IPL 2016 | ABD orchestrates an outstanding comeback to take RCB to final

Brief scores: Gujarat Lions 158 all out in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith 73(41), Dinesh Karthik 26(30); Shane Watson 4/29) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 159/6 in 18.2 overs (AB de Villiers 79(47), Iqbal Abdulla 33(25); Dhawal Kulkarni 4/14)

Gujarat scored just 2 runs off the first over of Sreenath Aravind, and Iqbal Abdulla, bowling the next over, was the benefactor of that pressure. Brendon McCullum took a walk down the pitch on the first ball, and did not have to change the direction much as he walked on to the pavilion after mistiming the shot to deep cover. Finch was out three balls later, and captain Suresh Raina who struggled to a single run off 9 deliveries was put out of his misery – yeah, one more short ball, Raina pull, catch at fine leg. That marked the first time RCB bowlers have ever in IPL's 9-year history managed to take out the top-3 under 10 runs.

2. Shane Watson earns the purple cap in an all-important game

The Australian all-rounder has been RCB's most consistent bowler this season, and he stepped up once again in their biggest match of the tournament so far. The 34-year-old picked up four wickets in the innings at an economy of 7.25 runs per over. He bounced out the Gujarat skipper for just one, as Bangalore ran through the top order. Then he came back to destroy the lower-middle order, picking up the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo and Eklavya Dwivedi. The Australian fans would perhaps be asking why did he chose to retire?

Virat Kohli scored his first duck in T20s after 51 innings! The RCB skipper chopped the ball to his own stumps and there was no stopping Dhawal Kulkarni after that. The 27-year-old found his rhythm and dismissed both Chris Gayle and the in-form KL Rahul in the third over. The RCB batting lineup has not had to deal with Kohli's failure too often this season; it was an unknown territory for them and it showed. After shining with the ball, Watson failed with the bat and it was left to AB de Villiers and Stuart Binny to rescue their team, who were tottering at 29/5. Kulkarni produced his best performance of the tournament with figures of 4/14 in his four overs as Raina finished his quota in a single spell.

4. Unbelievable AB de Villiers; Improbable Abdulla

With the required run rate getting out of hand, de Villiers went after Smith and hit him for a four and a six on consecutive deliveries in the 15th over. The South African also brought up his half-century in the process. While ABD's performance was not unexpected, Abdulla's seemed like a anamoly which the universe throws up from time to time. The southpaw was not a mere bystander at the other end, he nearly managed to keep up pace with the South African at the other end. The duo formed a 71-run partnership to take their team home with 10 balls still remaining in the innings. This was one of the most memorable comebacks ever scripted in IPL, and certainly one of the best knocks ABD has played in this tournament.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------