IPL 2018 | Winner and losers ft. RCB fans, KKR, and Sarfaraz Khan

IPL 2018 | Winner and losers ft. RCB fans, KKR, and Sarfaraz Khan

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IPL

There always has to be a winner and a loser in sport. However, it seems that have RCB fans will have to live their lives without ever enjoying the feeling of being the former. After a brilliant start to the game, it all unraveled pretty quickly for the visitors who were knocked out of IPL yet again.

Winners 

Kolkata Knight Riders

A day that started off with a lot of hope and nerves for IPL fans all around the country, turned pretty one-sided 10 overs into the second innings. After RCB failed to chase down a target of 165, not only did Rajasthan give themselves a chance at qualification but also ensured that KKR fans’ nails would be spared ahead of their final league match against SRH. With RR’s win only making sure that their NRR could go upto -0.250, KKR have almost assured a spot in the eliminator because of KXIP’s NRR of -0.490. 

However, that is not where the good news ends for KKR fans today because they can dream even  higher. If things go their way over the next day, they could even be playing SRH in the qualifier for a spot in the final. However, this would require them to beat SRH today and hope that Chennai lose to Punjab tomorrow. If even one of the games has a win by a big margin, KKR are almost guaranteed a place in the qualifier.

Heinrich Klaasen

Going into the game, Royal Challengers Bangalore were touted as the favourites for the match. While RCB’s three-match winning streak played a big part in making up the fans’ mind, the absence of Jos Buttler meant that most people did not give the 2008 Champions too much hope. It was simply down to the fact that the Englishman had scored 548 runs at an average of 54.80 in his 13 matches. Not only were they running out of international players but “Klaasy” ones as well. 

Klaasen had already announced himself as a player who could be a part of the South African side, post the AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, and Hashim Amla, during India’s tour of South Africa. Today, he just turned up and played the starring role in RR’s magnificent win over RCB. After scoring a quickfire 32 off just 21 balls to guide the hosts to a respectable target, he played a part in four RCB dismissals. After stumping Parthiv, de Villiers, and Mandeep, he pulled off a blinder to send Sarfaraz packing as well. If he can have a good year on the international circuit, RR have a real headache as far as the wicketkeeping position is concerned next year.

Losers

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 12th man

There is an odd similarity between Royal Challengers Bangalore and South African cricket. Both of them enter every tournament as one of the favourites. They are laden with stars that would walk into any other team. But when D-Day finally arrives, none of them are able to stand up and deliver. But that is something that is not new to RCB fans. 

However, what is different this time is the way that it all panned out. After losing three of their first five games, they came to Bangalore for a three home games. However, the team could only manage one win which meant that their hopes of making it to the playoffs were slim to say the least, and after a loss against SRH it looked like the fans could see the final four games without too much hope. But with three wins in a row, not only was hope reignited but they would not be faulted for thinking that they were one of the favourites. But it was “choking” as usual for the RCB and their fans can finally put the flags away for another year and hope for something better next year. 

Sarfaraz Khan

When RCB announced their three retained players, most fans were shocked that the final name on the list was not KL Rahul, who had been a major reason for the run to the final in 2016. It wasn’t even Yuzvendra Chahal who had replaced Ashwin as the main spinner in the limited overs Indian side. It was to everyone’s surprise, Sarfaraz Khan! The only logic behind the decision had to be the fact that by retaining an uncapped Indian player, RCB had managed to save some more money for the auction due to Kohli’s high salary, ie 17 crores.

However, the decision backfired as Rahul went on to dominate the league to such an extent that fans have now begun asking for him to be considered over Dhawan and Rohit for the opening slot. On the other side of the spectrum, Sarfaraz finishes the season with a grand total of 51 runs at an average of 10.20. While he is still only 20, it is unlikely that RCB will give him too many chances going forward. 

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