Let me take you back to Mohali. On the 19th of October 2013, where James Faulkner whacked 64 off 29 deliveries to take Australia over the line amazingly, against India.
Well, he has done it again, and this time James Faulkner was alongside Steven Smith for the Rajasthan Royals to take them over the line and defeat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL last night.
They launched 65 runs off 17 legal deliveries to complete the task with 7 balls and 5 wickets to spare. Bangalore would have been devastated because they didn’t perform as a team. Yuvraj Singh hit 83 runs from 38 deliveries and took 4 wickets, yet ended up on the vanquished side.
And, AB de Villiers hit 58 from 32, yet also ended up on the losing side. RCB need to work together!
In the end, James Faulkner finished with 41 from 17 deliveries, with 3 fours and the same number of breathtaking maximums, whilst Steven Smith managed 48 from 21 with 4 fours and four ear-splitting sixes.
They did finish it off, but they couldn’t have done it without the inspirational efforts by Karun Nair, who laid the foundations at number 2 by scoring 56 from 39, which is impressive for an opener.
The Rajasthan Royals are getting better and better at pulling off miracle chases, and have won three matches that they really shouldn’t have, if you think about it. They have stolen the number 3 spot on the ladder now, which is not a bad spot to be, whilst Punjab are 1st and Chennai are 2nd.
This match was a great one for the crowd as the closely observed ‘performers’ launched a profusion of entertaining boundaries, and kept the atmosphere booming at Bangalore.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore really need to collaborate, because you can’t win matches with one-man performances. You may get close, but you will not win. See how Rajasthan collaborated in their batting, and pulled off the heist of 190 together? A perfect example of co-operation and alliance.
That chase summed up an exciting match, as the IPL takes another twist in the way it is unfolding.
James Faulkner and Steven Smith pulled off a miracle chase for the Rajasthan Royals against RCB in the IPL.Image source: BCCI
