Bangalore: One could notice Andre Russell's anger when he shattered the bails after taking a return catch in the penultimate over of the first session.
His otherwise impressive figures were somewhat spoiled when Shane Watson took him on in that over. But when it was his turn to bat, he made sure to vent that anger on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowlers.
Russell's awesome batting, which was complemented and followed by Yusuf Pathan's (60 not out) blitzkrieg, earned Kolkata Knight Riders a much-needed five-wicket victory as they chased down RCB's 184 for six with five balls to spare. That too, from an almost hopeless position, here at the Chinnaswamy on Monday. The Knights are now No. 2 in the points table with 10 points.
With Russell going on in his own style, Yusuf smashed Watson for four boundaries and a six in the 17th over that yielded 24 runs. That over had more or less decided the match.
Together, Russell and Yusuf put on 96 for the fifth wicket in just 7.2 overs - a truly match-winning effort. The duo had taken the equation to such a stage that KKR continued to be on the safe side even after Russell's dismissal.
Russell got a reprieve on 13 when Lokesh Rahul missed a stumping chance off Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling. And the West Indian made it sure that the RCB pay for that blunder.
If Yusuf was the man who eventually took KKR home, Russell was the one who brought the two-time champions back in the game.
At 69 for four in the 11th over with the in-form Robin Uthappa, captain Gautam Gambhir, Chris Lynn (replacing Brad Hogg) and Manish Pandey (playing his first game since recovering from chickenpox) back in the dugout, the game was very much RCB's pocket. But their bowlers bungled again. Three of the four changes that RCB made had initially done a decent job. Stuart Binny, Sreenath Aravind and Chahal put in a good effort but again, RCB failed to finish it off.
Captain Virat Kohli himself is mentally very strong. But Monday's game raises serious doubts about some of his teammates.
KKR's bowling by no means was outstanding. Yet, RCB couldn't quite take maximum advantage of it, barring the last three overs of their innings. Russell, Morne Morkel (coming in Jason Holder's place) and Piyush Chawla's last two overs aside, the KKR bowling was mediocre to say the least. Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav were both disappointing.
One can still argue Narine's case as he was seen a bit worried with his fingers as physio Andrew Leipus too had a close look before the game got underway. Also, Rahul's aggression and shot selection took the off-spinner by surprise.
He just couldn't pull things back after Rahul took him on successfully in his first couple of overs. Unfortunately for RCB, Rahul perished just as he was looking to make a strong statement. To speak of Umesh, his performance on Monday probably suggested why he has so far played only one T20I despite having spent five years in the international circuit.
Of course, a bowler can go through a very bad day especially in the shortest format. But how do you justify being carted around by the likes of Sachin Baby and Binny?
With due respect to both these RCB players, Baby and Binny do not fall under the category of most feared batsmen in the T20 format.
RCB amassed 54 runs off the last three overs and Umesh alone conceded 41 off those. He seemed to lose it completely since bowling those two consecutive no-balls in the 18th over.
The near-capacity crowd at the Chinnaswamy, though, had every reason to celebrate. The 27-year-old Baby may still have to spend quite a lot of time to reach The Master's level. But he had won the hearts of the spectators as they mixed their chants up with "Saaachiiin Saaachiiin" and "Babyyy Babyyy" while he went about his business of clobbering one of the main bowlers in the rival camp.
The pyrotechnics of Baby and Binny, importantly, took the pressure off and reduced the burden on Watson as well.
Without doubt, RCB finished off in great fashion. Worries, though, weren't quite over considering Chinnaswamy's batsmen-friendly wicket that tends to get easier as the match progresses. And if guys like Russell and Yusuf are on song, a 186-run target on this wicket cannot win you matches.
