RCB vs KKR | Player Ratings - Virat Kohli and AB de Villers heroics in vain as Royal Challengers Bangalore makes it five losses in row in IPL 2019

RCB vs KKR | Player Ratings - Virat Kohli and AB de Villers heroics in vain as Royal Challengers Bangalore makes it five losses in row in IPL 2019

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Royal Challengers Bangalore’s hopes to open the account in this year’s IPL is yet to see the light of the day as Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed them by five wickets. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Pawan Negi did all they could do, but the team eventually failed to change their sagging fortunes.

Virat Kohli (9/10): It was as if the frustrations were talking and chalking out its discourse, and Virat Kohli was merely a puppet. Each run had anger, and willingness to prove a point, written all over it and the RCB skipper played a gem of an innings in front of the team’s 12th man. Although he missed out on a deserved century, the flow of the innings would give him immense satisfaction. 

Parthiv Patel (4/10): Patel is back to do what he does best. Got off a very good start and then threw it away. He gave his team the hope, with his innings against Rajasthan Royals, that he could sail it through at the time of need, but tonight, his mode of dismissal put a dent on his reputation, once again. Surely he could’ve been more sensible and stayed in the middle longer.

AB de Villiers (8/10): Alongside his skipper, the talismanic RCB batsman expressed himself at the Chinnaswamy, and after Patel’s dismissal, he found his rhythm instantly. Nevermind, he was dismissed at a time when the stage was set for him to guide the team to a big total, it will still be difficult not to go gaga over such an innings. A composed performance in the truest sense.

Marcus Stoinis (5/10): Although he started very slow, giving the hosts jitter of not going beyond the 200-run mark, he instantly recovered from it and with an amazing last over, he ensured that the team had a very good total on the board. But when he had to chip in with the ball to finish Mohammed Siraj’s over after the latter was banned from bowling in the game after a couple of beamers in the same over, he was smashed for two sixes by Andre Russell. 

Moeen Ali (6/10): Just had to face a couple of deliveries while batting, but his ground fielding was pretty good tonight. With Pawan Negi in the team and actually doing well with the ball, the RCB skipper didn’t have to use Ali at all. The Englishman also happily slipped into his role but didn’t shy away from giving some advice to his skipper when needed.

Akshdeep Nath (6/10): Nath’s position in the team is a lower-middle batsman’s nightmare. Neither did he get a chance to bowl, nor did he get a chance to bat at the top of the order. Nath would’ve loved to contribute though, just like he has always done for his domestic team Uttar Pradesh. With the lack of Indian stars in the RCB squad, he will surely get a chance going forward.

Pawan Negi (8/10): Pawan Negi’s selection ahead of Umesh Yadav was met with a lot of backlash on Twitter, but eventually it turned out to be an inspiring decision. After sending Sunil Narine back to the hut with a blinder of a catch, Negi broke KKR’s back with a powerful bowling display. Surprisingly, he found the most turn among all spinners, and that made him look more threatening. 

Tim Southee (1/10): The way he bowled his first over, it pointed fingers at RCB’s selection process as the Kiwi man was neither penetrative, nor did he have any chance to put a break on Kolkata’s innings. Even though he made a solid comeback in the next couple of overs, at least in comparison with the first over, a Russell over, which cost him 29 runs, entirely shattered his happiness and the team’s hopes of winning the game.

Navdeep Saini (8/10): It will be a shame if Saini doesn’t go on to represent India in a year’s time and be one of the prime bowlers. The way he hustles in, bowls with a serious purpose, and manages to unsettle the batsmen with sheer pace makes him stand out and it surely did against Kolkata. The fearlessness goes into the making of Navdeep Saini the pacer and if he carries it, who knows, he will perhaps be happily doing under the same captain in the coveted Blue jersey.

Yuzvendra Chahal (8.5/10): Catches were put down, the third umpire overturned a decision by a whisker, but amidst all that, Chahal was an oasis of calm. His bowling was as accurate as it could be, and his googlies made the KKR batsmen suffer to no end. It is not surprising because of the regulation factor that comes with his name, and if he can keep on producing such games every now and then, RCB can afford to have played an extra batsman in the team.

Mohammed Siraj(0.5/10): As terrible as Southee was, the biggest villain in the game for RCB tonight had to be Mohammed Siraj. Was mediocre with the ball, terrible on the field and it is simply difficult to imagine if he understands T20 bowling at all. The Hyderabadi was just trying to do all he knows without having a plan in his head, and that made him the biggest weak-link in RCB set-up. Eventually, he was banned from bowling tonight after desperately attempting two beamers in one over. It will be a miracle if he finds a place in the next game.

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