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Ross Taylor’s monumental innings was described as “immense” by New Zealand’s batting coach Craig McMillan and “one of the best innings I have seen” by his batting partner Kane Williamson

Daniel Brettig at the WACA15-Nov-2015Had the DeLorean from been available to Australia’s pace bowlers in Brisbane, they’d have been about as disoriented by the sight of Ross Taylor’s double century as Marty McFly was by news the Chicago Cubs had supposedly won the 2015 World Series.Taylor’s monumental innings, described as “immense” by New Zealand’s batting coach Craig McMillan and “one of the best innings I have seen” by his batting partner Kane Williamson, was an achievement made all the more admirable by the fact he had started this tour in truly grim touch.In Brisbane, Taylor had battled through a truly tortured first innings, and looked only marginally more sure of himself in the second. A duck and 16 in his two warm-up innings were likewise scant indicators that Taylor had it in him to construct the highest ever score by a New Zealand batsman against Australia, and the only double hundred ever made by a visiting Test batsman at the WACA Ground.There is no doubt Williamson played a key role in showing Taylor the way forward, playing so fluently and assuredly both at the Gabba and here that others were shown how Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon could be successfully tackled on their home turf. But Taylor also showed his own development by scoring in zones his previously dominant bottom hand might once have cancelled out.Unbeaten on 235 at day’s end, Taylor will hope to take New Zealand into the lead and a position to pressure Australia – certainly Williamson and McMillan are hoping he can.”I think it would be one of the best innings that I have seen,” Williamson said. “The tempo that he batted and the length of time that he has been at the crease has been outstanding and moving our team’s position forward. I know it is a tough ask but hopefully he can keep going a little bit tomorrow, build a couple of partnerships would certainly help us a lot, but certainly an absolutely fantastic innings so far.”I thought he was really calm out there. He just went about his work in a reasonably aggressive way and that’s when he bats at his best I think. To get that momentum in his innings from pretty much the word go – there were certainly some tough periods but he was playing so well. It was such a nice thing.”McMillan was part of the New Zealand side that so nearly forced a match and series win over Steve Waugh’s powerful team at this ground in 2001, a performance built largely on a record stand between Nathan Astle and Adam Parore. Taylor’s union with Williamson eclipsed their record, before the former went on to heights McMillan said he had always been capable of reaching.”I think it was an immense innings and it had been brewing for some time,” McMillan said. “He’d been a little bit short of time in the middle and runs, but what do they say? Form’s temporary and class is permanent. That got shown today. His concentration in the first two or three overs of the day really set the tone for the way he was going to bat.”His tempo was superb, hitting straight down the ground was something he’s worked really hard on in recent times just to open up that area that probably hasn’t always been a strength of his, but some of those straight cover drives were some of the best you’ll see from any player in the world.”You’d have to rank it right up there as one of New Zealand’s best Test knocks, with the conditions, with the match situation, you throw all that into the mix and it’s one of the best. There’s still a lot more batting to be done. He can go as long as the concentration stays strong. We want more partnerships from that lower order, guys to hang in with him, bat as long as possible and see what happens from there.”Williamson and Taylor were both highly successful in picking off more or less every bad ball the Australians bowled, an efficiency that allowed them to dictate terms all day and prevent the hosts from gaining momentum. McMillan said he had encouraged his men to stay positive throughout, ensuring that the bowlers knew they would be hurt if they strayed from all but the most disciplined of lines.”They’re attacking bowlers who come after you, but the upside of that is there’s scoring opportunities,” he said. “One of the impressive things from our guys over the last two days is how efficient they’ve been when they’ve been offered a scoring opportunity. They’ve hit gaps well and they’ve really put anything loose away, which has put that pressure back on the Australian bowling attack.”That’s a key when you’re facing a good attack that’s got extra pace is that when they miss, you’ve got to make sure you hurt them, you’re not looking just to defend and survive, you’re actually looking to score, and obviously Kane and Ross in that partnership did that beautifully today but it flowed right through the partnerships in the order throughout the day, and that’s something we’ll continue to be looking for.”

