The magic of 38 balls in an IPL match

They say the game of cricket does not get over until the last ball is bowled. And it was once again proved between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing 7th IPL season.

We have all heard for years and years now that cricket is a game of uncertainties. Uncertainty is the only certainty in the game and the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals underlined that fact once again. It was the 38-ball magic, first by Yuvraj Singh and then by the two emerging Australian players, James Faulkner and Steve Smith.

Batting first the Royal Challengers scored a huge 190 runs in their allotted 20 overs and set Rajasthan Royals a target of 191 runs. The highlight of the match was the return to form of Yuvraj Singh. He had an all-round performance as he scored 83 runs and hit seven fours and seven sixes.

He was firing on all cylinders from the time he came in to bat. He was literally unstoppable and it was a pleasure to watch the man of the tournament in the 2011 ICC World Cup in his own groove.

He played his favorite pull shots on the leg side that reminded us of the vintage Yuvi.

Yuvraj also took four wickets in four overs to peg back the Royals every time they looked to have a partnership going. However, before the death overs started Yuvraj had finished his quota of bowling and winning the match from there on was only a formality.

But James Faulkner and Steve Smith had other ideas. The two blasted 65 runs off just 17 balls to seal an improbable victory for the Royals. Faulkner scored 41 runs off 17 balls with the help of three fours and an equal number of sixes. Smith was also equally aggressive who scored 48 runs with the help of 21 balls. He smoked four huge sixes and the same number of fours.

In a nutshell, Yuvraj scored 83 runs in 38 balls with seven fours and sixes. Faulkner and Smith, between them also played 38 balls and also hit the same number of boundaries. However, they scored six more runs to stun Yuvi and leave him on the losing side even after an all-round performance. RR won with seven balls to spare when at one stage they required 109 runs off 54 balls.

However, Yuvraj Singh has said that there is no choice but to go for positive cricket which can only give them the wins. There was nothing else but to blame the bowlers for what happened in the final three overs of the match. Easier said than done, but bowling in such conditions isn’t also easy. Let’s spare a thought for the bowlers too.


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