AB delivers

South Africans half-century help RCB stub out Kochis challenge

Kerala Ranji Trophy old hand Raiphi Vincent Gomez,and thousands of home fans under the bright lights at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,experienced what big-league Twenty20 cricket is all about. Unfortunately,the first glare of the limelight was a blinding one.

In a span of three balls,Raiphi a known name in this part of the world but largely unnoticed elsewhere went from turning into an unlikely hero in his biggest match to date,to someone who will now be remembered for bowling the most expensive over of the first IPL game hosted on his home soil.

In the third ball of the 18th over Raiphis first and only one of the game well-set Saurabh Tiwary tried to slog one into the stands,but was caught at covers by Mahela Jayawardene. Raiphi,wearing a black headband,seemed more than just pumped up. In the crunch,after being carted for a six off the second ball of this over by Royal Challengers Bangalores AB de Villiers,the local boy was on the verge of turning a close finish in his teams favour. But what followed from de Villierss blade was two consecutive sixes and a Man of the Match award. In all,Raiphi conceded 20 runs in his only over. The torture lasted just five minutes,but it turned the match on its head for good.

Bangalore still needed 33 off 18 when following a discussion between VVS Laxman,Mahela Jayawardene and Parthiv Patel,the ball was thrown to Raiphi. The ploy was perhaps to slow down the pace of the ball with Raiphis gentle medium pace. But the grand occasion,the class of de Villiers and the lack of Raiphis big-match experience,contributed in letting the match slip out of Kochis hands.

Left-arm medium-pacer RP Singh,with Test experience under his belt,also allowed Bangalore to regain control of the chase when he conceded 15 runs in the 15th over of the innings. At that point,with seven wickets still in hand Banglore were favourties,but two tight over from Ravindra Jadeja and Muttiah Muralitharan raised hopes of Kochi scripting a perfect start to their maiden IPL season.

At the top of the order,20-year-old Mayank Agarwal kept the asking rate under control with 33 off 24 after S Sreesanth removed Tillakaratne Dilshan in his second ball of the day to give Kochi a great start. The cheers that followed after Sreesanth picked up the wicket made it feel like Kochi had won the game,but there was a long way to go to actually do so. Tiwary and Virat Kohli played cameos to ensure that Bangalore didn’t wither under the pressure of a stiff 162-run chase.

On paper,Kochi Tuskers Kerala are one of the weaker sides on the field,depending heavily on a couple of Sri Lankan stars. At the auction they spent $1.5 million on Jayawardene,got Laxman for dirt cheap,added the ever-reliable Muralitharan and banked on local hero,the maverick S Sreesanth,to lead the attack. They werent supposed to be fancied. On Saturday night,however,they would like to believe that they came close to changing this perception.

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Heroes for Kochi came in the form of openers,the hard-hitting Brendon McCullum and a surprisingly aggressive Laxman. They added 80 in nine overs to give Kochi a strong start. Sreesanth,who struck in his first over,raised hopes of a grand evening. Exuberant skipper Jayawardene ensured that on the field Kochi were a set of livewires all around.

Bangalores six-wicket win with eight balls to spare doesnt reflect the keenness with which the Kochi team made a match of it. The Kochi owners who were wrangling over ownership patterns before finding a middleground watching from the VIP sofas,were given a lesson in teamwork by the real stars of the IPL,their players. De Villiers spoiled the Kochi party on the night,but KTK and Raiphi will only come out wiser from the experience.