Kohli guides Bangalore to semi-final in CLT20
Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to beat the Highveld Lions in a relatively close 18th game of the Champions League T20 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. With this win, the Bangalore entered the semi-finals of the Champions League T20 and will play the
top side from the other group.
The Bangalore side were set a target of 160 to win the virtual quarter-final and were afforded a solid start by the pair of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid and Manish Pandey. Pandey had replaced the injured all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, and had big boots to fill, but did a good
job of rotating the strike.
The pair brought up their half-century partnership in the eighth over, but with the asking run-rate slowly creeping up, Dravid tried to slog http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aaron-Phangiso-c884 but was bowled for 33.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians, added 32 for the second wicket with Pandey. However, at this stage, Pandey tried to hoick the ball to the long-off fence but only managed to offer a simple catch
to the fielder. Bangalore were 85/2 at this stage in the 12th over.
With the surface beginning to slow down, the worry of leaving too much till the last was always there, and that pressure seemed to have got the better of the side. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 fell one after the other and this left the Bangalore side to score
48 runs off the last five overs. Under normal circumstances, this was not a big target, but with the pressure of a place in the semi-finals at stake the Bangalore side knew they were up against it.
Five runs came off the 16th over which meant that the side needed 43 off four but Kohli then took control in the 17th over bowled by Ethan O’Reilly. He smacked the bowler for a couple of sixes and a four to bring the game to parity, before Cameron White sealed
it in Zander de Bruyn’s 19th over of the game.
Earlier, the Highveld Lions had won the toss batted first in this pressure game. They lost two wickets for 29, but never slowed down in the first six overs. However, once http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Vaughn-van-Jaarsveld-c2749 departed for 24 at 73/3 in the eighth over, the lack of aggressors
in the end begun to weigh them down.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Neil-McKenzie-c2094 did make a mature 39 off 35, but not too many came off the second half of their innings and they ended on 159/6 in 20 overs.
Kohli won the man of the match for his impressive showing.
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