IPL SRL | KXIP vs RCB Evaluation Chart - Bangalore’s collective effort steamrolls Punjab in one-sided affair

BySritama Panda, SportsCafe Editor

06/04/2020

Royal Challengers Bangalore have now registered their second consecutive win in the IPL SRL after having defeated Kings XI Punjab by 70 runs on Thursday. Moeen Ali, amongst the other middle-order batsmen, played a crucial role and Washington Sundar completed the deed with the ball.

Match Review

Batting first after winning the toss, Royal Challengers Bangalore had a great start thanks to openers Aaron Finch and Parthiv Patel until the former fell in the fifth over to Mohammad Shami. Even after the opening partnership was broken, the innings wasn’t swayed by any hiccups as the entire middle order, comprising Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Moeen Ali, looked in a great form. Ali formed a great fifth-wicket partnership of 43 runs with Shivam Dube and that took the total to a gigantic 214/7 as Ali remained undefeated.

Chasing a heavy target of 215, at home, Kings XI Punjab lost the wickets of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. That point on, together, Mayank Agarwal and Glenn Maxwell tried to recover from the early jolts and stabilize the innings. However, their innings went downhill as the asking rate increased and the entire top order was removed, with Washington Sundar claiming three wickets. In the end, Punjab could only manage 144/8 as Bangalore bagged a 70-run victory in the final over.

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

Turning Point

To me, the turning point of the game was Glenn Maxwell’s dismissal in the 10th over. Washington Sundar bowled a great over as he not only removed Maxwell but also contained the scoring, conceding only three runs. The previous over, bowled by Chahal, had already claimed the wicket of Agarwal. Post that the game was already in the bag of Bangalore’s.

Highs and Lows

I believe the high of the game was the performances by RCB’s middle order. After a good start by the opener, Virat Kohli joined Patel in the fifth over. The captain added 49 runs off 33 balls and formed significant partnerships first with Patel and then with de Villiers. Following that, it was Moeen Ali all the way and then a cameo by Shivam Dube(10-ball 27) led RCB to the gigantic total.

According to me, the low of this game was Chris Gayle’s underperformance yet again, giving the franchise a big headache. After scoring just 2 off 2 in the previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, Gayle fell in the second over today, to Umesh Yadav, for just 3 runs off 5. His dismissal added enormous pressure on Rahul and Agarwal, putting a dent on their surge.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - RCB (8/10) KXIP (8/10)

At the end of the Powerplay, the Bangalore side were on 50/1, having lost the wicket of Finch in the fifth over. Despite Finch’s wicket, Shami conceded 11 runs in that over and RCB remained unswayed by the dismissal as Patel and Kohli looked confident in their approach. Seven runs were conceded in the sixth over, bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the end of the powerplay both players looked strong as Patel was on 20 off 14 and Kohli on 16 off 8.

On the other hand, chasing a huge target of 215, the pressure was already on KL Rahul and co. And it showed as both openers were removed, by Saini and Yadav, withing the first three overs. Following that, that was a little recovery holding the hands of Agarwal and Maxwell. While Morris bowled a good fifth over, conceding only five runs, the sixth over favoured Punjab as 13 runs were squeezed out including three boundaries from Maxwell. At the end of the Powerplay, Punjab were on 54/2.

Middle overs:- RCB (9/10) KXIP (2/10)

By the end of the first six overs, the second-wicket partnership was already established between Patel and Kohli and that was good news for Bangalore. After Patel’s departure, Kohli formed a 47-run partnership with de Villiers and the latter added 45 runs with Moeen Ali in the fourth wicket stand. Ali, who looked in an imminent form today, made the most of his partnership with de Villiers that remained unbeaten through the middle overs. At the end of the 15th over, RCB’s scoreboard read 140/3.

Following a shaky start, RCB’s immediate recovery in the Powerplay was absolutely promising. But that solely depended on the third-wicket partnership between Maxwell and Agarwal. But soon that was broken by the spin duo of Chahal and Sundar in the 9th and 10th overs. From then on the chase went downhill for Punjab and at end of 15 overs, their score was 93/7. Punjab still required 122 runs off 30 balls with Sheldon Cottrell joining Gowtham.

Death Bowling: - KXIP (2/10) and RCB (4/10)

It was the batsmen’s day through and through except for the occasional wickets that the pacers bagged, especially Cottrell. After the bowlers stormed at by Kohli and de Villiers, the death overs saw Moeen Ali’s turn of whacking the Punjab bowlers. He started right away by smashing Gowtham for 26 runs in the 16th over. Despite having de Villiers removed in the 17th over, Punjab didn’t find any relief as Ali went berserk and in the end, remained unbeaten on 55 off 20 balls. Punjab were able to bag four wickets in the final five overs but on the contrary 74 runs were conceded.

Clearly, the task for the bowlers was absolutely an easy one as the real deed was done in the middle overs itself. The Bangalore bowlers had to defend 121 runs in the final five overs and they actually did not do surprisingly well. Morris finished his exceptional spell of 1/17 but they only managed a single wicket in the deaths and 51 runs were conceded. As the final ball was bowled, Punjab lost the game by 70 runs.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Good

Well, it was a fairly one-sided game favouring Bangalore throughout a big percentage of the game. But that does not mean that the fun was lacking in any way. Full 20 overs were bowled, which did become stagnant in the middle overs, but RCB’s batting and bowling the middle overs were the highlight.