| 0.0 : You will hear all matches promising to be exciting, it becomes a bit of a cliche. But, today is certainly one of those days, and I'm going to tell you why. The bottom half of the table is tensing up and there's no room for any slip-ups. When there's so much on the line, you can expect the two teams in question go play from their skins, especially given the kind of characters available on show today. Hello and welcome for Match 34 of this tournament. |
| TOSS - BANGALORE WIN THE TOSS AND ELECT TO FIELD FIRST! |
| Virat Kohli says they will bowl first. Mentions the wicket tends to play well under lights and during the day it plays different. When asked about their patchy run, adds they should take it in their stride and should keep the belief as they did it last season as well. Wants his team to have fun and just give it their best. Mentions there are three changes - Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh and Aniket Choudhary are replaced by Adam Milne, Sachin Baby and Adam Milne. |
| Steven Smith says that he would have bowled first as well. Reckons last time he was unlucky as well as dew was a major factor. Adds that they have lost and won two, so feels that they are doing well at home. Mentions that they haven't performed well as a unit. Ends by saying that Lockie Ferguson and Deepak Chahar come in place of Faf du Plessis and Shardul Thakur. |
| The players are making their way out to the middle. Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi will open the bat for Pune. Adam Milne will start with the ball for Bangalore. |
| 0.1 : A Milne to A Rahane, On a good length and shaping away, Ajinkya Rahane stays in his crease and lets it through. |
| 0.2 : A Milne to A Rahane, Back of a length delivery outside off, Rahane runs it down towards third man for a single to get off the mark. |
| 0.3 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Short delivery into the body, Tripathi mistimes his pull over the mid-wicket region for a couple. |
| 0.4 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Good length delivery angling into the batsman, Tripathi cuts it straight to the fielder at point. |
| 0.5 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Length delivery into the batsman, Tripathi dances down the track and cuts it towards the cover-point region. Chahal dives to his left and saves a certain boundary for his team. |
| 0.6 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Wide! An attempted bouncer which was well over head height. The Umpire signals a wide. |
| A Milne to R Tripathi, Good length delivery outside off, Tripathi gets behind the line of the ball to defend it. |
| Samuel Badree will share the new ball with Adam Milne. |
| 1.1 : S Badree to A Rahane, Tossed up outside off, Rahane pushes it towards the fielder at mid on for a single. |
| 1.2 : S Badree to R Tripathi, Floated in the line of the stumps, Tripathi clips it through the mid-wicket region for a single. |
| 1.3 : S Badree to A Rahane, Drifting into the pads, Rahane clips it fine towards short fine leg. Milne rushes towards the ball and misfields which lets the batsmen complete two with ease. |
| 1.4 : S Badree to A Rahane, Rahane gets to the pitch of the ball and pushes it towards the fielder at covers. |
| 1.5 : S Badree to A Rahane, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 1.6 : S Badree to R Tripathi, Quicker one into the pads, Tripathi goes for the sweep but misses it completely. Gets rapped on the pads but a stifled appeal is denied. No runs taken. |
| 2.1 : A Milne to A Rahane, Good length delivery into the stumps, Rahane goes for the pull. Gets a top edge towards third man for a single. |
| 2.2 : A Milne to R Tripathi, FOUR! Shot! A bit short this time around off, Tripathi pulls it towards square leg for a boundary. |
| 2.3 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Another back of a length delivery, Tripathi dances down the track and flat bats it towards the fielder at covers. |
| 2.4 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Length delivery around off, Tripathi drives it straight to the fielder at covers. |
| 2.5 : A Milne to R Tripathi, FOUR! Good length delivery angling into the pads, Tripathi swings his bat to it. Gets an inside edge which goes through the fine leg region for a boundary. |
| 2.6 : A Milne to R Tripathi, Dropped! Kohli drops a sitter! Shortish delivery into the body, Tripathi pulls it straight to the fielder at mid-wicket. Virat Kohli, the man there makes a mockery of it as he cannot hold onto it. |
