Four fifty-plus stands of which three have crossed 100 and two in excess of 150 – that’s how good the AB de Villiers-Virat Kohli combo has been thus far in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016. While his partner came out all guns blazing, Kohli was looking to anchor the innings by rotating the strike at regular intervals. De Villiers continued to showcase his gallery of shots even as Kohli was tied down. Pietersen came to the crease at No. 3, but retired hurt after facing only one ball when he hurt his leg taking off for a single.
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To make matters worse for Pune, Steven Smith (4) was run out in the third over by a direct hit from Kohli.
AB de Villiers, who was Man-of-the-Match, for his 83 off 46 balls, said, “It wasn’t easy to get going”. Bangalore defeated Pune by 13 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune yesterday. In four games, the Kohli-de Villiers combine have raked up partnerships worth 157,107, 59 and 155. Faf du Plessis lost his wicket as he was caught by Harshal Patel off Kane Richardson.
MS Dhoni, Pune’s captain, had said Pietersen’s injury could be a blessing in disguise as it allowed them to field an allrounder in his place. Richardson turned out to be the pick of the bowlers for Bangalore with his spell of 3-13.
RCB will take on Gujarat Lions in their next match. KKR, on the other hand, have a great side, and the same side that won the league a couple of years back in 2014, as they chase their record third title.
With just one win in four matches, and placed seventh on the points table, Pune need to do better to ensure a berth for them in the playoff. He gives the team a reliable start, as in the case of the recent World T20 semifinal against the West Indies or the Friday’s game against the RCB, but often fails to convert the starts into match-winning accelerations.
The next three outings, including last night’s against Royal Challengers Bangalore in front of the home crowd, ended in defeats for Supergiants.
Virat Kohli started off slowly but hung in to smash his third fifty in four games as well as a third century stand with AB de Villiers. It is the second highest by any bowler in the season. David Warner (9) is second in the list.
Kohli is not the first IPL captain to cop a fine of this magnitude for not finishing the 20 overs on time. The equation boiled down to 25 off 12 balls.
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De Villiers gets two sixes off junior Ashwin’s over as he reaches 47 off just 22 deliveries.
