Bangalore, Sep 23: Warriors found a timely hero in Ashwell Prince who blazed his way to a 55-ball 74 to help his side upset Royal Challengers Bangalore in a last-ball thriller in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament here today.
Warriors were in doldrums at 82 for four in the 12th over. But man of the match Prince, who batted with gay abandon, played a gutsy knock to steer his side to a stunning victory in front of 20,000 RCB supporters at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
He found an able ally in skipper Johan Botha (42 from 24 balls) to produce a match-winning fifth-wicket partnership worth 73 runs in barely 39 balls.
The fortunes swung wildly as RCB fought back with the important wickets of Prince and Botha. With 13 needed off seven balls, Boje swung Abhimanyu Mithun for a cracking six over mid-wicket. But when Botha fell with Warriors needing eight runs from three balls, RCB were seemingly in charge. But Wayne Parnell, who walked into the cauldron, made light of the gripping tension, scoring the winnings runs.
Set a stiff target of 173, Warriors sneaked home in the last ball, Parnell and Boje scampering for two runs.
Warriors were definitely the better side on the park. They bowled with vigour and verve, fielded with alacrity and batted with purpose to overcome the stiff RCB challenge.
Prince and Jon-Jon Smuts kept their side in fettle at the start of the innings, producing 38 runs in five overs. But Smut's dismissal, caught brilliantly by Virat Kohli off S Aravind, began an exodus, though Prince dropped anchor to arrest the steady fall of wickets.
At 82 for four in the 12th over, the game seemed to be slipping out of Warriors' grip. But Prince and Johan Botha made a fist of the chase, posting a rapid-fire stand for the fifth wicket. PTI