| 3.1 : S Badree to A Rahane, OUT! Throws it away! Full toss into the pads, Rahane goes for the sweep, gets a top edge towards the short fine leg region. Milne tracks back a couple of steps and takes a fine catch. Rahane's short stay in the middle comes to an end. |
| 0.0 : Steven Smith walks in at No.3. |
| 3.2 : S Badree to S Smith, FOUR! Off the mark! Floated into the pads, Smith sweeps it through the square leg region for a boundary. |
| 3.3 : S Badree to S Smith, Smith drives it through mid off for a single. |
| 3.4 : S Badree to R Tripathi, Tripathi stays in his crease and drives it down the ground towards long on for a single. |
| 3.5 : S Badree to S Smith, Tossed up outside off, Smith drives it towards the fielder at extra cover. |
| 3.6 : S Badree to S Smith, Smith camps back and punches the last ball towards the fielder at covers. |
| Sreenath Arvind is introduced into the attack. |
| 4.1 : S Aravind to R Tripathi, SIX! Stand and deliver! Fuller delivery just outside off. Tripathi stays in his crease, says welcome to Aravind and smacks his downtown for half a dozen. |
| 4.2 : S Aravind to R Tripathi, Tripathi cuts it towards the fielder at point. No runs taken. |
| 4.3 : S Aravind to R Tripathi, Slower delivery in the line of the stumps, Tripathi adjusts in the last moment and pushes it back to the right off the bowler. |
| 4.4 : S Aravind to R Tripathi, Sprayed into the pads, clipped through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 4.5 : S Aravind to S Smith, Comes round the wicket this time, bowls it on a good length. Smith stays in his crease and defends it. |
| 4.6 : S Aravind to S Smith, Fuller delivery outside off, Smith shuffles across and pushes it back to the bowler. Good recovery from Aravind after getting smashed for a six on the first ball. |
| Yuzvendra Chahal will have a go with the ball. |
| 5.1 : Y Chahal to R Tripathi, FOUR! Good shot! Floated around off, Tripathi makes room and cuts it through the cover-point region. Two fielders give it a chase but the ball wins the race to the fence. |
| 5.2 : Y Chahal to R Tripathi, Tripathi sweeps it off his gloves towards the short fine leg region for a single. A huge shout for LBW is denied. |
| 5.3 : Y Chahal to S Smith, Smith clips it on the leg side for a single. |
| 5.4 : Y Chahal to R Tripathi, FOUR! Dancing shoes on! Tossed up in the line of the stumps, Tripathi comes down the track and lofts it over the wide mid on region for a boundary. |
| 5.5 : Y Chahal to R Tripathi, Tripathi clips it through the mid-wicket region for a single. |
| 5.6 : Y Chahal to S Smith, Smith stays in his crease and punches it towards covers. Head dives to his left and saves a certain boundary. A single is taken. |
| Time Out! |
| Pawan Negi is into the attack now. |
| 6.1 : P Negi to S Smith, Angling into the stumps, Smith eases it down towards long on for a single. |
| 6.2 : P Negi to R Tripathi, Tripathi camps back and pushes it towards point for a single. |
| 6.3 : P Negi to S Smith, Smith shuffles a bit and plays a predetermined scoop towards fine leg for a single. |
| 6.4 : P Negi to R Tripathi, Into the pads, Tripathi clips it through square leg for a couple. |
| 6.5 : P Negi to R Tripathi, Tripathi drives it towards long off for a single. |
| 6.6 : P Negi to S Smith, Smith clips it towards deep mid-wicket for a couple. |
| Stuart Binny is called into the attack. |
| 7.1 : S Binny to R Tripathi, Good length delivery outside off, Tripathi pushes it towards the cover region. Urges his partner to come for the second and then complete it easily. |
| 7.2 : S Binny to R Tripathi, Tripathi eases it down towards long on for a single. |
| 7.3 : S Binny to S Smith, Good length delivery outside off, Smith shuffles across and clips it towards square leg for a single. |
| 7.4 : S Binny to R Tripathi, Tripathi pushes it through covers for a single. |
| 7.5 : S Binny to S Smith, Fuller delivery outside off, Smith goes for a drive. Gets it off his inside half through the square leg region for a single. |
| 7.6 : S Binny to R Tripathi, Good length delivery outside off, Tripathi tries to play the ramp shot over the keeper. Fails to make contact and the bowler appeals. The umpire is not interested. |
| 8.1 : P Negi to S Smith, Smith clips it fine down the leg side for a single. |
| 8.2 : P Negi to R Tripathi, OUT! Tripathi has to walk back! Fires this one outside off, Tripathi goes for the cut. Gets an edge to it and the ball goes straight to the keeper. Kedar Jadhav makes no mistake and Virat Kohli is a happy man as he had dropped him earlier. |
| Manoj Tiwary walks in next to bat. |
| 8.3 : P Negi to M Tiwary, FOUR! Another one to get off the mark with a boundary! Down the leg side, Tiwary sweeps it fine through the fine leg region for a boundary. |
