IPL 2017, Match 31, RCB v GL: CT Player of the Match - Andrew Tye

49 all out as a result of some reckless batting, followed by a washout did some serious damage to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s playoff prospects. The do or die stages were already here for RCB, and the side absolutely needed to win each and every game to follow.

Up against them were a Gujarat Lions side coming on the back of a sizable defeat. The Chinnaswamy stadium had its fingers crossed. Spectators hoped to witness some fireworks early on from the star-studded batting line-up that formed RCB.

There was one man from the opposition however who was in no mood to be taken for runs. Hat-trick hero Andrew Tye was in the house.

Late bloomer, but a bloomer nonetheless

Tye was something of a latecomer to state cricket. Nevertheless, the speedster impressed in his first gig with Western Australia as he finished second in the tournament’s wicket tally with 13. He, then 26, proved himself to be a skilful T20 bowler during his stint with the Perth Scorchers.

His consistent display of skill earned him a spot in Australia’s T20 squad as Tye made his first international appearance aged 29. It’s been pretty much smooth sailing for the paceman since. He didn’t take long to latch on to his opportunity to play in the extravagant league that is the IPL.

He announced himself in style with a stunning hat-trick in his maiden IPL game.

On a hat-trick once again

RCB opened with their favourite Kohli-Gayle pair, but the duo played some tentative cricket. Although Kohli smashed a disdainful six off young Basil Thampi, they couldn’t really rev up the run rate. He departed off a frustrated pull shot; Thampi looked to the skies as he had his man.

Enter AJ Tye. The Aussie came into bowl in the 4th over of the innings and was in business from the very first ball. Chris Gayle simply prodded at an excellent delivery from Tye. The ball kissed the outside edge of Gayle’s meaty bat to safely land in Dinesh Karthik’s gloves.

A peach to dismiss the big West Indian set the tone for what turned out to be one of GL’s best bowling performances. Tye’s next ball was to fellow Australian Travis Head. The batsman though had no answer to his tight line.

He followed up the Gayle wicket with an even better delivery. A spicy Bengaluru surface had its role to play as well. Pitched back of a length, the ball spiked up to dislodge Head.

He got a thick outside edge that almost flew over Suresh Raina at first slip, who executed a good reverse-cupped catch. Head looked at the pitch in an effort to understand what just happened. Two in two for AJ Tye left RCB reeling at 22 for 3.

Exceptional match figures

Flashbacks from the Eden Gardens clearly seemed to haunt the Royal Challengers. RCB never got going. What followed was a cluster of wickets as Kohli’s boys walked off the field one by one. There were some glimpses of aggressive batting from the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Pawan Negi. But to RCB’s dismay, they were short-lived.

Andrew Tye came back in when Mandeep Singh was still at the crease. RCB were 7 down, and Mandeep was their only ray of hope. However, Tye shut the doors on a possible Mandeep special.

In all fairness, he bowled a nothing delivery – short and wide outside the off stump. Mandeep, however, cut it straight to backward point. The batsman’s error was costly for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. For Tye though, it was the third wicket in a perfect day with the ball.

The Australian finished with figures of 3/12. An economy rate of 3.00, 13 dot balls in 4 overs and 3 crucial wickets – there wasn’t more Suresh Raina could have asked of his ace speedster. RCB posted a mere 134 in a must-win game.

Nevertheless, another Aussie bloke named Aaron Finch made short work of the target. Finch exploded with a 34-ball 72, a stunning inning under any circumstances.

However, the groundwork was done by none other than Andrew Tye, who set up a certain victory for the Gujarat Lions.