RR vs RCB | Player Ratings - Shreyas Gopal and Jos Buttler lead way as Rajasthan Royals beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets

04/02/2019

Rajasthan Royals finally opened their account in the 2019 IPL by getting the better of fellow underachievers Royal Challenger Bangalore by a margin of six wickets. For the Royals, Jos Butter (59) starred with the bat while Shreyas Gopal was just terrific with the ball, ending with figures of 3/12.

Ajinkya Rahane (6/10): With Jos Buttler getting off a quickfire start, the Royals skipper was afforded the chance of being slow at the other end to create the base, keeping the fragile lower-middle order in mind. He was successful in his pursuit, until Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a googly and caught him plumb in front. Luckily for RR, he had already crossed past the power play phase to allow Steve Smith come and collect few easy singles.

Jos Buttler (8/10): It was 69 against Kings XI Punjab and 59 against Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight. Jos Buttler ensured the win was just a formality before he was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal with the score reading 104/2. Classic Buttler innings, if ever there was one.

Steve Smith (7.5/10): Steve Smith is not a regular T20 cricketer, and expecting him to play like a Buttler or Ben Stokes is as far fetched a notion as any. But Smith, with all the experience garnered over the years, understands the pace of the game and can move with the flow beautifully. He did exactly that against RCB, and without taking any unwarranted risks, nevermind the penultimate over, the former Aussie skipper landed the team on the brink of victory.

Rahul Tripathi (7.5/10): With every match, Tripathi is putting a stronger claim for the top order batting position and when he was promoted to No.4 tonight, he fortified the fact that he should actually be given the opening slot, where he had excelled in the past. Tripathi was also very good in negotiating the singles and doubles in the company of Smith, helping the Royals open their count in the tourney.

Ben Stokes (4/10): Had to face only a couple of deliveries, but his bowling left a lot to be desired. The English all-rounder was easily whacked around by Parthiv Patel but what was surprising was the fact that he didn’t even try to make any adjustments. The simple formula of imparting extra pace didn’t work out well for him as he ended the night with an economy rate of 9.67.

Stuart Binny (6/10): Ladies and Gentlemen, Stuart Binny hasn’t retired from cricket. A “forgotten character” in the league, Binny got a lease of life when he was picked ahead of an injured Sanju Samson. But it was a shame that he bowled only a single over, and wasn’t given the ball after that.

Krishnappa Gowtham (7.5/10): While Shreyas Gopal was taking wickets from one end, Gowtham went on with his mission of going through the overs, quickly and without conceding many runs. It was also an effective strategy in Royals’ sense, considering Virat Kohli was dismissed nine times by spinners in the league in the last two years, with the average being 23.50. Gowtham played to the RCB skipper’s weakness, before ending his quota with 0/19...

Jofra Archer (4/10): Archer had his first bad day in this year’s Indian Premier League, and much of that was down to the fact that he was mentally beaten by the lack of pace on the surface. He, of course, tried to bowl cutter and back-of-the-hand slower balls, but was smacked for fours on a regular basis to end with an economy rate of 11.75. The intelligent bowler that he is, Archer would try to take a lesson from this match.

Shreyas Gopal (9/10): Nine wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last three matches for Shreyas Gopal. The stats might look good, but the context makes it even better as Gopal was awarded most of the wickets on the basis of one simple strategy - by bowling continuous googlies. RCB were strangled by that simple formula and let him boss them with elan.

Dhawal Kulkarni (6/10): His bowling figure of 0/26 was better than what he did in the last game against Chennai Super Kings, and he was disciplined as well. Due to the presence of a dry patch on both sides of the wicket, spinners were getting purchase and tactifully, the Mumbai-born pacer bowled cutters not to allow the duo of Marcus Stoinis and Parthiv Patel open their arms.

Varun Aaron (4/10): Replacing Jaydev Unadkat in the side, Aaron had a big responsibility to fulfill, but Ajinkya Rahane trusted him only for one over. It helped that he had as many as seven bowlers to finish of the quota, but that also meant Aaron didn’t get a proper crack at making a comeback to the IPL after a gap of a year.