Champions League SRL | RCB vs PZ Evaluation Chart - Kohli-ABD to the fore as RCB scamper home in a canter

05/09/2020

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Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers added 99 runs between them in what was a near-perfect day for RCB, to overpower Peshawar Zalmi by 35 runs. Darren Sammy, however, put his all into the game to ensure there was a perfect sense of fun factor, even though it was yet another one-sided match in the SRL.

Match Review

It was one of those days, you know. Is there a better sight in the cricketing world than seeing two of the finest batsmen of the modern-time - Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers - race together with surgical precision? As the duo hit two fifties in a nonchalant manner, the eventuality became an inevitable affair. Rahat Ali further came to their aid as the duo strung together a 99-run partnership to propel Royal Challengers Bangalore to 200/5.

Chasing 201 was not going to be easy but the RCB players’ erratic performances many a time in the past gave it a promising outlook. But Umesh Yadav was certainly not in the mood to let it slip away as he, along with Navdeep Saini, bowled one miserly over after another to choke the run-flow. Darren Sammy, who was removed from captaincy lately, however, decided to have some fun in the middle overs. The Caribbean's unbeaten 81, however, only delayed the inevitable, with RCB winning the game by 35 runs.

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Turning Point

Rahat Ali’s performance was definitely something that Peshawar Zalmi fans will detest to the core. Not only because he conceded runs in a canter, but he actually did when other bowlers were doing some fine strangulation job. The unevenness of the game started from the second over he bowled - in which he gave away 16 runs - and Peshawar never really stood a chance in the game after that.

Highs and Lows

Can I blame Somerset for Peshawar Zalmi’s loss today? I mean, both the highs and lows directly corresponded to the County side, and all in the negative way of course. Medium pacer Lewis Gregory, who has somehow created a niche for himself for being a giant killer, gave away 16 runs to AB de Villiers in the 14th over to wrest some sort of momentum generated by the Zalmis in the middle overs. From that point on, RCB turned the story on its head to post a massive total.

The second Somerset boy who was responsible for the lowest moment of the day was Tom Banton. The same Banton who lit up the Vitality Blast and Big Bash League with disdain for all the bowlers around was clueless against Navdeep Saini and Umesh Yadav from the first ball bowled today. There was no purpose, or as Virat Kohli would say, no intent whatsoever in his batting. A struggling Imam-ul-Haq at the other end made things even worse.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: Bangalore 5/10 and Peshawar 2/10

One bowler can destroy all your good work done and Peshawar Zalmi had Rahat Ali to do the same. Despite spending only 19 runs in four overs - thanks to Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz - the Yellow brigade conceded the powerplay advantage as Rahat Ali gave away 32 runs in his two overs. Parthiv Patel and Aaron Finch, after pouncing on him, ensured Royal Challengers Bangalore managed a score in the north of 50 runs. Certainly, a better recovery than you normally associate RCB with.

Rahat Ali might have helped RCB score over 50 runs, but Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini didn’t extend the same courtesy to their Pakistani opponents. The two bowlers completely dried up the runs, with the powerful duo of Tom Banton and Imam-ul-Haq failing to score above five runs in four out of six overs. It was a kind of bowling display that would make an RCB fan go at the top up their lungs, and SRL was no different. Stunning would be an understatement and for the Zalmi, who managed only 30 runs in this phase, this was really heartbreaking

Middle-overs manoeuvring: Bangalore 7.5/10 Peshawar 6/10

With Virat Kohli not firing in the last few matches of the SRL, there was a strange feeling that RCB might have lost the plot once again but thankfully, it was one of those days when the mutual appreciation society of Kohli and ABD struck just fine. Kohli took the role of sheet anchor while ABD attacked everyone from the word go to bring a smile to the face of Bangalore fans. 80 runs off 9 overs, especially in the face of what happened later in the innings, means a job well done.

Although wickets fell in a flurry in the middle overs, Peshawar should thank their talisman Darren Sammy for standing up and delivering like a pro. The former Windies skipper was all fun and gun in the middle overs, scoring runs like only Windies players can. His mighty effort ensured the PSL side managed a handsome 72 runs in the nine-over period. It was too little, too late, but an improved performance unlike their last round game against the same team.

Death bowling: Bangalore 3.5/10 Peshawar 3/10

It was a throwback to the time when almost every game had some Kohli-ABD touch and today’s game in the Champions League SRL had some dazzle. The duo took the attack on Rahat Ali and Yasir Shah to collect the majority of the 69 runs scored in the last five overs of the game. Even though Wahab Riaz had displayed some sort of quality bowling up front, he gave away 15 runs at the death, off one over, and there went RCB to the top once again.

The death overs were cursed, let me tell you? Or was it blessed for the batsmen and cursed only for the bowlers. Whatever it was, 62 runs were milked in the last five overs to give Zalmi some sort of respectability and ensured the loss margin was within 40 runs. For the RCB bowlers, it was kind of normal at the cauldron of Chinnaswamy but the complacency factor needs to be taken care if they really want to fulfil their long ambition of lifting a trophy.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Good

Remember the India-Bangladesh T20 match in Nagpur? It was a soulless, one-sided game but the fun factor was at an all-time high. That is what a T20 game can do and this surely was one of those days. Virat, ABD, and Sammy all had their moments to enthrall the audience beyond comprehension and that was surely something neutrals will enjoy about.