Watson and Wiese in perfect sync

As far as assisted catches go, this might be hard to top. Shreyas Iyer mistimed a lofted straight drive and Shane Watson hurtled after it from mid-on. He was sprinting full-tilt, even as the ball was descending over his shoulder. He somehow managed to use his reach to catch the ball, but the momentum was carrying him too close to the boundary. It was time for a split-second decision. Aware that David Wiese was running towards him from mid-off, Watson flicked the ball back just as he was about to topple over the advertising skirting. Wiese had to dive full-length to his right to grab the ball, and picked it up inches from the ground and a hair's breadth from the boundary.

Zaheer Khan's opening over in his first two matches this season had been eventful. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, he was hit for three boundaries by Gautam Gambhir. Against Kings XI Punjab, he bested Manan Vohra with superb away-swingers. On Sunday, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he set Chris Gayle up with three outswingers. Everything pointed to an inswinger to follow, but Zaheer outfoxed him by moving it away again and inviting the drive. Gayle went after it and nicked to JP Duminy at a wide first slip. It was Gayle's first duck in 37 T20 innings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Mohammed Shami was playing his first competitive game in over three months, and his athleticism was tested in the 17th over. Sarfaraz Khan looked to pinch a run after bunting a ball into the off side. Shami ran to his left in his follow through, picked the ball up with his left hand, swivelled and transferred it to his right hand, and threw down the stumps at the striker's end. How he managed all of this in under a couple of seconds was a mystery. Sarfaraz was certainly taken aback. He put in a desperate dive, but was nowhere close to making his ground.

It was surprising to see Watson, capable of teeing off like a golfer, resort to delicate scoops and dabs early in his innings. But a closer look revealed a plan. Zaheer, back for a second spell, had started with a superb yorker that was carved to cover. Anticipating that the bowler would keep aiming for the blockhole, Watson planted his front leg across, got down low and scooped a six over the short fine leg fielder. That over was filled with full deliveries and cost Daredevils 21 runs.

Kedar Jadhav had heaved the ball towards deep midwicket. Considering it was one of few deliveries that struck the middle of his bat, he was caught admiring it, even as Wiese raced past him to the striker's end and began looking for a second run. The fielder, Iyer, sprinted a long way back from midwicket and pulled the ball back on the edge of the boundary. Yet all this while, Jadhav had simply stood where he had made contact with the ball. Eventually, he realised it wouldn't go for four and trotted across for a single, when it should have been at least two.