Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to make it to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 playoffs as they fell short by two points. Before the season, RCB were dealt a heavy blow when England all-rounder Will Jacks got ruled .out of IPL 2023 due to an injury (Damaged tendon in his hip flexor). After regaining full fitness, Jacks in his first T20 game in T20 Blast 2023 led Sam Curran’s Surrey to a comfortable win 73-run win over Middlesex in their campaign opener on May 25 at the Lord’s, London.
Jacks hits big with the bat
Opening the innings with Sunil Narine, Jacks utilised the powerplay overs and found boundaries easily. He did not spare anyone during his 43-run knock. He missed his half-century as he lost his wicket as he in the eighth over to Martin Andersson. Jacks’ 22-ball 43 was laced with seven fours and two sixes.
After Jacks got Surrey off to a blazing start, skipper Sam and his brother, Tom Curran's half-centuries helped them post 199/6. Later, he took three wickets from three overs to help Surrey end Middlesex's run chase in the 15th over. The off-spinner was economical too as he conceded just 17 runs. Middlesex got all out for 126.
Jacks’ replacement
Jacks had set a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. He was roped in by RCB for Rs 3.2 crore after a bidding war with Rajasthan Royals (RR). New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell was named as Jacks replacement before the 16th edition of IPL began.
Bracewell’s debut IPL season
The 32-year-old in his debut IPL season failed with the bat scoring just 58 runs from four innings. He did well with the ball taking six wickets at a strike rate of 15.83 and conceding runs at 8.64 runs per over.
The Kiwi all-rounder’s best performance with the bat came against Gujarat Titans (GT) in RCB’s last league clash. The southpaw contributed with a 16-ball 26 cameo. He was expensive with the ball conceding 16 runs from the only over he bowled.
RCB lost the match despite Virat Kohli’s record-breaking seventh IPL ton as Shubman Gill helped GT chase down 198 with his second century of the season.
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