The over-eager Steven Smith

Steven Smith had moved to 31 off 28 balls without taking any risks, and had put on 56 with Ajinkya Rahane. In the 13th over of the Rising Pune Supergiants innings, however, he was one-third of the way down the pitch when Rahane punched R Sathish back down the pitch. Perhaps, Smith thought this was an easy single down to long-off. But the ball was hit straight to Sathish, and he bent down to scoop it up on the half-volley, turned around, and found himself closer to the stumps than the non-striker. Off went the bails, and off trudged Smith to the dressing room.

Sunil Narine had just dismissed Rahane, and MS Dhoni walked to the crease. This was the 18th over of a T20 innings, but what happened next came straight out of the fifth day of a Test match. As the new batsman marked his guard, Gautam Gambhir brought in a slip and a backward short leg before strapping on a helmet and taking position at silly point. From under the lid, captain made eye contact with captain.

Umesh Yadav would eventually win a closely fought match with a six, but had the final over turned out a little differently, one of the decisive moments may have come off his bowling. It was in the 19th over of the Supergiants innings, when Umesh bowled a clever slower ball to Dhoni. Eyeing the gap wide of short third man, Dhoni went back to steer it with an open face, but did not spot the change of pace. The ball beat Dhoni's bat, and died on its way to the keeper, bouncing a second time before it reached him. Robin Uthappa, not the most assured gloveman in the game, had risen with the ball's bounce, but hadn't bent down to account for its subsequent drop. The ball spotted the gap between his legs, and shot through for four byes.

In Supergiants' first match, which was also their first match as a team, four bowlers had taken wickets off their first ball. Now, on his debut for the team, Albie Morkel ran in with the new ball. He sent down an offcutter, and Uthappa, playing around his front pad, missed the ball. It struck him in line, looked like it was hitting the stumps, and the umpire thought so too. Albie had joined Ishant Sharma, Mitchell Marsh, Rajat Bhatia and R Ashwin in striking with his first ball for the franchise.

Bhatia had dismissed Yusuf Pathan in the previous over, but Kolkata Knight Riders were still ahead at the start of the 16th over, with six wickets in hand, a set Suryakumar Yadav at the crease on 56, and a manageable 47 required from 30 balls. M Ashwin had gone at nine an over in his first three, but Dhoni persisted with him.

M Ashwin's second ball was overpitched, and Suryakumar lofted it inside-out for four. With the pressure clamping down on him, the legspinner suddenly found his groove. First he ripped a googly past the inside edge of Suryakumar's attempted cut, narrowly missing the off stump. Then he bowled a legbreak. Suryakumar's feet were frozen, and the ball spun past the outside edge as he pushed feebly at the ball. The lack of feet showed Suryakumar wasn't picking the ball out of M Ashwin's hand, and sure enough, he went on the back foot, and across his crease, to the next ball - a googly of fuller length than he probably expected. It turned in sharply, hit him in line with the stumps, and the umpire's finger shot up even before the bowler had turned around fully in appeal.