Sports

Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik’s breath-taking shots light up Wankhede in high-scoring MI vs RCB clash

April 12, 2024
S K Mittal

Synopsis: Not many would be surprised that RCB are rapidly sinking out of the IPL 2024. They have had one batsman in Virat Kohli, they really don’t have any quality bowlers, and though Dinesh Karthik stepped up today after a rare Kohli failure to set a 197-run target, the writing was always on the wall, especially with the night dew sweeping in on a flat track.

“As a bowling unit, we don’t have many weapons. It then comes down to our batsmen. We lack penetration from a bowling perspective. We batsmen have to get to 220…” Faf du Plessis would echo the worst-kept secret in IPL about his team at the end of a severe hammering.

Ishan Kishan kept quiet for the first five balls in the first over of the chase, taking just a single. That was the only time RCB’s bowlers seemed to have a plan with Reece Topley swinging the ball away from the left-hander with a packed off-side field. Ishan must have known that he wouldn’t have to wait for long before RCB themselves opened the floodgates for him and it was Mohammad Siraj who obliged with lots of tripe to threaten his T20 world cup spot.

What’s the ball that Ishan would dream of when he is on just one run from 7 balls in a supposedly big chase? One on the legs, please. Siraj offered two in a row, one of which was thrown back from deep backward square-leg stands. Topley then caught the bug and offered full-pitches that were scythed for three boundaries – one flew past a diving Glenn Maxwell at slips- and Ishan and Mumbai were up and running.

Was Siraj done with the gifts? No, for he offered three short balls to Ishan next over, and two sixes and a four resulted. The second six was a beauty: it was short all right but seemingly not much room, but he arched back, created room, and slashed it up and over point. Rohit Sharma’s expression as he walked towards his partner showed how impressed he was with that shot. And when Ishan collected a couple of fours and a six from the final over of powerplay bowled by Maxwell, Mumbai Indians were 72 for 0 and the game was over bar the formalities.

Suryakumar pulls and slices

One of those formalities was served in some style by Suryakumar Yadav, who was playing his second game of the season and celebrated it with his fastest IPL fifty ever. It was a highlight reel from his past with two shots used liberally. The pulls and the heaves to the leg side regardless of the line of the ball and the sliced drives as he would let his hands fly. The seamer Akash Deep was the one who bled the most, craning his neck to see balls that he thought he had delivered safely outside off disappear to the leg side as Surya unleashed his wristy carnage. Against the left-handed Topley, Suryakumar chose to go on the off side with fierce slices, one of which flew over backward point boundary. Just so that Topley shouldn’t think that he can only carve through the off side, Suryakumar pulled a slower ball over midwicket to bring up the fifty off his 17th delivery. He fell, slapping a full toss from Vijaykumar Vyshak to deep point and even as the DRS reviews were on to check the legality of the ball, Suryakumar sauntered off the field, chuckling away. That’s how intense or rather lack of it was apparent in the 197-run canter of a chase as RCB bowlers tanked collectively.

DK’s memorable scoop-laps

It’s truly shuddering to think what would have happened had Karthik not pulled off his best knock of this season. Jasprit Bumrah had jolted Bangalore by taking out Virat Kohli in the second over of the innings, as the premier RCB batsman went for a big swish across the line and could only feather a nick off the inner edge. Rajat Patidar and du Plessis attempted a brave revival but Patidar fell and Bumrah returned to take out the opposing captain to end with a five-for.

There were four fours from Karthik in the 16th over off Akash Madhwal and three of those are likely to get a few hits on the IPL site. Each four bested the previous. Each four went to third man, and that direction itself was the chief highlight of the triple strike. The first was a low dipping full toss outside off and Karthik flipped his bat-face towards the off, and scooped it up and to third man boundary, as it was the easiest thing in the world. In hindsight, it was the easiest of the three.

Festive offer

The next ball was wider outside off and landed too, but somehow Karthik not only reached out, but also did the bat-flip at the most opportune time possible to make it a plank for the ball to ricochet off it to third man fence. In the meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, standing at covers, was already agog, trying to catch the attention of his captain Pandya perhaps to have someone plug that hole. Maybe, maybe not. Then came a slower ball from Madhwal but Karthik waited and waited before doing his bat-face-flip to guide it exactly between the two diving men: the wicketkeeper and the short third. There was one more boundary off the last ball as he sliced a full ball to wide third man boundary. All that effort only helped the game a bit longer and allowed the home fans to enjoy a heavy shower of boundaries in the chase.

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