England Under-19s captain Brad Taylor’s four-wicket haul was in vain as his side lost to Sri Lanka Under-19s by 52 runs in their second match of the tri-nation series in Colombo on Monday.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015
ScorecardEngland Under-19s captain Brad Taylor’s four-wicket haul was in vain as his side lost to Sri Lanka Under-19s by 52 runs in their second match of the tri-nation series in Colombo on Monday. It is England’s second successive defeat in the tournament and leaves them at the bottom of the table behind India and Sri Lanka.Taylor took 4 for 34, striking with key top and middle order wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to 191 after the hosts had opted to bat. Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka top-scored with 48 and shared a 51-run partnership for the third wicket with Shammu Ashan (38). Taylor struck quickly to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 150 for 7 in the 41st over and England’s bowlers wrapped up the innings for 191 in the final over.England’s chase was rocked by a collapse that saw them stumble from 64 for 1 in the 12th over to 94 for 7 in the 24th over. Taylor and wicketkeeper Ryan Davies resisted with a 43-run partnership for the eighth wicket but once Taylor was out, England’s chase folded within three overs. Left-arm spinner Damitha Silva and legspinner Wanidu Hasaranga ran through England’s middle and lower order, picking two wickets each.

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has put the onus on the bowlers to learn their lessons and in particular, he has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness

Sidharth Monga19-Jan-20162:05

‘An opportunity for youngsters to learn’ – Shastri

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has thrown his weight behind his batsmen and has asked the bowlers to learn their lessons. India have scored 309, 308 and 295 in the first three ODIs of the series against Australia, but have failed to defend any of those totals. In particular, Shastri has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness.India have so far scored 67, 67 and 60 from overs 31 to 40. These have been the overs when their set batsmen have approached their hundreds. In Perth, Rohit Sharma took 24 balls from 83 at the start of the 31st over to reach his hundred. Similarly in Brisbane, between the 30th and the 40th overs, Rohit took 21 balls to move from 86 to 100. Virat Kohli took 15 balls to score the last 16 runs of his century between the 38th and 43rd overs in Melbourne.This has reignited a belief held by some Australians that Indian batsmen slow down near a milestone, costing their team crucial runs. Matthew Hayden said so 10 years ago, and it has begun resonating in the Australian media again.MS Dhoni calmly said “no” when asked if he thought Indian batsmen were milestone-driven, but Shastri had a more colourful answer. “If they were focusing on milestones, Virat Kohli wouldn’t have been the fastest to 7000 runs; he would have taken another 100 games. If that was the case, Rohit Sharma would not be having two double hundreds, and a score of 264.”Shastri also said there wasn’t much more the batsmen could have done even though they were playing probably a third-choice Australian bowling attack. “I don’t think so,” Shastri said. “If you look at the skills of those bowlers, there is skill there. You might say inexperience. They have played a lot of cricket, a lot of domestic T20s, a lot of one-days. So the skill factor is very good.”The Indian attack is far more experienced, but a mix of conditions and poor bowling has let them down. Shastri said the bowlers needed to learn fast. “Finishing touch is better bowling, and being more consistent as a bowling unit. As MS mentioned, there were too many easy boundaries. It is not like the batsmen had to earn it, they were given. That should be eliminated. Even if you cut that by 60%, we will have tighter games. Those are the areas. Attention to basics. If we do that right, who knows…”With the series lost and expectation reduced, Shastri said he wanted the bowlers to show him they had learned their lesson. “What you want to see is the bowlers learning from what has happened in the first three games,” he said. “If that happens, that will be the biggest plus irrespective of the result. That is what I said last year when we played cricket in Australia. We might have lost the series 2-0, but deep inside I knew the way the boys played there was only going to be improvement.”Shastri did mention the tough schedule and injuries (one, to Mohammed Shami) as a mitigating factor. “It is a young side, there have been three debutants, we have been plagued by injuries,” Shastri said. “No excuses, I am not giving any excuses here, but it is an opportunity for the youngsters to learn. In Australia nothing comes easy. It’s one of the hardest places to play. You are playing against the world champions. The fact that you are competing, and they have competed right through this one-day series, is very good.”We need bench strength, this is one of the toughest tours. And I have been to Australia many many times. I tell you why. Because if you look at the last six days we have been in three time zones. It is not often you go through that. You play in Perth, get on a flight to Brisbane where the time is different, then to Melbourne where the time is different. All in a matter of six days. When you consider all that, I think the boys have done extremely well.”Shastri said he will ask the BCCI to send a 16-member squad for such tours.

