams in top form, the semi-final game is certain to be a full-house thriller.

Batting first, Harris launched the assault for Redbacks, scoring 108 in just 61 balls. He was well supported by Fergusson who scored 70 in 43 balls. The bowlers were hammered mercilessly, Aravind and Nannes ending with economy rates of 17.25 and 12.24 respectively.

When Bangalore came out to bat, no one expected them to win. The high target meant a win would automatically qualify them for the semi-finals, thereby ruining the prospects of Warriors. Gayle and Dishan gave them a positive start and they were 65 at the end of the powerpoint 6 overs.

In the first ball of the 7th over, Gayle got out on 26 and Virat Kohli came out to join Dilshan. When these two were in full swing, we got the first indication that RCB could pull off a miracle. At a very crucial moment, Kohli was out in the 16th over and the score read 2/165. RCB still had 50 runs to get off the last five overs.

In the last 5 overs, RCB lost their way and ended up having to score 39 of the last 3 overs. In the 18th over, they lost 3 wickets and the scoreboard read 7/200! With just 3 wickets and 2 overs to go, they had 19 runs to reach an unlikely score. They were down to the tail and Vettori was their only hope. The hosts managed just 5 runs in the 19th over from Tait who had been held back by skipper Klinger to bowl three overs, in the death. It was the best over for Redbacks and the best T20 effort for Tait, whose bowling figures read 4-0-32-5. A 5-wicket haul in 4 overs is a humongous deal in T20, and that’s an understatement!

With 14 runs to score off the six balls, RCB lost Mohammed on the second ball to be 202/8; 12 more runs to get from the last 4 balls. They managed a 4 followed by a couple, leaving 6 to score from the very last ball. The batsman on strike was Arun Karthik and Christian had the dubious privilege of bowling a historic last ball. Arun outguessed Christian and played for a slower one with a predetermined slog and voila – it was a SIX over midwicket! RCB had won! A sea of red and gold -RCB’s colours – descended on the ground, as the home crowd went bersek with joy!

After the match, this is what Arun Karthik had to say about his last ball SIX –

“I just kept it simple, I waited for it to arrive. I knew it was going to be a slower ball, I waited and then gave it my all.”

For the enjoyment of SportingAttitude.com fans, we are posting the video of Arun Karthik’s last ball SIX

AWARDS

Virat Kolhi for his Mighty SIXES (for his 6 SIXES)

Virak Kohli was awarded Man of the Match for his 70 in 36 balls

Tags: Arun Karthik, Gayle, RCB, Redbacks, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Video, Virat Kohli

Category: CLT20, Cricket