Fri, 23 Sep 2011 - IP Bangalore vs IP Warriors, Champions T20 League 2011, 1st Match, Group B - Bull

Warriors win last ball thriller

The Champions League got off to an exciting start with South African Warriors emerging victorious in a last ball thriller against home team Bangalore. Needing six off last two balls, number nine Wayne Parnell clubbed fifth ball to mid-wicket boundary for four and following it with two quick runs to log-on to script a famous win for the South African side.

The exhilarating big chase of 173, that witnessed so many twists and swings, was largely made possible by fifth wicket stand of 73 between opener Ashwell Prince and skipper Johan Botha. The match winning stand led to a terrific fightback after Warriors were struggling at 82 for 4 in the twelfth over. The pair took care of ever-surging required run-rate by hitting big shots at the crucial stages to hurt Bangalore.

Dubbed not suitable for the format, Prince answered his critics with a 55-ball 74 hitting half a dozen fours and three sixes. The beauty of left hander’s knock his ability to clear the boundary and hit the gaps despite wickets fell regularly at the other end. It was Botha, though, who gave innings the much need charge slamming three sixes and two fours during his 24-ball stay for 42.

Seven runs needed to victory, there was some drama in the end over with Botha failing to score off first two balls and departing next ball to give some tense moments to his fans and teammates. Nicky Boje got a single off fourth before Parnell saw them home.

Bangalore will rue the fact that their fielding effort was marked with too many miss-fields and a couple of drop catches that made things easier for their opponents. Skipper Daniel Vettori was only one to excel with the ball taking two for 26 in his four overs while rest of the pack was taken for aplenty.

The start to the chase was electric thanks to Prince who played some stunning strokes upfront. He alongwith his opening partner JJ Smuts took score to 38 before latter was dismissed by Sreenath Aravind for 12. Prince kept going but Warriors were losing wickers at other end. Collin Ingram, Mark Boucher and Justin Kreusch all went cheaply to out their side in spot of bother. But, Prince-Botha made sure they got their CL campaign off to a winning start.

Put into bat, as many as five Bangalore batsmen failed to kick on after getting decent starts. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary and Mohammad Kaif had 20 plus scores but none of them could get past 34. The batting efforts was laced with unabated urge to go for big shots, but, at times, proved to be Bangalore’s undoing as most of its batsmen in their pursuit to hit sixes.

After losing Mayank Agarwal for duck first over, Gayle lightened up the Chinnaswamy only for a brief period though. The left handed dynamite scythed Rusty Theron for six over covers following it with four and repeated the dose to Lonwabo Tsotsobe. At that point of time, it looked Bangalore crowd are in for another Gayle special but Botha’s stunning catch cut short his promising knock. Parnell dug one short which Gayle miscued and Botha back-pedaled at mid-on taking a one-handed stunner. Gayle went for 14-ball 22.

Kohli demonstrated his top class skills yet again playing some orthodox strokes, punctuated with superb timing, to keep hitting boundaries and keep scoreboard moving at a good pelt. He and de Villiers added quick 52 for the third wicket with South African skipper peppering mid-wicket stands. Kohli hit one straight to Parnell’s lap at mid-wicket for 34 off 29 to end the stand. de Villiers took the charge hitting a couple of sixes but couldn’t go beyond 31 off 25 balls as Botha dismissed him.

Young talent Tiwary went berserk cracking two sixes as many fours in his 15-ball stay for 28 as Kaif took seven balls to get his first run. Once Boje dismissed Tiwary, Kaif unleashed two leg-side sixes to give the innings late charge. Bangalore were pegged by Theron’s three-wicket in the 19th over to keep Bangalore under 175.

Theron took four in his three overs for 29 but it was Boje’s four overs for just 25 that stood-out in the run fest.