#560 KL Rahul shows his class in giving Punjab another win; Mujeeb and Rashid star again for their respective teams; Dropped catches and poor planning cost DD and RCB; KKR make a mess of a chase against MI; They needed just 60 runs from 46 balls with 8 wickets in hand and lost from there; Barca continue their unbeaten run in la Liga to 35 matches; Bale equalizes for Real Madrid in final stages in El Classico and more...:-)
RCB form has been shaky in 2018. They choke against CSK most of the time and 5-May match was no exception. RCB did right by bringing in Parthiv for De Kock. Parthiv gave RCB a good starts as they raced to 47-1 in 6 overs. Dhoni introduced Jadeja and he castled Kohli right away. Bhajji got ABD stumped in next over. It was a struggle post that. Parthiv scored a well-made 53. RCB fell from 47-1 to 89-9. Southee hit some lusty blows to give RCB a respectable score of 127. Bhajji and Jadeja had spell of 8-0-40-5 between them. Only Southee and Parthiv reached double figures. RCb had to pick early wickets to make a match of it. Umesh castled Watson . CSK 18-1. Kohli did a blunder by keeping spinners to later stage. Of first 11 overs, only 2 overs of spin was bowled by Chahal. That was shocking considering what impact Jadeja and Bhajji had made. CSK were 78-2 in 11 overs. Match was as good as over. Ashwin and Grandhomme picked Rayadu and Shorey to give RCb hope. CSK 80-4. Could have been 80-5 or even 6 had RCb grabbed catches. Bravo was dropped twice. Dhoni and Bravo won the match for CSK with 2 overs to spare. RCB need to think as to why they did no planning in bidding stage. No thought process of what players they want. Sarfraz was retained but hardly given opportunities. No local India talent who have been in form (Rahul, Manish, Karun, etc ) were even bid for.
In 2nd match, Delhi Daredevils scored a competitive 163-5 thanks to 65 by Prithvi. Rashid was again star for SRH with 2-23. Maxwell dropped Hales early on. Hales made use of that chance. He and Dhawan had a 76 run opening stand in 9 overs. Both fell soon after SRH 86-2. Manisha dn Williamson found it tough to hit boundaries. Manish got dismissed with 32 needed of 17 balls. Yusuf came in. He was dropped twice and survived a LBW dismissal (overturned by 3rd umpire). He made full use of luck in hitting 26 runs of 11 balls to give SRH another win. SRH have made a habit to win matches from losing positions. They are on a roll like CSK. It’s for other teams to catch up with them.
MI hosted KKR in Mumbai. Lewis hit a 28 ball 43 and Surya hit another fifty to give MI a brilliant start. They had 91 run opening stand in 56 balls. MI lost wickets at regular intervals post that. MI just managed 181-4.Russell and Narine starred with the ball. KKR started poorly as they lost both openers early. Shbman opened with Lynn and failed. KKR 28-2 in 3.1 overs. Uthappa and Rana then gave KKR the momentum. Uthappa hit his first IPL 2018 fifty. That gave KKR hope. Uthappa scored 35 ball 56 before being dismissed. KKR 112-3. 60 was needed of 45 at that stage. MI bowlers then did a comeback. They dismissed Rana soon. DK and Russell found it tough to accelerate. When Russell got out, 51 was needed of 20 balls. DK hit some lusty blows. It came down to 37 from 12 balls. DK hit a six and 2 fours and target came down to 23 from last over. Duminy dropped Dk of last over. Narine hit a boundary from first ball of last over of Krunal. 19 needed of 5. Narine got out next ball. Krunal kept his nerve and give MI 2nd consecutive win. They are still alive. They need to win 4 of last 4 games. They have got momentum now which is key for MI. they usually play brilliantly when pushed against the wall unlike RCB team.
RR were decently placed at 82-2 in 11th over thanks to 50+ stand by Butler and Samson. Mujeeb turned it around for RR. From 85-2, RR were reduced to 114-7. Stokes again failed with the bat. Shreyas Gopal hit a few blows in last 3 overs to give RR a respectable total of 152. But they looked like getting at 180 at one stage. Mujeeb starred with ball with 3-27 spell. Afghan spinners are making big mark in this IPL. Butler topped RR score with a well made 51. Punjab lost Gayle and Mayank. Punjab 29-2. Karun and Rahul then consolidated Punjab innings. After 50 run stand, Karun was castled by Anureet. Axar was dismissed soon after. Punjab 87-4. 68 was needed from 43 balls at this stage. Rahul took center stage post that and gave Punjab a much needed win . Punjab won by 6 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Rahul stayed unbeaten at 84 which came of 54 balls. He is brilliant form now
Though La Liga and EPL winner has been decided, it was interesting to observe what will happen to final set of matches. Man City were held to a goalless draw by Huddersfield. Chelease beat Liverpool 1-0. Arsenal thrashed Burnley 5-0. ManU are positioned at 2nd position at this stage at 77 points. Liverpool are at 3rd spot with 72 points. Spurs are at 4th with 71 points but have 1 additional game in hand. Chelsea are at 5th spot. In La Liga, it is rare to see winner of league decided before EL Classico. Such has ben Barca domination in La Liga this season who have stayed unbeaten throughout. Suarez gave Bara early lead in 10th minute only for Ronaldo to equalize 4 minutes later. Messi gave Barca another lead post break. Barca were left with just 10 men by then. Just when it looked like Barca would beat Real again Bale equalized for Real in 72nd minute. Barca are still undefeated in La Liga though which is staggering considering they have played 35 matches and only 3 matches are remaining in the season to be played.