The Madras High Court dismissed a petition from Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd challenging the Lodha Committee order to suspend IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings for two years

PTI20-Jan-2016The Madras High Court dismissed a petition from Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd challenging the Lodha Committee order to suspend IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings for two years.The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice PS Sivagnanam, who had reserved their order on the plea on December 14, dismissed it as not maintainable. The bench also dismissed a PIL filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging the suspension of Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on the same grounds.Both teams were barred from playing the next two editions of the IPL after a three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court and headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha found top officials from both teams having engaged in illegal betting. Super Kings’ Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were banned for life from any match conducted by the board.Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd had sought a stay on the committee’s order issued in September last year, contending the order was against fundamental principles of natural justice and a fair hearing.Opposing the petition, the BCCI had argued that Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd was not a legal entity and hence could not file the case. Senior counsel AL Somayaji submitted that CSK Cricket Limited was only a brand name of the franchise owned by India Cements Limited. He submitted that the franchise agreement was between BCCI and India Cements and that the latter had no right to assign or delegate ownership and even if it did should be done so with prior permission from the BCCI.He had argued that CSK Cricket Limited was not the aggrieved party and hence the liberty given by the Supreme Court that the aggrieved could approach the appropriate forum for remedy would not entitle it to file the present petition.

James Pattinson summoned a frightening spell that cut deep into New Zealand’s batting and helped bring about the end of Brendon McCullum’s storied international career

The Report by Daniel Brettig21-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Pattinson’s pace cut deep through New Zealand’s top order•Getty Images

