Every IPL you have one innings from Yusuf Pathan that sets the tournament ablaze. Yusuf Pathan chose a Monday night against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in front of a packed M Chinnaswamy stadium to make that statement come true. It almost got back flashes of 2014 when he single handedly dismantled the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens with a whirlwind 70 odd to get them home to a crucial win.
This night, the venue and the opposition was different this time around but the result was the same. Pathan power was on full display as he downed RCB with his batting might with a 29-ball 60 to guide them to a 5-wicket victory. Chasing 190 for victory two batting power houses of KKR showed what brute force can do to a bowling attack and a steep target. Both Pathan and Andre Russell mind you were found wanting against spin at a stage when they were 69/4 at one stage with 121 more require from the last ten.
Yuzvendra Chahal who probably bowled the ball of the season so far to get Chris Lynn out bowled in the fifth over was back to imposing questions off the power pair. Both struggled, failed to read his deliveries as the lanky spinner mixed up his pace and length to get them puzzled in the middle. To make matters worse, KL Rahul behind the stumps had a torrid time in one particular over, the 14th which had Russell and Rahul likewise clueless. He missed a stumping chance and in the process gave away 4 byes and let off another one down the leg side to give five wides. The agony was there to be seen, the game had slipped out of RCB’s hands – quite literally.
Chahal though came back to get Russell out caught in the 18th over but the damage had been done by then as he had already powered 17 in one over off Tabraiz Shamsi after being let off behind the stumps. Pathan went severe post the final strategic time out and it took all but one over off Shane Watson in the 17th to tilt the game completely in favour of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He muscled 24 runs in that over drawing the equation down to 23 required off the final three. He didn’t have Russell to accompany him after that after Russell (39) fell to Chahal but Pathan was there waiting with a club in his hand to thrash anything that came his way. The 19th over of Shamsi summed up the game for KKR as Pathan and Suryakumar Yadav scored 16 with just one required in the final over.
Yadav hit the winning runs; there were fist pumps all around on those 22 yards and elation in the KKR dugout. RCB captain Virat Kohli who had scored yet another half century for his team was the first one to shake hands with Pathan. Well, even the greatness of Virat acknowledged the brute force called Yusuf Pathan. That KKR had faltered yet again at the death overs after being impressive in the first 15 during the RCB innings and Sunil Narine had an off day was all forgotten for a moment. All courtesy one man who was there right till the end to see his side through to the finishing line – Yusuf Pathan.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 185/7 (Virat Kohli 52, KL Rahul 52, M Morkel 2/28)
Kolkata Knight Riders: (Y Pathan 60*, A Russell 39, Y Chahal 2/27) by 5 wickets.
Man of the match: Andre Russell for his impressive bowling performance and 24-ball 39.
