Apart from the first 10 overs, RCB looked off the mark in every aspect of the game. Royal Challengers (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in his last Indian Premier League (IPL) captaincy stint looked visibly frustrated with his bowlers and fielders in the middle. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) barely challenged in the remaining 30 overs as they won the match by six wickets chasing down the target of 157 with 11 balls to spare.
Kohli-Padikkal start strong
After a dismal performance with the bat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), getting bundled out below 100, openers Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli got RCB off to a flier. The duo put on 55 runs on the board in the powerplay overs. However, the run rate slowed down after 10 overs. Kohli was the first to get out after scoring 53 runs from 41 deliveries including six fours and one six. Padikkal carried on and scored 70 runs from 50 balls including five fours and three sixes.
Middle order collapse
RCB’s middle order filled including star overseas batsmen AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and T20 sensation Tim David looked harmless. Debutant David managed just a single after facing three deliveries. RCB lost four wickets for 16 runs in last 20 balls of the innings which resulted in a mediocre total against in-form CSK.
Bravo magic continues
Dwayne Bravo has been phenomenal with the ball in this season taking six wickets from two games. The Caribbean all-rounder had similar figures as the clash against Mumbai Indians (MI). First, he broke the opening partnership getting the wicket of Kohli. Later in death overs, he got wickets of Maxwell and Harshal Patel in the final over.
Poor run in UAE continues
This is RCB’s seventh consecutive loss in UAE including two in this season. Once again, RCB have been impressive in the first half and then struggled to make a comeback. Despite maintaining the third spot on points table, their net run rate (-0.720) is even worse than the bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who have won just one game in the season. RCB need three wins from their remaining five matches to ensure that they qualify for play offs otherwise the negative net run rate may come back to haunt them.
No threat from Hasaranga
Wanindu Hasaranga made headlines as he was picked by RCB after match-winning performances against India’s second-string squad in T20I series at home. Even though RCB’s fielding looked ordinary, Hasaranga leaked 40 runs from his quota of four overs without taking wickets. The right-arm leg-spinner was ineffective in the previous game as well. After two games, he is yet to get his first IPL wicket.
CSK on top again
Once again, CSK have dethroned Delhi Capitals at the top of points table. They have seven wins from nine games and the best run rate among the eight franchises. The three-time IPL champions were clinical against RCB. There was no big score from one batter but they never let the required run rate climb and finished the job easily.
