IPL 2019 | We were eaten alive at Chepauk, says AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers has stated that RCB were eaten alive by CSK at Chepauk as they were bowled out for just 70 runs in the opening match. He also stated that RCB were confident of making a strong start against CSK at their home but the loss, that too in such a manner, came as a shocker for the team.
The first match of the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League was presented to be a mouth-watering contest between India captain Virat Kohli’s side Royal Challengers’ Bangalore and his mentor MS Dhoni’s side Chennai Super Kings. But it turned out to be a dampener as RCB were bowled out for 70 in 17.1 overs on a slower track at the Chepauk.
The Bangalore-based franchise’s batting star AB de Villiers laid out his emotions after his side’s embarrassing loss, in which Parthiv Patel was the only batsman to score in double digits, with a score of 29.
"The RCB preparation was excellent and we walked into the Lion's Den, confident of making a strong start to the tournament. Instead, we were eaten alive in Chennai. Bowled out for 70! Nobody saw that coming. What happened? First, we lost the toss and were asked to bat first on a slow pitch, which hosted only one IPL match last year. So it was hard to tell what would be a reasonable target. Would we need 150 or 160? In the event, maybe 110 would have been competitive,” wrote De Villiers, in his column for the Times of India.
Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh first scalped the wicket of Kohli, followed by Moeen Ali, and De Villiers that broke RCB’s backbone, while the other two spinners Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja took three and two wickets, respectively. Fast bowling all-rounder Dwayne Bravo bowled only one ball to wrap up RCB’s innings with Parthiv Patel’s wicket, whereas pacer Deepak Chahar, who bowled the opening spell only gave away 17 runs in his quota of four overs.
"CSK field one of the most experienced teams in the tournament, with nine players over the age of 30. Captain MS Dhoni is one of the greatest tacticians in the history of the game and it wasn't long before they began to apply the pressure in Game 1. It's very unusual for both opening bowlers to run straight through their four overs but, with Deepak Chahar maintaining a tight line from one end, Harbhajan Singh bowled with skill from the other end, producing grip and turn. All of a sudden, we were 39 for four after eight overs and the opening match of the tournament was running away from us," the former South Africa captain added.
The right-handed batsman did not shy away from the fact that they got their strategy wrong, a mistake for which they paid a costly price. "We could have adjusted to the conditions more quickly but, in aiming for 150, we ended up with 70. Some of our batsmen, including me, were dismissed cheaply when looking to attack when we should have been content to nudge and accumulate. There is hardly any room for error at this level of T20 cricket and it becomes very difficult to reverse the momentum. In a yellow blur, 39 for four became 70 all out," he wrote.
Despite the hard-hitting loss, the team's bowling was a shining light as they made the CSK batsmen toil hard for the runs. The Dhoni-led side lost three wickets and managed to finish their chase only in the 18th over. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled beautifully as he gave away only six runs in his quota of four overs, whereas Moeen Ali, the only other spinner in the side, gave 19 runs in his quota.
"Our bowlers stayed in the fight and made CSK work hard for the runs, ensuring they only reached the target in the 18th over. It was small consolation on a disappointing night, but our net run rate was respectable and that may play a role in the coming weeks. There wasn't much to say when we gathered in our team room later in the evening. We had underperformed under the bright lights, but we'll be back and now we're looking forward to our first match back in Bengaluru, against Mumbai Indians on Thursday. It remains a dismal fact that RCB