RCB vs KXIP | Player Ratings - AB de Villiers’ heroics guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to their third win on trot

RCB vs KXIP | Player Ratings - AB de Villiers’ heroics guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to their third win on trot

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Yet another AB de Villiers special with the bat combined with a death bowling spectacle by Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore securing their third win on the trot. Parthiv Patel had also a major role to play too as his powerplay strike kept RCB in good stead.

Parthiv Patel(7/10): The Gujarat pocket dynamite is doing the same role as Kolkata Knight Riders want Sunil Narine to do - to get the team off to a great start. With Virat Kohli hitting a couple of boundaries, Patel instantly got into the attacking mode, justifying his impact as an opener. For reference, since the start of 2016, Parthiv's run rate in the IPL drops from 8.16 in the Powerplay to just 7.36 in the middle overs, and because of that, the team would’ve wanted him to continue for a bit longer. However, by flicking a Murugan Ashwin delivery to R Ashwin, he brought an end to his innings at a crucial juncture in the game.

Virat Kohli (3/10): The intent was there, just that Virat Kohli got the execution wrong. After getting off to a brilliant start, with a couple of trademark drives, the RCB skipper played a half-hearted flick straight into the hands of Hardus Viljoen and with that, he left Parthiv Patel to do a lot of leg-work. Also, in the unforgiving arena of Chinnaswamy, he made a left-field choice by not using Washington Sundar against the right-handers despite knowing that they have Nicholas Pooran and David Miller after that.

AB de Villiers (9/10): There is a reason Bangalore has such a connection with AB de Villiers because it was only through the freedom de Villiers enjoyed at the IPL that he launched his game through the glass ceiling. When he thrashed Ankit Rajpoot with a cross-batted swing past the left hand of mid-wicket, he made one thing that he was in the zone. After that, the Chinnaswamy audience, which pays some of the highest prices in the country for a live game at the venue, left everyone stunned with a masterclass that eventually yielded 82 runs off 44 balls. 

Moeen Ali (2/10): The all-rounder will leave for England after the KXIP clash but in the last game for the franchise this season, Moeen Ali failed to deliver and was out for 4. While it could be easily said that it was a brilliant delivery, but the fundamental mistake of keeping a huge gap between bat and pad while facing an offie, was always going to be exploited. 

Akshdeep Nath (2/10): After Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali were dismissed within a couple of overs just after the powerplay, Akshdeep Nath had a major role to play. With AB at the other end, there was not too much pressure on him even and he could’ve afforded to give him some time to get off the blocks. However, Hardus Viljoen’s clever change of pace drew Nath forward and forced him to give a simple catch to Mandeep Singh at cover.

Marcus Stoinis (8/10): Although his start was not fitting for a stadium like Chinnaswamy, it is worth noting that the Australian made up for it with a fine exhibition in the last over. Had it not been that last over acceleration, he would’ve considered as a villain for the RCB fans as that resulted in AB de Villiers being stranded at the other end. By dismissing Mayank Agarwal, the RCB man did his job with the ball.

Washington Sundar (2/10): The off-spinner had been a wonderful powerplay bowler for India in last year’s Nidahas Trophy, but after that, he has underperformed regularly with the new ball. Remembering that, Kohli didn’t use him in the first six overs at all, but that backfired for a bit as Sundar was exposed against a couple of left-handed batsmen. 

Tim Southee (4/10): Despite the dominance of spin over pace in the first innings, RCB have opted for five consecutive overs of pace to start the innings with just two fielders outside the 30-yard circle. That resulted in Tim Southee being taken down with absolute disdain. By conceding as many as 33 runs in three overs, the Kiwi ensured that RCB’s woes with the ball continue.

Navdeep Saini (7.5/10): The Haryana pacer had gone for 29 runs in his first couple of overs, but he put on a show towards the end by spending just four runs. Yes, as unbelievable as it sounds, this was the reality and in the process, he dismissed David Miller to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat. That, alone, was the most stand-out feature of the game.

Umesh Yadav (6/10): Yes, it was Umesh Yadav who bowled the last over of the innings, and probably bowled one of the best last overs in this season. By dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardus Viljoen on the second and third delivery of the over, Umesh ensured that RCB had everything to play for in the following game.

Yuzvendra Chahal(1.5/10): It doesn’t happen every day that Yuzvendra Chahal bowls only a couple of overs at Chinnaswamy, but tonight, he was surely not in his usual rhythm. After Chahal bowled a couple of overs, without giving any flight to his stock delivery, Kohli realised that he wouldn’t be able to sustain more tonight and instantly replaced him with Washington Sundar. 

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