On the odd occasion, even in a T20 encounter, the pitch can have a major say in a match. Sunday was one such affair. Royal Challengers Bangalore, who took on Kolkata Knight Riders at Ranchi, suffered because of the sluggish pitch on offer. Bangalore have some great names in their batting line up, but it is a fact that most of them like the ball coming on to the bat. This clearly wasn’t the case on the surface at they played on against Kolkata, and thus it wasn’t a surprise to see their batsmen crawl. As for Kolkata’s bowlers, it must be said that they bowled all but immaculately.
Right from the start of the game, Kolkata were the dominant side. Gautam Gambhir’s decision to open with the tall Sri Lankan spinner Sachithra Senanayake was a smart one. On the pitch where the ball was stopping and coming on to the batsmen, he maintained a tight leash on Bangalore throughout. The wicket of Cheteswar Pujara that he claimed was a well-deserved one. Not only Senanayake, but Laxmipathy Balaji was also highly effective upfront. The fact that he and Senanayake did not allow Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli to build any sort of momentum speaks volumes of how well they bowled.
To put things into perspective, there were two crucial phases in Bangalore’s innings, which took the game away from their grasp. The first was the abovementioned partnership between Gayle and Kohli, which did not blossom in spite of the amount of time they spent at the crease. The second was the untimely dismissal of Gayle. Well aware that this was not a pitch on which he could put the foot down and blast the bowling around, the tall West Indian played himself in, and was looking determined to bat through the innings when he was stumped. His dismissal cost Bangalore plenty of runs, and possibly the match.
AB de Villiers was another batsman who was capable of turning the game around, but full credit to Kolkata for not allowing him to flourish. The South African was looking threatening having slammed a big six of Balaji, but the bowler was competent enough to get his own back. What Kolkata did very well right till the slog overs was not allow Bangalore any sort of leeway. If Senanayake and Balaji stifled the batsmen at the top, Sunil Narine scythed through the middle and lower order; even Jacques Kallis chipped in a couple of crucial scalps. In short, they was never any sort of respite for Bangalore.
Following his good bowling spell, Kallis also made sure that his team faced no hiccups during their chase on the difficult pitch. Unlike the Bangalore batsmen, he had the game suited to the surface on offer. So even though Kolkata kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Kallis’ presence out in the middle was reassuring for them throughout. For Bangalore, Ravi Rampaul and Vinay Kumar tried their level best, but it was a lost cause for them even before they took the ball in their hands.
Turning point of the game: Gayle being dismissed after labouring for 33 off 36 balls.
--By A Cricket Analyst
