IPL All-Stars SRL | Game - 2 Evaluation Chart - Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant seal the deal for North
After having lost the first game to South at their home, the North team bounced back with the help of Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant’s pure T20 special batting. Due to the young duo doing wonders for the hosts, who had put up a target of 201, North won the game by 24 runs in the final over.
Match Review
The second game between the North SRL and South SRL, with the former as hosts, took a different turn as compared to the first fixture. After the South team were able to thrash their opponents in the first IPL All-Star SRL fixture, the hosts - who won the toss and opted to bat first- made a comeback with youngsters Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant taking charge. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, all South bowlers were smashed all round the park by these T20 experts. The two were a part of a 106-run third-wicket partnership that helped the North team put up a total of 200/6.
Chasing a target of 201, the South team’s reciprocation was rather slow and shaky right from the start. Opener David Warner, who had scored a splendid 43-ball 75 in the previous game, was dismissed early for only 10 off 7 by Kagiso Rabada. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma stayed in the middle for a while but couldn’t make much of a difference. As wickets kept tumbling down, AB de Villiers tried to anchor the innings but ultimately failed, even though he remained unbeaten for a 39-ball 63, only to see his team lose by 24 runs in the final over.
Turning Point
To me, the turning point of the game was the 10th over of South’s innings when Rohit Sharma’s wicket fell, courtesy Andre Russell. Sharma contributed only a substandard 30-ball 38 in the 201-run chase, but with AB de Villiers as partner, the two could have turned the game around. After Sharma’s wicket, the South side were still asked 130 off 60 balls which looked all the more difficult with the top order been removed.
Highs and Lows
I believe the high of the game was Rishabh Pant’s imminent form who scored an outstanding 42-ball 83 in North’s win after his contribution of 30-ball 41 went futile in the previous game. Together with Gill, Pant added 106 runs off just 65 deliveries in the third-wicket partnership. Moreover, the two together hit 14 fours and 5 sixes- an absolute T20 delight!
According to me, the low of this game was Virat Kohli’s form. After a failed performance in the game, wherein he scored a run-a-ball 9, he failed once again - precisely scoring 3 runs off six deliveries- while his team was chasing 201 runs. Now, since the three-match competition has become 1-1, Kohli’s performance in the third game will be crucial.
Rating Charts
Powerplay exploitation: - North (8/10) and South (7/10)
At the end of the Powerplay, the North were on 51/2, at a run rate of 8.5, with nine runs scored in the sixth over, bowled by Bumrah. However, they lost Shreyas Iyer for 10 off 9 in that over but Gill’s impeccable batting (who was then batting on 31 off 19) added more hopes for the hosts. Despite losing KL Rahul early, Gill didn’t stop those boundaries coming and made the best he could of the Powerplay overs.
On the other hand, at the end of the Powerplay, the South team still required 154 off 84 runs, at an asking rate of 11 runs per over. At the end of five overs, chasing 201, they had only added 33 and lost Warner early. In the final of the Powerplay, however, they did add 14 runs despite- courtesy Sharma and de Villiers- losing Kohli’s wicket. So at the end of six overs, South were on 47/2, at a decent run rate of 7.83.
Middle overs:- North (7.5/10) and South (6/10)
The North batting lineup were able to make the most out of the win at the toss and the decision of batting first. Despite losing KL Rahul and Kohli quite early in the innings, the youngsters duo of Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant added a partnership, that would later turn out to be match-winning, of 106 runs off just 65 deliveries. They added 74 runs off the next nine overs, without losing a wicket, following the Powerplay and that set the tone of their innings.
On the other hand, the South team who had a fairly good performance in the Powerplay but couldn’t continue with it in the middle overs which were pretty crucial in their chase of 201. The wickets of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, in those overs, hurt their cause even further and they couldn’t recover from it during the final overs.
Death Bowling: - South ( 3/10) and North (8/10)
At the end of the 15th over, North were on 140/2 with Gill on 58 off 42 and Pant 59 off 31 and as promising as the scenario looked, they actually did make the most of it. Even though the South bowlers got rid of Gill in the 17th over, Pant remained unbeaten till the end. Moreover, in the last five overs Bhuvneshwar Kumar and co. conceded 61 runs despite managing to bag four inconsequential wickets.
After containing the runs significantly in the middle overs of South’s innings, the deal was rather easy in the death overs for the North bowling attack. In fact, at the end of the 15th over, the South team still required 80 runs off the last five overs. Naturally, the pressure was on the batting side despite the presence of AB de Villiers in the middle. The 18th over bowled by Rabada only conceded three runs and in turn, the speedster bagged three wickets and completely killed South’s chances.
Match Frenzy O Meter - Good
It was a fairly one-sided game, favouring the North team, but the batting in the first innings was top class according to T20 standards. Moreover, AB de Villiers added some spark in the second innings which was a treat to the spectators. Also, the result of the game has made the final fixture a decider which adds to the game in question.