As much as this series has packed into two Test matches, one element missing was high pace. James Pattinson changed all that on the third evening at Hagley Oval, summoning a frightening spell that cut deep into New Zealand’s batting and helped bring about the end of Brendon McCullum’s storied international career.On a day when Neil Wagner’s persistent short-ball attack had already been rewarded with a flurry of wickets after lunch, as New Zealand restricted Australia’s first-innings lead, Pattinson showed how speed can transcend conditions. His hostility and reverse swing left the hosts 14 runs in deficit with only six wickets remaining ahead of day four.Always a rhythm bowler, Pattinson had not quite found his form on day one and also bowled the fateful no-ball that cost Australia McCullum’s wicket. This time his pace and seam position were very much in sync, accounting for Martin Guptill, Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls before boring in at McCullum.While he did not take the wicket, Pattinson gave McCullum plenty to think about and on 25, the batsman slogged at Josh Hazlewood and was wonderfully caught by David Warner at midwicket. He and Steven Smith shook the departing McCullum’s hand but both know that victory and the world No. 1 Test ranking is now within reach.Adam Voges and the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon had played serenely in the early part of the day, but Voges’ departure to the pull short, after the fashion of Joe Burns and Smith, heralded the loss of quick wickets. In all, Australia’s last six wickets tallied only 67.Wagner’s energy and commitment to banging the ball into the pitch was not sophisticated, but over time it worked wonders on a surface given to the occasional bout of variable pace. His celebrations grew in exuberance at each wicket, as Australia’s advantage was limited.For Voges, it was another instance of applying the sturdy, calculated approach that has brought him runs at a scarcely believable rate in recent times. Momentarily his Test batting average again cleared 100, the only man to occupy that rarified air above Sir Donald Bradman.There had been more ambitious hopes for New Zealand when play began, following up on last evening’s dual dismissals. Wagner resumed with a similar line of attack, peppering Voges and Lyon with short stuff.Partly through determination and good technique, partly due to the docile character of the pitch, the batsmen were able to stand up to this examination, as Lyon repeatedly covered the bounce and dead-batted it near his feet.Runs flowed a little more freely after those early overs, though neither batsman played with extravagance. Voges offered a neat cut shot here, a checked drive there, while Lyon worked the ball around with the earnest intent of a man who would like to bat further up the order more often.Trent Boult had one concerted lbw appeal and review against Voges, but video evidence had the ball not swinging back enough to hit the stumps. It was telling that McCullum was reduced to bowling himself with the nightwatchman at the crease, and the Hagley Oval crowd raised a cheer when he beat Lyon’s outside edge.At the other end, Williamson would tempt Lyon into following a ball angled across him, and McCullum swooped nicely for the catch. Mitchell Marsh had a 21-ball sighter before the interval, and had the potential to lift the scoring rate dramatically when play resumed.Instead it was Voges who tried to push things along, and departed when Latham timed his leap to catch a flat pull shot at midwicket. Marsh also tried to take on Wagner, and likewise arrowed a catch to the inner field on the leg side.Pattinson broke the sequence with a sliced drive to point, before Peter Nevill’s attempted upper cut settled into BJ Watling’s gloves. Josh Hazlewood offered a simple catch to McCullum at slip to hand Wagner his sixth wicket, a deserved analysis.It was immediately apparent that Pattinson was bowling with good pace and a hint of movement, and the ball was still new when he found Guptill’s outside edge. Latham and Kane Williamson endured for a while, and Australia briefly pondered a review when Jackson Bird hit the No. 3 on the back pad.Smith brought Pattinson back and he soon had Latham’s wicket when some extra bounce resulted in a glove down the leg side. Nicholls was tightened up by a disciplined line and some pronounced reverse swing, before Pattinson angled one wider and was rewarded with a waft, an edge and a catch for Smith.McCullum’s arrival was warmly received, and for a while he seemed to be building something. He eschewed the extravagance of day one, instead mixing defence with calculated attack, but Pattinson did not give him a moment’s peace as Smith allowed the spell to stretch into a seventh over.There was one raucous lbw appeal denied, and one catch turned down after replays showed the ball had gone from bat to ground to boot – shades of Marsh’s ODI dismissal in Hamilton. Eventually Pattinson was spelled, and when McCullum hoisted Hazlewood over the midwicket fence New Zealand still dreamed.Next ball, however, Warner swooped, ending a glittering career and putting the prize of top spot well and truly within Australia’s sights.

Afghanistan, who are on a recent upswing, and Sri Lanka, plagued by injuries and loss of form, face off in their tournament opener in Kolkata on Thursday

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro16-Mar-2016

Match facts

Thursday, March 17, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)

Big picture

Currently, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka find themselves on either side of a seesaw; one looks skyward, while the other has won only three of their last 16 completed international games. Yet, such has been Sri Lanka’s prowess in global events that the contest is still tipped in their favour.Afghanistan came through the first round of the World T20 unscathed, overpowering their closest competitors Zimbabwe with an ease that caught the attention of the rest of Group 1. More impressively, Afghanistan have adapted, ditching their gung-ho approach for a calculated assault in conditions that will only increase their potency. The bowling has been solid, and captain Asghar Stanikzai has used his available resources astutely. Mohammad Nabi, the best of their host of spinning allrounders, has stood out with both bat and ball.Another fascinating aspect in the qualifier was Afghanistan’s attitude on the field. Their discernibly animated reactions and yelps of frustration to a fumble, more often than not, added to the pressure rather than being a motivating factor for the fielders. Afghanistan came close to beating Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup, and they may never find the opposition more vulnerable.Sri Lanka seem to have, unfortunately for the tournament, carried their Asia Cup form into the World T20 warm-up games. Their last win was against UAE, a closely-fought match in the Asia Cup, but where is the next one coming from?Sri Lanka’s win drought recently is directly proportional to the form of their best players. Post the retirement of Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara, now a selector after a major revamp, many tipped the likes of Angelo Mathews, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga to carry the torch till the next generation of young blood came through. Neither have the youngsters shone through consistently nor has that torch been supported.However, underestimate a Sri Lanka side at an ICC competition at your own peril. They might just be spurred by the reminder of home by Kolkata’s spin-friendly nature.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan: WWWWW
Sri Lanka: LLLWL