| 8.4 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Tiwary gets behind the line of the ball to defend it. |
| 8.5 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Tiwary pushes it through the cover region for a single. |
| 8.6 : P Negi to S Smith, The batsman has driven it through mid on. |
| 9.1 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Good length delivery outside off, Tiwary runs it down towards third man for a single. |
| 9.2 : S Aravind to S Smith, Angling into the pads, Smith clips it straight to the fielder at mid-wicket. |
| 9.3 : S Aravind to S Smith, Fuller delivery into the pads, Smith clips it through the mid-wicket region for a single. |
| 9.4 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Good length delivery into the batsman, Tiwary nudges it with soft hands on the leg side. Calls for a single and AB de Villiers is quick to reach the ball. Has a shy at the non-striker's end but he misses. |
| 9.5 : S Aravind to S Smith, Smith clips it through the front of square leg region for a single. |
| 9.6 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Good length delivery outside off, Tiwary tries to run it down towards the third man region but he fails to make contact. |
| 10.1 : P Negi to S Smith, Sliding in from around off, Smith keeps it out off the front foot. |
| 10.2 : P Negi to S Smith, A loud shout for a leg before but it's turned down, good decision. Sliding on leg, Smith looks to whip it across the line but is rapped on the pads. The umpire turns the appeal down as the ball was going down leg. |
| 10.3 : P Negi to S Smith, Darts it quite full and outside off, Steven Smith swings hard at this but can only connect with thin air as the ball goes off the keeper's gloves. |
| 10.4 : P Negi to S Smith, Full and attacking the stumps, flicked well through towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 10.5 : P Negi to M Tiwary, A bit of flight on this occasion, on a fuller length and Tiwary pushes it back down the track. |
| 10.6 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Guided down to fine leg by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| Samuel Badree is back on to bowl. |
| 11.1 : S Badree to M Tiwary, Beautifully tosses it up on middle and off, turning in a bit as Manoj Tiwary prods forward in defense. Gets it off the inside half. |
| 11.2 : S Badree to M Tiwary, Full ball on middle and leg, driven down to long on for a run. |
| 11.3 : S Badree to S Smith, SIX! Oh, what a shot! He's connected and connected so well. Flighted delivery on off, Steven Smith leans ahead and gives this the full swing of his bat. Gets it right off the meat and sends it sailing into the mid-wicket stands for a maximum. |
| 11.4 : S Badree to S Smith, FOUR! Short and wide outside off, Smith is quick to transfer his weight on his back foot as he cuts this away hard. Places it behind point and gets himself a boundary. |
| 11.5 : S Badree to S Smith, FOUR! Edged but the result in the same. Outside off on a shorter length, Smith gets a thick edge which runs past the short third man fielder for another boundary. |
| 11.6 : S Badree to S Smith, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. They pick up a single. Big over this for Pune, they needed it. 16 runs have come off it. |
| 12.1 : Y Chahal to S Smith, Tossed up on the stumps, eased back down to long on for one. |
| 11.6 : Yuzvendra Chahal is called back for a bowl. |
| 12.2 : Y Chahal to M Tiwary, SIX! Manoj Tiwary has got his dancing shoes on as he skips down the track to this, gets to the pitch and lofts it high over the mid-wicket fence for a biggie. |
| 12.3 : Y Chahal to M Tiwary, Goes over mid-wicket once more, but this time can only manage a couple. |
| 12.4 : Y Chahal to M Tiwary, IT'S JUST SHORT OF DE VILLIERS! Tiwary comes down the track and lofts it towards wide long off. AB de Villiers runs to his left and dives but the ball falls just short of him. Single taken. |
| 12.5 : Y Chahal to S Smith, Fuller length delivery around off, Smith stays deep inside his crease and cuts it through the covers. Baby chases it down, parries it back in to Head to who throws it back in. Three runs taken. |
| 12.6 : Y Chahal to M Tiwary, Fuller ball from Chahal, hits Tiwary's pads as he tries to play at it. |
| Stuart Binny is called back for a bowl. |
| 13.1 : S Binny to S Smith, FOUR! Poor line and he pays the price for it. On the pads and full in length, Smith says thank you and whips it behind square on the leg side for a boundary. |
| 13.2 : S Binny to S Smith, FOUR! Short and wide outside off, cut away hard square on the off side for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 13.3 : S Binny to S Smith, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 13.4 : S Binny to M Tiwary, Outside off on a good length, run down to third man for a single. |
