On a day when Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan got his tactics wrong, Glenn Maxwell continued his impressive run for Royal Challengers Bangalore to score a 49-ball 78, while AB de Villiers provided the final flourish with another turbo-charged half-century, plundering 55 runs out of the 70 in the last five overs that took them to 204/4. On a dry, sluggish pitch in Chennai, these contributions were vital as KKR went down by 38 runs. Virat Kohli’s team now sits atop the points table with three wins on the bounce.
Maxwell and Harshal Patel have turned out to be the two best additions for the RCB this season. While the Australian has made the No.4 spot in the batting order his own with game-changing contributions, Patel, the previously unheralded Haryana pacer, is relishing his role as a death-overs specialist. He may not have the pace — nudges around 130kmph at best. But he makes up for it with cricketing intelligence. After Patel returned figures of 5/27 against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the season-opener, captain Kohli said he had solved his team’s death-overs woes. On Sunday, he gave further proof of his rising stock with another stellar bowling performance to finish with 2/17, and take his tally to nine scalps from three games. The Purple Cap holder came in to bowl in the 12th over, with KKR needing 112 runs from 54 deliveries, and Morgan ready for the assault. Couple of erratic overs from Patel could have swung the game. But Patel held his nerve, and unfurled a mix of cutters and yorkers that Morgan found difficult to negotiate. It was a vicious dipper that accounted for the KKR captain in the 14th over. Patel returned in the final over to remove Russel
Having a well-defined role has helped in his preparation. “When we had gathered for the camp, there was a clear instruction to me that I would be required to bowl at least two overs at the death. That gave me a lot of clarity to work on my skills,” Patel had said after his five-wicket haul against Mumbai.
Couple of nights ago, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni used Deepak Chahar for four overs upfront, and the pacer ran through Punjab Kings’ top order with a four-wicket burst that paved the way for an emphatic six-wicket win. KKR’s World Cup-winning England captain Morgan is known for his tactical acumen, but seemed to miss a trick on Sunday afternoon. Bowling first on this Chennai pitch that is receptive to spin, KKR’s Varun Chakravarty had orchestrated a double strike in his opening over, removing Kohli and Rajat Patidar. Conventional wisdom suggested that Chakravarthy would be given at least another over inside the Powerplay. Surprisingly, Morgan removed the mystery spinner after just the solitary over, which turned the tide in RCB’s favou
Given the inherent sluggishness of the track, it’s never easy for a new batsman to play shots from the outset. With Chakravarthy out of the attack, neither Shakib Al Hasan nor Pat Cummins were able to hit their straps. It allowed Maxwell to launch himself on the proceedings. Turning out for a new franchise, the Australian has managed to reclaim his form and confidence, with scores of 39 and 59 from the first two games. Batting at No.4 has liberated him, giving him ample time to get set before the blitzkrieg. The assurance of having a player like de Villiers waiting in the dugout has also played a part in Maxwell’s turnaround.
He kept getting his front leg out of the way and pummelling Shakib over mid-wicket and long-on with glee. The Bangladeshi spinner was guilty of bowling in Maxwell’s hitting zone. From 10/2 after 3 overs, RCB raced to 45/2 after the Powerplay, and 95/3 in the 12th over, with Maxwell notching up a 28-ball 50. In the company of de Villiers, the 32-year-old showcased his maturity, by not trying to biff everything out of the park. He churned the singles and twos effortlessly, hitting only those deliveries that were in his arc. His restraint and the intelligent pacing of his innings were the fundamental reasons for his success. The Victorian succumbed in the 17th over, top-edging Cummins to Harbhajan Singh at fine-leg. But by then, he had put RCB in a strong position. Walking in at 9/2, he had increased the tempo with ease, and maintained a strike rate of over 150.
Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan struck a swashbuckling 92 as Delhi Capitals made short work of a 196-run target for a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings in the IPL here on Sunday.
Dhawan looked in sublime form during his 49-ball knock that was studded with 13 fours and two sixes.
Dhawan was ably supported by Prithvi Shaw (32 off 15) first up and then skipper Rishabh Pant (15) and Marcus Stoinis (27 not out) as DC chased down 196 in 18.2 overs.urn:uuid:2c71afd5-ccef-0f5d-aab0-0f5dccef2c71
Put in to bat, Mayank Agarwal and captain K L Rahul stitched a century-run opening stand to guide Punjab to a challenging 195 for four.
Agarwal made 69 off 36 balls, while Rahul scored 61 off 51 deliveries as Punjab made a flying start to their innings.
Chasing 196, Dhawan and Shaw made a quick start, sharing 59 runs in just 33 balls for the opening wicket.
Shaw continued his fine form and smashed a 17-ball 32 before being holed out to Chris Gayle off Arshdeep Singh.
Steve Smith, playing his first match for DC, looked a pale shadow of himself before becoming Riley Meredith’s first victim of the day.
But the wickets hardly had any impact on Dhawan, who continued his attacking strokeplay to bring up his fifty off 31 balls.
Needing 71 off 42 balls, DC struck gold by picking up 18 runs off the 14th over.
Dhawan hit Meredith for a hat-trick of fours, besides the bowler gave away another boundary off a wide ball as DC brought down the margin to 53 off 36 balls.
Dhawan, however, fell eight short of a brilliant century when he was cleaned up by Jhye Richardson (2/41) in the 16th over.
Earlier, Pant’s decision to bowl after winning the toss backfired as the opening duo of Agarwal and Rahul took the attack to the opposition bowlers from the onset, hitting boundaries and sixes at will.
While Agarwal was the aggressor of the two initially, Rahul upped the ante after a relatively sedate start.
Agarwal and Rahul adopted an aggressive approach against debutant Lukeman Meriwala and Kagiso Rabada, taking their team to 94 for no loss in 10 overs.
Agarwal was looking dangerous during his 36-ball knock and ended up hitting seven boundaries and four hits over the fence.
But DC dismissed both the batsmen in quick succession to make a comeback into the match.
While Agarwal was the first to depart, slicing a Meriwala delivery straight to Shikhar Dhawan at sweeper cover in the 13th over, Rahul handed a simple catch to Marcus Stonis at midwicket off Rabada.
Rahul’s knock was laced with seven boundaries and two sixes.
Big-hitting Chris Gayle (11) failed to make a mark, perishing soon in search of a maximum.
Nicholas Pooran (9) failed yet again but Deepak Hooda (22 not out off 13) and Shahrukh Khan (15 not out off five) provided the much needed big hits towards the end.
For DC, Ravichandran Ashwin (0/28) was economical, while Avesh Khan (1/33), Meriwala (1/32), Chris Woakes (1/42) and Rabada (1/43) picked up a wicket each.