IPL 2020
Gaikwad scored fifty in his first IPL. © BCCI
Even in one of their worst seasons in the short history of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings denied the Royal Challengers Bangalore a chance to double over them. After the bowlers did a good job tying Virat Kohli & Co. at 145/6 in a slow and gripping pitch from Dubai, young starter Ruturaj Gaikwad led the CSK charge with an undefeated 65.
The pitch smoothed out a bit and the RCB bowlers simply couldn’t replicate CSK’s efficiency, ultimately falling in an eight wicket loss.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Green jerseys. No destruction?
They were preparing for it. They dealt with the slow surface of Dubai by changing the strike for 55 runs in 53 deliveries since Devdutt Padikkal’s ejection, taking RCB to 101/2 in 15 overs. It was time for the couple to move away. Another day, it would have been a period where CSK let the game slip away, as they have done several times this season. But not today.
RCB scored 13 and 11 in overs 16 and 17, then tied for the last three at a cumulative of 20. That was mainly due to Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran effectively resorting to cutters and changes of pace, as they had done. until the end. the day, and Faf du Plessis was faster than ever capturing at the border line.
Virat Kohli scored half a century, having only a four and a six as the grip surface ensured there was no rhythm on the ball for easy save. Kohli’s six were one of only two in the first inning, the other coming from Devdutt.
How did the new guys at CSK fare?
Monu Kumar made a neat start in the second plus, getting the ball back into southpaw Devdutt form. Dhoni didn’t see the need to throw it again until the 16th, when he had to complete before Chahar and Curran could throw two to the death. Kohli and AB collected 13 from the end, but to Monu’s credit it could have been a lot worse after he threw a waist-high no-ball at Kohli, giving De Villiers a free throw to face. Monu did not let the occasion seize him and executed a Yorker leg stump that De Villiers almost unearthed and ran off.
Mitchell Santner was much more influential. On a surface and in conditions more similar to those achieved by CSK in Chepauk, Dhoni spun through the center, with Santner as the protagonist. There was only one other limit to his excellent 1 of 23 spell where he thwarted RCB hitters with consistently tight bowls.
A quick start to chase
Ruturaj Gaikwad outplayed both of his first-ball ducks this season, to nullify Washington Sundar’s impact to some extent and then face Mohammed Siraj in unison with du Plessis. Chris Morris, who started with the wrong line and lengths, backed down by firing his former South African captain, but CSK was ahead of the starting rate with 48/1 in 6 overs.
What went wrong for RCB after PowerPlay?
His inability to do what the CSK spinners did: not offer batters width. It also helped that Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu had a high level of competition against spinning bowlers, and they didn’t seem concerned against players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Moeen Ali. Moeen, in fact, was the recipient of a Gaikwad attack in a 12-run career.
When Kohli turned to Navdeep Saini, it worked more in CSK’s favor in a field where the change of pace had a better grip as deliveries shot up to 140 clicks. Mohammed Siraj was also unable to effectively resort to variations. The Rayudu-Gaikwad pairing was so fluid even in the intermissions that the order rate dropped below the race.
No hiccups after two tries?
No way. The advantage of having a fixed hitter, Gaikwad, still in and hitting really well, ensured that the game would not tilt dramatically at the end. Perhaps it was the first time this season that Dhoni hit without too much marker pressure on him. He settled comfortably in partnership with Gaikwad, watching all the spark he needed to see from the other end. Gaikwad put on a real show and completed it with a six to finish the victory.
Where do they go from here?
CSK cooled their heels for the next three days before taking on KKR, who leads the group of pursuers for a spot in the top four. After a two-day gap, RCB faces off against the Mumbai Indians.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 145/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 50, Villiers AB 39; Sam Curran 3-19) lost to Chennai Super Kings 150/2 in 18.4 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 65 *, Ambati Rayudu 39; Yuzvendra Chahal 1 -21) for 5 windows.
© Cricbuzz
