IPL 2020 | It was a tough wicket to bat, we had an off day, remarks Mike Hesson

IPL 2020 | It was a tough wicket to bat, we had an off day, remarks Mike Hesson

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RCB were outplayed by CSK

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@ IPL T20

RCB were outplayed by CSK on Sunday in Abu Dhabi and the Reds' Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson, felt that the wicket was tough to bat and it turned out to be an off day for the club. RCB are stationed at third place in the points table despite having 14 points like MI and DC after 11 games.

Not often you see AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, two modern-day masters of the game, miscalculate setting up targets as Bangalore finished on 145 against CSK after opting to bat first on a used Dubai wicket, which was exploited by the bowlers of the Men in Yellow to perfection. RCB scored at run-a-ball pace in the middle-overs after ending 46/1 in powerplay overs leaving too much to do in the death, which they couldn't as both AB and Kohli failed to finish with a flourish after adding 82 off 68 in their partnership on a slow wicket.

However, CSK batsmen led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, and Ambati Rayudu, took a pro-active approach, attacking the RCB bowlers right from the word go and made full use of powerplay overs before continuing the momentum in the middle-overs against spinners, making everyone wonder whether the wicket was as difficult to bat or RCB's lack of intent, made it look like one. CSK won the game comfortably by eight wickets. 

Weighing in on the loss, Mike Hesson, Director of Cricket at RCB, stated that it wasn't an easy wicket to bat on and that's why batsmen couldn't score briskly when bowlers bowled with accuracy.

"It was a tough wicket to come out and hit from ball one. Two of the best in the business - Kohli and AB - batted nicely but it was really difficult to put the foot down if the bowlers bowled the right areas.

"It's an off day. We have been pretty consistent with the ball throughout and I don't think we adapted to conditions as we have done. Obviously the ball swung in Abu Dhabi and it was a different skill set required today, we had to be patient, bowl top of off and bowl some cutters," Hesson said in the press conference.

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