With Chennai Super Kings needing five runs to win off the final delivery, Rajat Bhatia, who had bowled MS Dhoni and conceded only four from the previous five balls, bowled a full toss. Dwayne Bravo, who had missed a heave off the fifth ball, heaved again, and this time he hit the ball high into the night sky. Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Gautam Gambhir, fielding in the circle, kept his eyes fixed on the ball as it began its descent, and grimaced as he watched it fall agonisingly out of reach of his fielder at long-on, and just over the boundary. The Super Kings were out of the dug out, craning their necks to see where the ball landed, and once they saw it was a match-winning six, there were several streaks of yellow speeding to embrace Bravo. He was standing there with arms aloft, having taken Super Kings to No 4 with only one league game remaining.
Had the match been tied, it would have been less of a surprise, for Super Kings' chase had followed a pattern eerily similar to Knight Riders' first innings. In pursuit of 159, Michael Hussey and M Vijay added 97 runs in 10.1 overs before Sunil Narine, who continued to confound batsmen with his variations during his spell of 4-0-14-2, dismissed both of them in the space of three balls. In Bangalore, a match that had all sorts of drama-delays due to rain, a floodlight failure, an unbelievable four free-hits in a row, a hit-wicket, and Munaf Patel being caned for 24 in the final over of the first innings by 21-year-old Mayank Agarwal-ended on a familiar note: Mumbai Indians' batsmen completing an improbable chase in the last over, and Bangalore Royal Challengers' fifth bowler costing them again (3.4-0-58-0). Both teams' top orders have some of the leading lights of the world game, but most of them failed to make an impact, leaving it to batsmen lower down to make an impact.
Agarwal slammed a 30-ball 61, his first IPL half-century, to rescue Royal Challengers, but Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard blasted fifties of their own to take Mumbai Indians at least temporarily to second spot in the table. The match highlighted some other customary themes: Indian bowlers unable to land their yorkers at the death, underlining concerns over the make-up of their World Twenty20 attack, and batsmen refusing to give up even when the asking-rate reached ridiculous levels. When Pollard walked to the middle in the ninth over, Mumbai Indians had already lost half their side, the required-rate was soaring towards 12, and Royal Challengers were so assured of their position that Muttiah Muralitharan briefly operated with the unusual Twenty20 luxury of three close-in catchers. Pollard showed the game was by no means over, by calmly lofting KP Appanna for consecutive sixes in the 11th over. With Appanna proving expensive, Royal Challengers turned to Chris Gayle's bowling but Rayudu muscled a four and six to keep Mumbai Indians believing.
Mumbai Indians' desperation to win was shown by the perfect full-length dive Pollard put in in the next over to beat the throw from the deep by inches. Murali was proving unhittable, and the batsmen watchfully played out his overs, and ransacked the rest.
With four overs to go, Mumbai Indians still needed to get 57. Royal Challengers' bowling has been dismal all season, and towards the end of the game they reverted to form. Zaheer Khan was hammered over midwicket for six, and then crashed past long-off.
Vinay Kumar's next over was bookended by yorkers, but in between he offered three hit-me deliveries that Rayudu blasted for two sixes and a four. Zaheer was better in the penultimate over, though his one full toss was edged to third man for four. With the main bowlers having finished their quota, Royal Challengers needed Gayle to win them the match with the ball this time, having 14 to defend. Gayle looked to fire everything flat and fast into the pads but Pollard effortlessly launched the second ball for six over midwicket, before a streaky four past third man and an almighty pull over midwicket took Mumbai Indians home with two deliveries to spare.
SCORES
Kolkata Knight Riders 158 for 6 (Gambhir 62, Jakati 2-26) lost to Chennai Super Kings 160 for 5 (Hussey 56, Narine 2-14) by five wickets.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 171 for 6 (Agarwal 64, Dilshan 47) lost to Mumbai Indians 173 for 5 (Rayudu 81*, Pollard 52*) by five wickets.