Watch out for

Sri Lanka’s opening pair of Dinesh Chandimal and Tillakaratne Dilshan have enough experience between them to understand the value of the Powerplay in slow, low conditions.Mohammad Shahzad‘s passion has been visible on and off the field, clapping and counselling his team-mates through the end overs. However, his primary role is with the bat, and he has found a blend between aggression and caution, with ones and twos becoming an increasingly vital part of his game.

Team news

Despite a fluid batting and bowling order, Afghanistan’s XI is settled. With the pitch expected to play on the slower side, Afghanistan may opt for an extra spinner in place of Hamid Hassan.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 4 Mohammad Nabi, 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Shafiqullah, 7 Samiullah Shenwari, 8 Najibullah Zadran, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Rashid Khan, 11 Hamid Hassan/Amir HamzaLahiru Thirmanne made a 29-ball 41 and a 37-ball 45 at No. 3 in the warm-ups against New Zealand and Pakistan and is likely to keep his place. Malinga is still doubtful for this clash, and could be excluded as a preventive measure unless he has completely recovered from his “bone bruise”.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Milinda Siriwardana, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Thisara Perera/Dasun Shanaka, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Dushmantha Chameera

Pitch and conditions

With the weather set to be fair, the captains and think-tank are likely to look down more than up. The pitch is likely to take plenty of turn, but provide even bounce. With sluggish conditions expected, the captains would look to bat on winning the toss.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have won just two of their last 10 T20Is, while Afghanistan have won nine of their last 10.
• These two teams have never met each other in a T20I.
• Among the current squads, only Mohammad Shahzad (1287) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (1751) have more than 1000 T20I runs

Aakash Chopra on Sri Lanka’s strengths and weaknesses

Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher as a wicketkeeping consultant for the remainder of IPL 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2016Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher as a wicketkeeping consultant for the remainder of IPL 2016.Boucher, who played more than 450 international matches, was reportedly signed after the tournament began. He will join his former team-mate Jacques Kallis, who is head coach of the franchise, in the Knight Riders team management. Knight Riders have two wicketkeeper-batsmen in their current squad – Robin Uthappa, who is the first-choice keeper, and Saurashtra’s Sheldon Jackson.Boucher has played in the IPL previously, turning out for Royal Challengers Bangalore between 2008 and 2010, and Knight Riders in 2011. He played 147 Tests, 295 ODIs and 25 T20Is, notching up a record 998 international dismissals, before a freak eye injury ended his career.Boucher is the latest to join a group of high-profile South African coaches in the IPL. This includes Delhi Daredevils coach Paddy Upton, Mumbai Indians fielding coach Jonty Rhodes, Rising Pune Supergiants bowling coach Eric Simons and Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling coach Allan Donald.

An unbeaten half-century from AB de Villiers steered Royal Challengers Bangalore into the IPL final after a top-order collapse against Gujarat Lions

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy24-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:08

