IPL SRL | MI vs RCB Evaluation Chart - Rahul Chahar spins game away from Bangalore’s clutches

BySritama Panda, SportsCafe Editor

07/11/2020

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One would expect such a thriller of a contest between Mumbai and Chennai, but it was RCB who challenged Rohit Sharma’s team to a final-over thriller. Despite the unbeaten 66-run partnership between Dube and Morris, it was Rahul Chahar’s economic bowling that sealed a 7-run wicket for Mumbai.

Match Review

Winning the toss and bowling first, Royal Challengers Bangalore showcased some fine pace bowling as the Mumbai openers took a couple of overs time to settle. Soon Quinton de Kock, with help from Rohit, well on a smashing spree against Saini and Morris to take the score to 49/0 at the end of the sixth over. Despite a great start in the middle overs, driven by de Kock, Chahal was able to record the first breakthrough for RCB and as the run rate fell in the next few overs, Sharma’s innings also came to an end. However, as Lynn and Suryakumar stepped up, Mumbai’s total was taken to 121/2 ahead of the death overs. The last five overs were pretty ventful, given RCB were able to remove both the batsmen in form but couldn’t contain the wrath of Pandya (20* off 9) and Pollard (24 off 11*).

In reciprocation to a big enough target of 181, Bangalore lost their first wicket in the opening over of the chase as Finch (1 off 3) was removed by Bumrah. As a healthy flow of runs started in the next couple of overs, the real firing began in the fourth over bowled by Kulkarni wherein 14 runs were conceded. Meanwhile, Patel was losing his touch and was finally dismissed in the 5th over and the score at the end of the Powerplay, with Kohli still looking in good touch, was 49/2. The partnership, however, ended in the very next over and soon ABD’s (21 off 12) cameo too came to an end and it was Rahul Chahar’s day at work. His efforts slowed down the scoring for Bangalore, including the wicket of Moeen Ali, and the score at the end of 15 overs was 115/5. Holding the hands of Dube (49* off 30), RCB moved into the death and along with Morris (33* off 17), RCB were taken to a point where only 17 runs were required off the last over but Kulkarni’s brilliant bowling under pressure helped Mumbai win the game by 7 runs.

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

Turning Point

Despite a couple of hiccups in the Powerplay, du Plessis’ batting made it possible for Chennai to dream big in their innings. After a long time, the South African finally found a stable partnership in Rayudu and the two together formed a 38-ball 46-run third-wicket stand. But Rahul Chahar came in and broke the potentially innings-defining stand and there was no recovery for Chennai post that. Their struggle in the middle overs cost them at least 30 runs in the total.

Highs and Lows

Mumbai innings was built and translated into a potentially high scoring game by the two openers, Sharma and QDK, but it was after their dismissal that the real character of the innings evolved. The unbeaten quickfire fifth wicket partnership of 31 runs (off 15 balls) between Pollard and Pandya was a real T20 treat to watch in the death overs despite the fall of Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav.

Well, if you ask me, Royal Challengers Bangalore made a huge gamble in buying Chris Morris for a hefty amount of Rs 10 crore as Pat Cummins slipped away to KKR. And, honestly, it didn’t make much sense now that the South African bowler once again conceded 41 runs off four wicketless overs.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - MI (8.5/10) and RCB (7.5/10)

Mumbai openers, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, took some time before they could start firing against the RCB pacers. The regular influx of runs, caused by both openers, that started from second over, started to form the foundation for Mumbai’s innings. Following a 10-run over by Chris Morris, in the fifth over, there was no looking back for Quinton de Kock, who looked in a prime form. Navdeep Saini, coming back for his third over, had to face the wrath. De Kock started the over with a six and a four, taking the total to 49/0 at the end of the Powerplay.

The first spectacle of the chase came in the very first over as Bumrah pulled a brilliant caught and bowled to eliminate Finch, but the pacer was punished with a six off the next ball by Parthiv Patel. The second over saw Kohli opening his account with a four, off Dhawal Kulkarni, and with Patel once again opening up against Bumrah, a partnership started to bloom but the influx of runs weren’t desirable yet. With Kulkarni coming in for his 2nd, the real Kohli show started and the over saw an influx of 14 runs, the biggest one up until that point. However, the following over saw the uprooting of Patel (15 off 18) at the hands of Nathan Coulter-Nile. With Kohli and AB de Villiers in the middle, RCB were on 49/2.

Middle overs:- MI (8/10) and RCB (5/10)

Carrying on their unbeaten partnership, both Mumbai openers were looking confident in the middle overs. The 10-run seventh over itself, bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal, showed promise for a big partnership between the two danger batsmen. However, Chahal returned for his second over and uprooted de Kock (40 off 29) in the 9th over, breaking a formidable partnership. Naturally, the next couple of overs weren’t big on runs and the 12th over, despite seeing the fall of Sharma (34 off 31) by Washington Sundar, added 14 runs into Mumbai’s account. The next three overs went like a breeze for Mumbai with both Chris Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav taking charge and taking the score to 121/1 at the end of 15 overs.

The most fearsome partnership, between Kohli and ABD, started to do its things as soon as spin came in, in the form of Rahul Chahar. However, fate soon turned around for Bangalore as Kohli was shown with another caught and bowled in the innings. Meanwhile, ABD (21 off 12) took to his full fledged scoring against Sundar but was soon dismissed by Rahul Chahar, who enjoyed a pretty good over. As Krunal Pandya came in for his first, he enjoyed the slowness in Bangalore’s batting and the next few overs went on pretty uneventful for both teams until the 14th over, by Krunal Pandya, wherein 10 runs were conceded and Moeen Ali’s wicket had fallen. Following an 8-run over by NCN, the score at the end of 15 overs was 115/5 with Shivam Dube looking in good touch.

Death Bowling: - RCB (4/10) and MI (6/10)

The middle overs slowdown by the Bangalore bowlers gave them promise ahead of the death overs and Chahal came back for his 4th over and bagged the wicket of Suryakumar (17 off 11). Following that, Kieron Pollard marked his entry with a six on the very first delivery, and that inspired Lynn to start off the 17th over, by Morris, with another maximum and turning it into another fruitful over for Mumbai. The death overs refused to stop being eventful as Umesh returned for his third over and claimed the wicket of Lynn (38 off 31) and bowled a reasonably economic over of just 5 runs. After Saini bowled a 7-run over to finish his spell, Umesh Yadav faced the wrath of Hardik Pandya who planted two consecutive sixes to start the final over and the rest of the deed was done by Pollard, taking the total to 180/4.

With five wickets in hand and 66 runs to score off the last five overs, Bangalore definitely did not have any advantage but this time it was Rahul Chahar, who came back for his 4th, who conceded 9 runs to start the death overs. The following 14-run over by NCN, that saw the rise of Morris along with Dube, added more hopes for Bangalore and the firing didn’t stop against Kulkarni, who conceded 10 runs in the 18th over. With 33 runs required off the final two overs, Bumrah conceded 16 runs off the penultimate over leaving Kulkarni to defend 16 runs in the final over. The pacer gave away only nine runs under pressure, turning the thriller into Mumbai’s favour

Match Frenzy O Meter - Excellent

Interestingly, both innings of the game were similar as both took off slow but found character in the death overs. What Pollard and Pandya did for Mumbai, Dube and Morris did for Bangalore. But in the end Rohit Sharma and co. emerged victorious in the final-over thriller.