RCB vs KXIP | Player Ratings - Pacers backfire as Kings XI Punjab suffer 17-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Hardus Viljoen, Mohammed Shami, and Ankit Rajpoot combinedly spent 150 runs, and despite R Ashwin giving his best with the ball, the result was a foregone conclusion. When they had the chance, David Miller’s slow innings handed RCB the initiative, which eventually culminated with a 17-run loss.
KL Rahul (7/10): No one understands Chinnaswamy better than KL Rahul who has played at the venue all his life. That experience came to his aid tonight as he took on the Bangalore pacers with absolute ease while ensuring that the start that Gayle provided was maximised in the powerplay and beyond. Although he couldn’t complete his half-century, that was fair enough when you look at the fact that after the end of the 10th over, the score was 105 runs.
Chris Gayle (5/10): As a man, he has polarised opinion but, as a cricketer, he has been a trailblazer. For the last one month, we were reminded of what the game will be missing when he departs. When he got into the mood, he made some clean hitting to send the ball out of the park but a miscue ended up under the throat of AB de Villiers, with whom he had some memorable partnerships with, after scoring a 10-ball 23.
Mayank Agarwal (5.5/10): Mayank Agarwal was right on the track after coming in following Chris Gayle’s dismissal, but slightest irresponsibility against Marcus Stoinis resulted on his dismissal. Agarwal could’ve just waited for a bit and understood Stoinis’ pace to dictate the course of his innings, but by not doing so, at 35, he ended up having a top-edge on the pull as Yuzvendra Chahal safely gobbled that up to bring curtains down on his promising innings.
David Miller (3/10): When the top-order has served the game on a platter for you, Miller just needed to be patient and use his experience to take the team over the line. However, he was very slow in his approach and that cost them big-time as Pooran came under pressure to hit boundaries regularly. His dismissal almost ended his team’s hopes to win the game.
Nicholas Pooran (4.5/10): The Carribean star was silent so far in the season, but against RCB, he showed what he could pull off. Against Washington Sundar, who had given away only a couple of runs in his first over, Pooran hit three sixes in an over and kept Punjab in the run-chase despite David Miller being cautious against the pacers. However, his failure to capitalise in the death and the eventual dismissal on 48 doesn’t accord him more points here.
Mandeep Singh (5/10): When Mandeep Singh came out to bat, there was hardly any job left for him and by facing four deliveries, the batsman managed to score four runs. As a matter of fact, that didn’t have any relation with the way the result panned out, but Mandeep did his part on the field, holding onto a Virat Kohli catch.
Ravichandran Ashwin (8/10): Cricket is a cruel game and that Ravichandran Ashwin understood today. He was like a frolicking Frodo with fellow hobbit Sam against the might of Mordor. With de Villiers going rampant from the very beginning, R Ashwin ensured that he conceded as less as possible to help his side win. Wickets column suggested only one, but he was way better than that.
Hardus Viljoen (1/10): The pacers really had a bad day and there is no one better than Hardus Viljoen to attest to the same. The South African had forgotten that bowling yorkers was an option at Chinnaswamy and seeing that, de Villiers employed a hitting method that was brutal in its simplicity, or perhaps simple in its brutality. Also, by dropping Virat Kohli, he had made an unpardonable error, notwithstanding how much Kohli went on to score tonight.
Murugan Ashwin (5/10): The only saviour for Kings XI Punjab, and of course apart from Ravichandran Ashwin, was Murugan Ashwin. The Tamil Nadu leg-spinner kept on attacking the full-length area and by mixing up the deliveries, he put a spot of doubt in de Villiers’ head to remain successful. On the face of the pacers’ economy rate, Murugan Ashwin’s figure very good.
Ankit Rajpoot (1/10): This year, pacers have been less effective than the spinners at the Chinnaswamy and with the kind of wicket Bangalore produces each time, it becomes imperative to be careful about line and lengths. However, Ankit Rajpoot hardly used his brain and instead of trying out new stuff, he bowled with the same old pitching up, wide outside the off stump tactics. Ended up conceding 46 runs in four overs and that tells a story.
Mohammed Shami (1/10): If Rajpoot was bad, then Mohammed Shami was worse. While he still bowls with 150 kmph, there was no control over the ball. With the ball gripping in and skidding thanks to famous Bangalore dew that makes its presence felt out of nowhere, Shami was all over the place and rightfully, de Villiers showed his place with some brutal power-hitting.
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