Agarkar: Every time AB is at the pitch, the game is never over

Tumbling wickets. A high but not out-of-reach asking rate. One specialist batsman at the crease, with only the lower order for company. An atypically dry and grippy pitch provided the conditions for such a situation – usually more common in 50-overs cricket than in T20 – to arise in the first Qualifier of IPL 2016. AB de Villiers was the specialist batsman, and when Iqbal Abdulla joined him in the 10th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase of 159, they needed 91 to win off 62 balls with four wickets in hand.The Chinnaswamy surface – still good to bat on, but slower than usual – had torn up the script that the match had been expected to follow. There was no uncontrollable torrent of run scoring from either set of top-order batsmen. Gujarat Lions were 9 for 3 after being sent in. Then in the chase, Royal Challengers lost Virat Kohli for a duck and slipped to 29 for 5. Then, when Ravindra Jadeja had Stuart Binny lbw sweeping – though replays showed ball hitting pad marginally outside off stump – they were 68 for 6.It began drizzling soon after Abdulla’s entrance, with Royal Challengers needing 63 from 36 balls. De Villiers was at the non-striker’s end. Abdulla, on 8 off 14, slashed at a gentle, back-of-a-length ball from Dwayne Smith, and missed. Kohli – who had struggled to contain his temper right through the game – gestured angrily from the dugout, telling Abdulla to take a single and give de Villiers the strike.Abdulla steered the next ball to deep point. De Villiers, on 47, faced Smith now. He stepped down the pitch, Smith shortened his length, and a tennis-style flat-bat hit flew to the straight boundary. The next ball was fuller, and de Villiers miscued his lofted hit, skewing it high, with the outside half of his bat. It was a rare mis-hit in an innings of surface-defying fluency. It may have been caught at long-off in a bigger ground, but it cleared the leaping Aaron Finch in Bangalore.It seemed like a sign. This would be de Villiers’ day. On strike to the first ball of the next over, he shuffled across to off stump even before Shadab Jakati released his left-arm dart. Having covered the line, he quickly sunk to one knee and swung the ball away over the square leg boundary. When Abdulla swatted a mis-hit six of his own later in the over, Royal Challengers had the final in their sights, needing only 35 off 25. They got home with 10 balls left to play, with de Villiers having just enough time to unfurl a couple more spectacular shots, the pick of them a reverse-sweep off a Praveen Kumar delivery pitching outside leg stump. The win took Royal Challengers into the final, while Gujarat Lions will have another crack at it when they take on the winner of Wednesday’s Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.Abdulla played a key role with the ball too, dismissing Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch in the second over of Lions’ innings after Kohli had sent them in. Kohli may have used his left-arm spinner that early simply because two right-handers were opening for Lions, and two left-handers were waiting in the middle order, but he may also have observed that the pitch was unusually dry.Whatever the case, he had extra cover on the rope and mid-off in the circle for McCullum, and the charging New Zealander failed to reach the pitch of the ball, and sharp turn forced him to slice wider than intended, into the hands of the fielder at long-off. Finch closed his bat-face too early three balls later, and the ball popped up to slip. When Shane Watson bounced Raina out in the fourth over, Lions were 9 for 3, sinking even before the contest had really begun.Dwayne Smith had swapped batting slots with Finch in Lions’ last game, against Mumbai Indians, and had looked in fluent touch while making a calm, unbeaten 37 to steer them home in a chase of 173. He struck the ball just as well here, in a more difficult situation, picking up a pair of boundaries off Abdulla early in his innings, sitting back and pouncing when he dropped marginally short, and following up with a hooked six off Chris Jordan.But the effect of a poor Powerplay – Gujarat only made 23 in that period – rippled through the rest of their innings. Lions’ run rate remained under six an over even after Smith and Dinesh Karthik plundered 16 off the 10th, bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. It was still under seven when they tonked Abdulla for 17 in the 13th over. Karthik fell in the 14th, middling an attempted fine-leg scoop onto his leg stump, Ravindra Jadeja followed in the 16th, and Smith – having hit two more leg-side sixes in that time – holed out in the 18th.The runs still kept coming, Watson conceding 21 and picking up two wickets in an incident-packed 19th, and Lions scored 100 in their last 10 overs.A total of 158 still looked inadequate given Royal Challengers’ batting strength, but Dhawal Kulkarni had run a battering ram through their top order within four overs of the chase. First, Kohli played on, trying to cut without moving his feet. Then Gayle, pushed back with a series of short balls, swung across the line of a slower ball and missed. Then came an all-format jaffa that swerved away from just short of a good length and induced KL Rahul to edge to slip.Jadeja then got in the act, getting the ball to stop on Watson, who swatted across the line too soon. And when Sachin Baby slapped Kulkarni straight to short cover, Royal Challengers were gasping for air, the Powerplay not yet done. But they still had de Villiers.