Champions League SRL | RCB vs Sussex Evaluation Chart - Wright, Rawlins shine as Sussex thrash Bangalore

ByAnirudh Suresh, SportsCafe Editor

05/10/2020

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Sussex stormed to their second victory in as many days as fifties from the bat of Luke Wright and Delray Rawlins ensured that they downed favourites RCB by a thumping 53-run margin. RCB were left to rue their batsmen failing to convert starts, as they were bowled out for just 140, chasing 194.

Match Review

Winning the toss and bowling first, Bangalore got off to an excellent start, conceding just one run off the first over, but that turned out to be the calm before the storm as veteran Luke Wright cut loose and hit the RCB pacers out of the attack. Whilst Bangalore did strike at regular intervals, it was to no avail as Wright and Delray Rawlins, both of who scored fifties, kept counter-punching the RCB bowlers before they were supported by the duo of Alex Carey and David Wiese to ensure that the Sharks posted a monstrous first-innings total of 193.

In response, it was the same old story for Bangalore, as both the openers - Finch and Patel - getting dismissed early meant that Kohli and de Villiers were batting together as early as the fourth over of the chase. The pair put together a flawless partnership for seven overs, but a misstep from Kohli in the 10th over meant that he had to walk back to the pavilion, after which the Bangalore side ended up losing their last seven wickets for just 60 runs. The collapse was triggered by the duo of Mills and Archer, both of who ended with three wickets to their name.

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Turning Point

Unsurprisingly, Kohli’s dismissal at a crucial juncture in the game turned out to be the decisive factor as a mega-collapse ensued after the skipper’s dismissal. With the score 80/2 in the 10th over, RCB were well on track to complete a masterful chase, but the right-hander’s dismissal turned the game in Sussex’s favour in a jiffy as RCB ended up losing the game by a staggering 53-run margin.

Highs and Lows

Danny Briggs has been one of the most important players for Sussex in this SRL campaign thus far and today, the left-arm spinner hit jackpot. Bowling to a well-set de Villiers and Kohli can be a nightmare for any bowler, especially a spinner, but the left-armer outfoxed and outsmarted both the players and accounted for the wickets of both the maestros to break RCB’s spine. His figures read 2/22, but the value of those two scalps arguably is equivalent to taking a six-wicket haul.

The ‘highs’ dominated the ‘lows’ in this contest, but a bizarre pattern that was observed in both innings was the amount of respect the batsmen gave to the fifth bowler. Both David Wiese and Moeen Ali filled in with one over each, at a time when the opposition batsmen were well set, but flabbergastingly ended up conceding a total of just six runs between them, despite being nothing more than part-time bowlers. Especially in the case of Sussex, them letting Ali get away with a cheap over was hard to believe, given every other RCB bowler had gone for an economy over 7.5.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: Sussex 9/10 and RCB 7/10

You live by the sword and die by the sword they say, and for Sussex, Luke Wright came out swinging his sword right from the very first ball. But thankfully for himself and his team, Wright escaped with just a few wounds and ensured that he inflicted all the pain he could, on the poor RCB bowlers. That he accounted for 45 of the 66 runs that were scored by Sussex in the first powerplay is a testament to how dominant he was today.

RCB have had a mare in this SRL thus far when it comes to opening stands and it was no different today as both Patel and Finch provided little trouble to the Sussex bowlers. Given the target was a mammoth 194, the openers perishing early meant that RCB were behind the eight ball from the very first over, and hence to limit further damage, both Kohli and de Villiers went into ‘caution’ mode. Yes, there was an odd boundary here and an odd boundary there, but 44 was all they managed at the end of the field restrictions. To put things into perspective, the RR had risen to 10.71 from 9.7 at the end of the 6th over.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: Sussex 7/10 and RCB 7.5/10

At 66/2 at the end of the powerplay, Sussex had the chance to really put the RCB bowlers to the sword but their inability to keep their wickets intact meant that their ‘all or nothing’ approach had a domino effect on their scoring rate. The dismissal of both Carey and Wright put a brake on the scoring, as the Bermudian Rawlins, along with Wiese, went into damage-limitation mode towards the end of the middle overs to shut the door on any sort of a collapse. Alas, 66 was all they managed in the middle-over period.

Statistically, RCB did not have the worst of middle-overs: they scored 69 runs, lost just two wickets and had six wickets in hand at the death to try and chase down the total. However, the two wickets they lost being that of Kohli and de Villiers, the heartbeat of their side, meant that their fight was as good as done by the end of the 15th over. Them taking Rashid Khan apart - 43 off his 4 overs - was some sight, but it didn’t really matter as the required rate climbed up to 16.2 at the end of the 15th over.

Death bowling: RCB 3/10 and Sussex 10/10

What is the opposite of a love story? Yeah well, that’s the relationship the RCB bowlers share with the death overs - and it seems like a never-ending one. Despite seeing the back of both Carey and Wright, RCB ended up conceding SIXTY ONE runs off the last 5 overs, with the lusty blows coming primarily out of the bat of Rawlins. The last two overs accounted for TWENTY FOUR runs and both Umesh and Saini ended with an economy rate over 10. Not surprising, though. If anything, this was always going to be a certainty.

Many teams - including DC yesterday against CSK - have lost the plot at the death in this SRL due to their complacency but that was anything but the case with the Sussex bowlers today. In what was one of the most professional displays of death bowling seen in thIs SRL, the Sharks conceded just 27 runs whilst taking six wickets, with Archer and Mills being the wreckers in chief. Won’t be an overstatement to call this the best death bowling performance we’ve seen in SRL history. A 10/10 display.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Good

There was plenty of hype and expectation surrounding this match-up before it began and I have to say, it lived up to the hype. From wondrous hitting to skillful bowling, we witnessed everything and seldom was there a boring passage of play. A very good T20 contest, despite the scorecard suggesting otherwise.