DC vs RCB | Player Ratings - Pacers fail to fire as Royal Challengers Bangalore succumb to eighth loss in IPL 2019

04/28/2019

Parthiv Patel gave an explosive start to Royal Challengers Bangalore but the pacers under-performance in the first innings put them on the wrong side of the result. The 16-run loss also virtually ended RCB’s slender hopes of qualifying for the playoffs while propelling Delhi Capitals to last four.

Parthiv Patel (6/10): It was the kind of a role that Parthiv used to essay for Mumbai Indians earlier and Sunil Narine successfully did in the last couple of seasons of the IPLfor KKR - giving the team a solid start and let the middle-order have enough momentum to ensure a decent total. His 35 was pretty to the eyes and came at a strike rate of almost 200, a longer stay was necessary.

Virat Kohli (3/10): Okay, the rating that you are seeing next to Virat Kohli’s name is not just reflective of his batting today, but also a reflection of his uninspiring captaincy as well. Knowing well that Umesh Yadav always goes under pressure in the death over, he could’ve taken the punt of having Yuzvendra Chahal just after the 15th over while having Marcus Stoinis and Navdeep Saini for the last four overs. Not using Gurkeerat Singh Mann was also another reason pacers had a bad toll on them. Coming to batting, he was effective and was on point but by pulling a half-tracker into the hands of Rutherford at deep mid-wicket, he ended his promising stay.

AB de Villiers (2.5/10): After Kohli’s dismissal, it was AB who should’ve been the man to raise his hands up and say, “I am taking the responsibility”. However, the lady luck just didn’t shine on the South African today as a superb running catch at deep mid-wicket and yet another long hop ended his 17-run stay in the middle.

Shivam Dube (5/10): His return to Royal Challengers Bangalore came at a time when the team couldn’t put up a foot wrong, and Dube started up in the right fashion to keep the team afloat. By collecting 24 runs off 16 balls, Dube helped lay out the platform for Klassen and Stoinis to come out and take the team over the line. Bowling one over, he gave away only five runs. Fair play to him.

Heinrich Klaasen (2/10): Replacing Moeen Ali in the team must’ve added some pressure on Klassen for the simple fact that the Englishman has been hugely successful for the franchise this season. Maybe it was pressure or maybe it was the opening game nervousness, but Klassen failed in his pursuit to be dismissed for three.

Gurkeerat Singh Mann (5/10): Playing his first IPL match in almost three years, Mann started on a rather attacking note, but his over-eagerness to reduce the required run-rate didn’t help the cause as the team needed him to stay back until the end. His dismissal on the fourth ball of the 19th over, after making 27 off 19 balls, made the game a one-sided affair in the last over as Delhi Capitals romped to yet another win.

Marcus Stoinis (7/10): On a day when all regular bowlers went for runs, Stoinis was kind of a saviour with his economy rate of eight. But most importantly, his overs helped Kohli keep Navdeep Saini and Umesh Yadav for the death while attacking Delhi’s left-right duo with some filler overs. His efforts with the bat were commendable as it kept RCB in the haut until the 19th over, but after that, it was all hunky-dory for Delhi.

Washington Sundar (5.5/10): Well, Washington Sundar might’ve been the most economical of the lot, but he would’ve been more effective had Kohli used him in the correct way. With Shikhar Dhawan at the crease, it was always advised to use an offie against him, but the RCB skipper used him as a floater, which eventually ended with the Tamil Nadu boy giving away 29 runs in four overs.

Navdeep Saini (2.5/10): All the good work was undone in the last one over when Sherfane Rutherford collected 20 runs off it, but Navdeep Saini was otherwise impressive. While Umesh Yadav - although a bit effective with the new ball - was pitching it up regularly, Saini brought the mid-on up and regularly attacked the good-length spot in order to extract the mistake by luring the batsmen on the on-side. It was a wonderful tactic on a pitch like Kotla but the last over meant his rating would go down drastically.

Umesh Yadav (4/10): At times, numbers can be a wonderful deception and Umesh Yadav would attest to it. Of course, he went for 39 runs in four overs, but the Vidarbha pacer was successful in sending Prithvi Shaw back early in the innings before creating a chance to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan as well. Had the catch been snapped, he would’ve probably had a better bowling figure to his name.

Yuzvendra Chahal (4.5/10): Another case which justifies why numbers shouldn’t be the prime parameters of T20 cricket because there is a chance we negate the importance of the other intangibles. The leg-spinner picked up two wickets at an economy rate of 10.25, but for the fact that he was brave enough to address the flaws in the death and got himself into the attacks says a lot about his never-say-die attitude.