IPL SRL | RCB vs CSK Evaluation Chart: Lower order blitzkrieg land RCB ultimate coup against archrivals CSK
In a low-scoring encounter between two archrivals Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, the former came out triumphant by four wickets, thanks to the middle and lower order heroics. Or else, the game was totally dominated by the bowlers, especially Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini.
Match Review
After being asked to bat first, Chennai Super Kings were subjected to an early jolt when they lost Shane Watson for 1, which was followed by Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina’s dismissals in the 6th Over. In between though, the duo, scoring 18 and 27 respectively, lifted the side to a mixed bag position of 56//3 in 6 overs. CSK needed MS Dhoni to stand up after that but the skipper was reticent in his approach, succumbing to the pressure generated by RCB spinners in the middle overs, a phase in which they could add only 47 runs. After Dhoni was sent back to the hut for 4 off 8 balls, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu resurrected the innings and their 73-run unbeaten partnership helped the three-time IPL Champions to 155/6 in 20 overs.
Chasing 156, RCB found themselves in a maze when Deepak Chahar bowled his heart out to dismiss three batsmen inside the powerplay. The trio combinedly added 9 runs, with RCB losing all the hope of getting things back on track. But AB de Villiers had other plans in his mind as he forged a 33-run partnership with Moeen Ali to take the side to 66/4. Moeen, however, didn’t bulge, with him striking one big hit to the stands after another, with Shivam Dube for company. Although Imran Tahir tried to bring sanity in the death, it was too late, as RCB raced to a four-wicket win to exact revenge on the derby opponents.
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Turning Point
AB de Villiers’ dismissal, which followed the wicket of his skipper and spiritual batting partner Virat Kohli, in another day, would have been the end of the story for the three-time finalists. But RCB sticking together and adding 32 runs in the next three overs meant the game turned slyly in favour of the Bangalore side and eventually culminated with an RCB win.
Highs and Lows
Big hits and big crowds are the two fundamental beauties of a T20 match - something that gives the joy factor. But when a spirited bowler like Deepak Chahar delivers not one but three pompous overs with the field restriction on, you ought to believe that is the ultimate high. And it surely was. His three overs inside the powerplay dismissed Finch, Patel and Kohli while conceding 14 runs in the process. Absolute serendipity!
First, it was MS Dhoni and then it was his great comrade Kedar Jadhav. The story had a tragic end when the duo departed for the pavilion on the back of a bad powerplay batting performance by the top-order. In all counts, they had the onus to deliver - and the most trusted batting combination out in the middle - but their lack of intent became the ultimate low in a game that had suffered the boredom for its own duality.
Rating Charts
Powerplay exploitation: Chennai 6/10 Bangalore 3.5/10
Get into my car and report this to WADA together that Navdeep Saini was on drugs. Some high-priced cocaine, maybe. Despite giving away 20 runs in three overs, the Delhi pacer rose in the 6th over to leave Chennai Super Kings at 56/3 at the end of the powerplay and put a jolt that was not easy to recover. Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina were sent back to the hut in the same over even though being set in the middle with some initial hits. Raina, in particular, looked to be in complete control of the match - with a stoic 27 off 17 balls - but his dismissal made RCB go bonkers.
It was like Navdeep Saini and Deepak Chahar bowling in tandem, just that we were witnessing them in two different innings. I mean the similarity in the approach was hard to miss, as the Rajasthan pacer upped the decibel with a kind of stunner. Sending the trio of Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, and Aaron Finch for a combined total of 9 runs inside the powerplay alone, Chahar justified the tag of being a powerplay specialist.
Middle-overs manoeuvring: Chennai 4/10 Bangalore 8/10
This was at the complete opposite end of the spectrum as far as a conventional T20 game goes. Ambati Rayudu was reduced to a mere pawn initially with his rusty batting display while Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni failed to get going, scoring only five runs between them. Only 47 runs were added to the Chennai total in this nine-over phase of the innings. Credit must be given to RCB bowlers for choking the run-flow and this was surely a phase CSK missed the trick to make amends for the mediocre display in the powerplay phase.
After the disastrous power play, RCB needed a magical phase and that seemed absolutely possible when AB de Villers added runs by a tickle while Moeen Ali took the aggressor role. There was never an over of absolute blitzkrieg but scoring runs at 9-10 almost every over, the duo made RCB fans dream. After the South African departed for 41 off 25 deliveries, Moeen combined with Shivam Dube, taking the score to 117/4 in 15 overs. Semblance was restored and it was then RCB’s game to lose on all counts.
Death bowling: Chennai 2/10 Bangalore 4/10
In T20 cricket especially, all good work might come down to naughts if the finishing touches are not provided perfectly and when almost all RCB bowlers, contrary to the first 15 overs, were deposited to the stands, the thoughts provoked vividly. With an addition of 52 runs, thanks to a perfect T20 innings by Dwayne Bravo and late surge by Rayudu, CSK ended their innings with 155/6 - a par score but when looked in broader sense, it was a pretty better ending than expected. RCB would definitely rue that phase once the dust settles.
Honestly, it is a tough task to defend 39 runs in the death overs, when the opposition had two settled and aggressive batsmen in the middle. But CSK should be applauded for not giving an inch for free, with Imran Tahir sending Dube and Chris Morris back to the hut in one over. However, Chahar, who had a memorable outing so far, failed to sustain the same momentum, chirping away 12 runs in the penultimate over to ensure the home side walked away winners by four wickets.
Match Frenzy O Meter - Average
A low-scoring encounter could only be interesting if there are moments of fleeting brilliance and unfortunately, the game that had a lot of eyeballs from both sets of fans, it was a rather ordinary one.