| 50-run stand between Steven Smith and Manoj Tiwary. |
| 13.5 : S Binny to S Smith, OUT! IN THE AIR... AND TAKEN! That's a very good catch from Adam Milne. Length ball on middle, Steven Smith tries to play the pick up shot over square leg. Gets a big top edge which skies towards fine leg. Milne gets under the ball, keeps his eyes on it till the end and safely takes it. |
| MS Dhoni walks out to the middle. A perfect platform for him to dominate the opposition. |
| 13.6 : S Binny to M Tiwary, The batsman plays it with an angled bat and guides it to third man. One run added to the total. |
| Pawan Negi to bowl out. |
| 14.1 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Sliding in on middle and leg, Tiwary is caught on the pads as he looks to play at it. |
| 14.2 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Fuller length delivery on middle and off, blocked solidly off the front foot. |
| 14.3 : P Negi to M Tiwary, Wide! Darts it too far outside off, Tiwary lets it be. Too far out and it's called as a wide. |
| P Negi to M Tiwary, Drives it towards the long on fielder and takes an easy run. |
| 14.4 : P Negi to MS Dhoni, Floats it up on the stumps, defended with the full face of the bat. |
| 14.5 : P Negi to MS Dhoni, Sliding in and even angling down a bit, catches Dhoni on his pads as he attempts to play at it. |
| 14.6 : P Negi to MS Dhoni, Short and flat outside off, punched off the back foot on the off side. |
| Samuel Badree comes into the attack. |
| 15.1 : S Badree to M Tiwary, Lands it quite full on the pads, Tiwary clears his front leg and flicks it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 15.2 : S Badree to MS Dhoni, Serves this just back of a driving length, Dhoni punches it straight to the cover fielder. |
| 15.3 : S Badree to MS Dhoni, Find this gap this time, drives it through the covers for one run. |
| 15.4 : S Badree to M Tiwary, Turning away from outside off, Manoj steps out, opens his body up a bit and taps it towards point for a single. |
| 15.5 : S Badree to MS Dhoni, This time Dhoni steps out, gets to the pitch and pushes it through extra cover for nothing. |
| 15.6 : S Badree to MS Dhoni, Keeps this on the fuller side, Dhoni drives it wide of the mid off fielder to end the over with a single. |
| Time Out! |
| Adam Milne is called back into the attack. |
| 16.1 : A Milne to MS Dhoni, FOUR! Uses the pace of the bowler and just dispatches this. Back of a length well outside off, width on offer and Dhoni flays this. Rockets past the diving point fielder and away to the fence for a boundary. |
| 16.2 : A Milne to MS Dhoni, Tailing back in on middle and leg, Dhoni picks it off his hips and whips it through backward square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 16.3 : A Milne to MS Dhoni, Easily done, works this down towards fine leg and jogs to the other end to complete the run. |
| 16.4 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Shortish delivery pounded in hard around off, Tiwary pulls this towards Pawan Negi at wide long on. A fumble from him allows the batsmen to come back for the second. |
| 16.5 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Wide! Spears it full and way outside off, Manoj swings hard but fails to connect. Wide called as it went across the tramline. |
| A Milne to M Tiwary, FOUR! Short and coming back in, Tiwary walks a step across, swivels a touch and pulls it behind square on the leg side for a boundary. |
| 16.6 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Length delivery just around off, Manoj Tiwary stands his ground and looks to go big over the covers. Misses as the ball goes past the inside edge. |
| Sreenath Aravind is back into the attack. |
| 17.1 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, Starts off from around the wicket and hurls it on a length, Dhoni gives the charge and whacks it hard back down the ground. Unfortunately for him, it goes off the bat of his partner and only a single is taken. |
| 17.2 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Bit fuller in length, Tiwary walks across and paddles it fine down the leg side for a single. |
| 17.3 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, SIX! BANG! That's hit hard and hit flat! Full and it's in Dhoni's slot, he stands his ground and murders this straight back down the ground. The two fielders in the deep have no chance of stopping it as the ball crashes into the sight screen for a maximum. |
