RCB 166-5 after 18 overs
AB De Villiers 47 (17b, 5×4, 3×6), JS Mohammed 0
Last four overs — 17. 13. 23. 19. Easy. RCB win. What a knock by AB. He’s made us forget about Gayle. This was special and that Dale Steyn over set it up perfectly for RCB. This was unbelievable hitting. Believe us when we say so. Shots all over the park — inventive and well timed. This is the way to finish matches. RCB have moved level with CSK on 11 points. CSK still in fourth place because of better run-rate.
RCB 166-5 after 18 overs
AB De Villiers 32, JS Mohammed 0
6-2-4-6-4-1. What an over. 23 runs from it. AB made Steyn pay for that maiden early on 
. Some crazy hitting from AB against the best fast bowler on the planet.
RCB 143-5 after 17 overs
TM Dilshan b Pratap Singh 71 (54b, 8×4, 2×6)
Royal Challengers Bangalore require another 39 runs with 5 wickets in hand and 18 balls remaining. Agarwal is gone, there was no doubt. He made 18 off 6 balls — brilliant cameo it has given RCB some momentum.
RCB 117-4 after 15.2 overs
TM Dilshan b Pratap Singh 71 (54b, 8×4, 2×6)
Big, big wicket for DC. The only batsman who looked in form has fallen. He tried to smash that one but missed it completely. It was full and it sent the leg-stump for a long walk. This is going to be a tough one for RCB now.
RCB 106-3 after 13.5 overs
Asad Pathan c Steyn b Mishra 4 (4b)
Another wicket for Mishra and another catch for Steyn. Big over for DC — Kohli’s wicket fell and now Pathan too. The run-rate has slowed a bit. Now if only they get Dilshan. This game would be as good as over.
RCB 102-2 after 13.1 overs
V Kohli c Steyn b Mishra 9 (9b, 1×4)
Another brilliant catch. This time by Steyn. What do these South Africans eat? Du Plessis in the first game to send back Sachin and now this. Kohli has to walk back, he was pretty stunned.
RCB 91-1 after 10.4 overs
CH Gayle b Anand Rajan 26 (22b, 1×4, 2×6)
One ball after smashing a six out of the stadium, Gayle missed one and was clean bowled. Really slow innings by his standards but with Dilshan doing well at the other end, RCB will still be pretty happy.
RCB 83-0 after 10 overs
Dishan 61, Gayle 20
Gayle finally starting to wake up. One six off Amit Mishra being a clear sign of that happening. But DC need a wicket. This is getting much too dangerous and at the moment, RCB would be favourites.
RCB 56-0 after 7 overs
Dishan 45, Gayle 10
It’s almost like Gayle isn’t even out in the middle. He’s sent his shadow there to bat. But don’t tell Dilshan that. He is almost single-handedly making DC worry.
RCB 36-0 after 5 overs
Dishan 30, Gayle 5
Super fourth over of the innings from Steyn to Gayle — a maiden. Short balls, pace, changes of pace — Steyn brought out the full arsenal and Gayle had no answer. At the other end, Dilshan has been striking it rich. But Gayle can turn things around pretty quickly. He is the danger man.
RCB innings
RCB 26-0 after 3 overs
Dishan 23, Gayle 3
Great start by RCB and Gayle hasn’t even got going. Dilshan has done most of the hitting and he is pretty dangerous in his own right.
DC 181-2 after 20 overs
Dhawan 73, Sangakkara 10
Sanga smashed a six off the last ball to have DC reach a pretty formidable total. Murali thought that 170 was a par score but even 180 isn’t even beyond them. Especially with Gayle and Dilshan in the line-up. Last 7 overs went for 88 runs as DC really turned it on towards the end.
DC 168-2 after 19.1 overs
CL White c & b Parameswaran 45 (24b, 2×4, 3×6)
White top-edges one. Caught by the bowler. DC 168-2. He made 45 off 24 balls. Awesome knock with a strike-rate of almost 200.
DC 156-1 after 18 overs
Dhawan 71, White 37
Some crazy hitting happening in the last two overs. White and Dhawan both got stuck in and hit some lusty blows. But this is a good batting pitch. No total might be enough on this one against Gayle. Of course, DC do have Steyn.
DC 123-1 after 16 overs
Dhawan 57, White 17
Another 40 runs in the remaining four overs will give DC a fighting chance but can they get those runs? Dhawan has got his fifty and he has his eye in, he has to make this count. White can hit the big shots and they have some big hitters to follow.
DC 105-1 after 14 overs
Dhawan 43, White 12
These last six overs will decide whether DC have a chance in this game. Kohli thought this was a 170-180 run wicket and Sanga and his boys needs to get a move on now. Lots of big sixers needed.
DC 86-1 after 11.5 overs
DJ Harris run out 47 (41b, 2×4, 4×6)
DC lose their first wicket. Mix-up. Harris run-out 3 short of his fifty. He faced 41 balls but couldn’t understand what Murali was bowling at him.
DC 77-0 after 11 overs
Dhawan 35, Harris 39
The run-rate has dropped to 7. Murali is weaving his magic and even though he hasn’t got any wickets, the runs have been hard to come by. Perhaps Sanga could have tackled him better.
DC 69-0 after 9 overs
Dhawan 31, Harris 35
Strategic time-out time and DC’s batsmen will be trying to figure out what to do with Murali’s two remaining overs. He has been just super, the batsmen have not been able to read his variation and sure, Sri Lanka will be wishing that they could have Murali and Malinga playing in Tests for them. Watching them in the IPL makes you realise just how good these guys are.
DC 46-0 after 6 overs
Dhawan 27, Harris 16
RCB have managed to get through the first 6 overs, while the field restriction were still in effect, without too much damage being caused. Now, they will have the chance to spread the field and also bring in Muralitharan. This should be fun now.
DC 31-0 after 4 overs
Dhawan 21, Harris 7
And DC continue along their merry way. Nothing much happening at the moment. After the madness of the CSK-MI match, this match seems tame. Oh so tame.
DC 22-0 after 2 overs
Dhawan 14, Harris 6
Good brisk start by DC. Against the threat of Gayle, a start like this is the only protection. If Dhawan finds some form, he can be pretty dangerous too.
Pre-game
Chris Gayle can strike fear into the hearts of every opposition but even he needs some support. And so far, Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t been able to provide that. Virat Kohli has to get his act together as do some of the other RCB batsmen.
Lots of changes in the RCB squad. Virat Kohli will lead the Royal Challengers as Daniel Vettori has decided to drop himself. Muthaih Muralitharan gets a game and he is never easy to face. RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first. They feel a total in the range of 170-180 will be chase-able.
Gayle will once again hold the key. PTI
And lots of changes in the Deccan Chargers squad as well. Sangakkara has found some form and he will be keen to make it count, especially against the old master, Murali.
Squads:
Deccan Chargers
S Dhawan, D Harris, PA Patel†, CL White, KC Sangakkara*, PA Reddy, A Ashish Reddy, A Mishra, DW Steyn, Anand Rajan, V Pratap Singh
Royal Challengers Bangalore
TM Dilshan, CH Gayle, MA Agarwal, V Kohli*, AB de Villiers†, AUK Pathan, J Syed Mohammad, Z Khan, A Mithun, P Parameswaran, M Muralitharan
