Royal Challengers Bangalore did not need to break a sweat to overhaul Rajasthan Royals’ 154/6 in Match 15 of the IPL 2020, at Abu Dhabi to secure the top spot in the points table, much to the delight of their fans. Devdutt Padikkal cruised to a delightful 45-ball 63 before trying one shot too many and getting bowled by Jofra Archer. He became the first to hit three fifties in the tournament.
But what will make Bangalore happier is Virat Kohli’s return to form. Having scored a mere 20 (off 29 balls) in the tournament so far, Kohli finally found his mojo back. True, he was in his comfort zone – 155 in 20 overs was more of an ODI target, his comfort zone – but he was out there till the end and had a 53-ball 72 not out to show for his efforts.
Just like the Kolkata match, Rajasthan found themselves in familiar quagmire, having lost their big three – Steven Smith, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson – inside 25 balls. Mahipal Lomror, drafted in to boost a feeble batting line-up, did his best to salvage things. Unfortunately, he got only four boundaries (one four, three sixes) in 39 balls. While he looked comfortable, the Bangalore bowlers did not have a problem with him scoring at that pace.
Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag, Rajasthan’s two out-of-form batsmen, hit only a four apiece. Between them, they and Lomror scraped their way to 80 in 79 balls. That was where the match was lost. The onslaughts from Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer came too late in the day. Rajasthan’s middle-order woes are far from over. They hit only nine fours and eight sixes – fewer than one boundary every over.
As is evident, between them, Uthappa and Parag have contributed little to Rajasthan’s cause till now. Parag also bowled two expensive overs in four matches, so his bowling has not added much value either.
As a result, the only matches Rajasthan have won in this tournament are when Smith and Samson got runs (and even on one of these occasions Tewatia had to pull off a miracle). Buttler has not followed his stupendous English summer with anything substantial here, so when Smith and Samson have failed, the batting has caved in with a whimper.
Rajasthan tried to change things by replacing Ankit Rajpoot with Lomror, who did not bowl a single over. With Ben Stokes’ return still at least ten days away, Rajasthan need to either draft in David Miller (for Tom Curran) or push one of their top three to five or six. Buttler, perhaps, for he is used to that role in 50-over cricket, with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top. They may even try pushing Uthappa up the order, a place he had always been at his best, but given his form, that seems unlikely.
And then there is the curious case of 32-year-old Aniruddha Joshi, a draft almost straight out of the 2019 KPL, who has played a handful of T20 matches and none in the IPL. But then, Rajasthan are known for these inspired selections. Had they not given us the likes of Swapnil Asnodkar and Kamran Khan in the past?
Shreyas Gopal’s much-awaited return to form was perhaps the only high in the day for Rajasthan. He got Aaron Finch with his third ball, bowled two overs inside the Powerplay, conceded only two fours, and finished with 4-0-27-1. While he did not dismiss Kohli – something he has earned a reputation for – he did not let the great man get on top either.
For Bangalore, with Chris Morris yet to return to action, Isuru Udana provided yeoman service, both in the Powerplay and at the death. The spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, and Adam Zampa, went about choking the shaky Rajasthan middle-order without much fuss, and there was hardly a stage in the match when they did not seem to be the dominant side.
But as is often the case, all eyes were on Navdeep Saini, who took out Buttler with his first ball of the day. That over, a maiden, set the tone of the match. Rajasthan, 31/1 after 3 overs, managed a mere seven off the next three overs. At times he was too quick for the batsmen, often and in his last over he bowled an inadvertent beamer that hit Tewatia on the chest. He even bowled a bouncer in the last ball of the innings that hit a ducking Archer on the head.
Tewatia had hit a six off Saini in the 18th over. Now, after being hit on the chest, he responded by hitting the next two balls for sixes, evoking memories of that over from Sheldon Cottrell. He is probably better suited to a position in the top five, if not the top four. His four overs went for only 28, making him Rajasthan’s best performer of the day.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/2Srdp5L
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