| 17.4 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, Full again, it's driven towards wide mid off for a quick single. |
| 17.5 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Length delivery around off, Tiwary takes a long gop down and slaps it straight to the extra cover fielder. |
| 17.6 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, 10 runs off the over, not a bad one for Pune. It's hit down to Virat Kohli at long off. The Bangalore skipper fumbles initially, but then recovers well in time so that the batsmen don't take the second. Single taken in the end. |
| 18.1 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Takes the pace off it and angles in a length ball on off, Tiwary can only mistime his pull in front of square for a single. Brings MS Dhoni back on strike. |
| 18.2 : A Milne to MS Dhoni, Another slower one, this is good bowling from Adam Milne. He bowls it wide but Dhoni is early into the shot. Gets a bottom edge on his cut shot on the off side and takes a quick run. |
| 18.3 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Fuller and slower around off, Manoj Tiwary goes for the drive but gets an inside edge behind to the keeper on the bounce. |
| 18.4 : A Milne to M Tiwary, FOUR! Streaky runs for Pune but they won't mind, as long as they keep coming. Milne fires this full and fast around off, Manoj Tiwary swings and gets an inside edge past the off pole, through the left of the keeper for a boundary. |
| 18.5 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Excellent over so far from Adam Mline. He deceives the batsman with another slower one and lands it fuller well outside off, Tiwary attempts to go big over the off side but misses. |
| 18.6 : A Milne to M Tiwary, Coming back in on middle and leg, worked away through mid-wicket. Some hard running between the wickets allows the batsmen to come back for the second. Just 8 runs off the over, excellent stuff from Milne. |
| 19.1 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, Back of a length delivery tailing back in on middle and leg, Dhoni is struck on the thigh pad as he attempts to play across the line. Aravind runs to the ball seeing Dhoni out of his crease and kicks the ball towards the stumps at the keeper's end. Misses and this allows the batsmen to run through for a leg bye. |
| 19.2 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, Fuller around off, driven through the cover region for a single. |
| 19.3 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, Right on the money with that, is Sreenath Aravind. He fires in an excellent yorker on leg, Dhoni can only dig it out on the leg side for one. |
| 19.4 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, FOUR! That's not exactly a bad ball but Manoj Tiwary has gotten the runs for it. Cutter from Aravind, Tiwary is early to close his bat face and gets it off the splice which somehow rolls away past the diving short third man fielder. It races away to the third man fence for a boundary. |
| 19.5 : S Aravind to M Tiwary, A length delivery on middle and leg, Manoj Tiwary doesn't middle it as he plays across the line and lobs it to mid-wicket. It falls safely and a single is taken. Last ball of the innings to come up with MS Dhoni on strike, can he finish it off in style? |
| 19.6 : S Aravind to MS Dhoni, Not quite. Credit to Sreenath Aravind though as he's bowled extremely well here. Very full outside off, Dhoni crouches low to this one and drills it through the covers. The fielder out in the deep runs to his left to cut it off and keeps the batsmen to just two runs. With that, PUNE FINISH ON 157/3! |
| Another decent batting performance from Pune. After being put into bat first, Ajinkya Rahane got out cheaply but his partner Rahul Tripathi registered yet another 30-plus score for the sixth consecutive time. He could not get going and it was time for Steven Smith to show his class. He and Manoj Tiwary stitched in a vital partnership of 50 runs and then the very next ball, Smith got out. |
| Manoj Tiwary and MS Dhoni kept on playing till the end but could not make the most of the platform set as they only scored 28 off the last three overs. Pawan Negi was the pick of the bowlers as he ended with figures of 4-0-18-1. Such a target should be an easy one for the likes of Bangalore but they have hardly looked in their elements this season. Remains to be seen what happens in the second half. |
| Welcome back for the chase... The players and umpires are making their way out to the middle. Virat Kohli and Travis Head will start with the bat for Bangalore. Deepak Chahar will begin the proceedings with the ball for Pune. |
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