11.53pm That's all from us from Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bangalore move to fifth on the points table, sandwiched between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. That makes the mid-table clutter very interesting with the second-half of the IPL well and truly on. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the IPL. On behalf of Deiva Muthu, this is Sreshth Shah, signing off. See you tomorrow for match 32.
11.47pm Time for the presentation. A long list of dignitaries (like always) on stage.
Virat Kohli, the winning captain: "Jeez, we needed that win. Such an important stage of the tournament. We all believe in the changing room that this was the push we needed. Important two points. Just told the bowlers, to back their gut. Take ownership of your field, your plans, and own it. Siraj, Colin, Southee were excellent. Umesh, Chahal everyone bowled well. The one over that JP Duminy bowled and Manan targeted (for 22 runs) took the game away from them. We needed impact performances and that's what happened. My wife (Anushka Sharma) is here and it's her birthday, so happy that she could see us win. Happy to earn the two points in front of her."
Tim Southee, the Man of the Match. Says: "Nice to play, and find that win on the board. We came close for a few, good to go over the line. We knew that if we continue taking wickets then we'll have it. Colin's last over (with the bat) gave us momentum going into the second innings. The belief about qualification is still strong in the group."
Meanwhile, football fans in the Indian subcontinent can head to ESPN.in to stream the second leg of the Champions League semifinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The match kicks off at 12.15 AM IST. Click here.
Mihir: "An important lesson will be learned by RCB after this victory that they need not require a single player to play exceptionally well. With a proper team game like today, they won't have to be dependent on the likes of Kohli and ABD."
11.37pm A masterclass in death-bowling from Tim Southee, but how important was that final over bowled by McClenaghan in the first innings. He went for 24 that over, and that was the difference between the two sides tonight. Virat Kohli's a very happy man, but Mumbai Indians now need to win all their games to be ensured of qualification. It's going to be difficult for them now. Some reactions...
Rohit Sharma, the losing captain: disappointing to be on the losing side. Didn't play smart cricket and losing wickets in the Powerplay doesn't help. Wasn't an easy wicket and we failed to keep the scoreboard ticking. Credit to RCB bowlers, kept us guessing all the time. We would've taken 167 at the start of the day, but we could've restricted them for 10-15 runs less. Brendon and Virat's knock was critical. We keep making those silly mistakes, which really shouldn't happen. Only ourselves to blame. I think we can still qualify to the Playoffs. We can't lose hope."
Imran Sk: "Someone pointed out at the beginning of the game that Rohit would say "we could have restricted them by 10-15 runs" and that's exactly what he said, good prediction :)" -- Hardik Toke, I hope you're visiting the lotto tonight.
Sumanth: "De Grandhomme - the silent MOM of the game! Batting, bowling and fielding - he did everything today."
Anirudh: "Been yearning for Southee since the very first game of RCB this season. I commented on cricinfo once, and got to know that he isn't in India yet. Finally, he's in the eleven, and scripted this important victory. I would like to believe that RCB could have been placed higher in the table, had Tim been in the eleven."
Brendon McCullum: We've been close last few games, so today was important to get across the line. Something to give the fans. We bowled well last game as well, but today was outstanding. Umesh was outstanding and Southee at the end as well. The structure of our bowling is finally getting together. There is a huge amount of skill required to bowl in the death, so our guys were good with the cross-seamers and the slower balls. We wanted to stick together and play a good brand of cricket. Hopefully the results are going to follow. We're going one game at a time."
Southee to Cutting, SIX runs, ends with a sixer! But it doesn't matter for RCB. Full outside off, and Cutting slogs this over long off to finish the game on a semi-high. Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 14 runs!
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