Royal Challengers Bengaluru power-hitter Romario Shepherd, the prime architect behind Chennai Super Kings’ two-run defeat, revealed his “kill them softly” mantra while outlining his approach that allows him to generate force to inflict carnage effortlessly. Shepherd’s massacre in the last two overs of the first innings sent the Super Kings on the verge of defeat in the pulsating thriller at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the penultimate over, he decimated Khaleel Ahmed, toyed with his field setting, and clobbered him for 33 runs.
Matheesha Pathirana tried to chain Shepherd with precision, but Shepherd relied on his brute force to pummel 20 runs in the five deliveries he faced and lift Bengaluru to a daunting 213/5.
The Caribbean star wore a beaming smile on his face as he returned unbeaten on 53 from 14 deliveries, the second-fastest half-century in the cash-rich league’s history.
After being adjudged the Player of the Match, the 30-year-old shared that he relied on his base and swing to generate power and said, “Today I had my opportunity. I was waiting for a long time, finally got out to bat, and wanted to give the team a good finish. (On where the power comes from) My base and the way I swing. Timmy was telling me to just hold my shape and swing from there as the ball was holding.”
“I wasn’t thinking of a score, I was thinking ball by ball and trying to hit each ball for four or six. When I walked in, Timmy told me to relax and try, and I did exactly that,” he added.
In the initial phase of the tournament, RCB were struggling to deliver as a batting unit, but it all changed when team mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik handed them specific work, which eventually paid off.
“In the first couple of games, we were failing as a batting unit. DK took us and gave us specific work, which paid off today,” Shepherd said.
While Shepherd shone with the bat, he had a shambolic outing with the ball. He bowled just one over and got hammered away for 18 runs, courtesy of 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre.
“I try to keep it 50-50; Today, it did not come off with the ball; I continued to struggle with the ball. Today was a bad day with the ball, but the team did well and got us over the line. Ngidi and Bhuvi pulled us out of the mud. (His mantra) Kill them softly,” he concluded.
Coming to the fixture, swashbuckling displays from Virat Kohli (62), Jacob Bethell (55) and Shepherd (53*), powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a daunting 213/5. In reply, Chennai led the fightback with Ayush Mhatre (94) and Ravindra Jadeja’s (77*) gallantry but fell one boundary short of victory.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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