KL Rahul’s century makes it an evening to forget for RCB

Cricket is such an incredible leveller. A team which was riding high on confidence after a comeback win which will be remembered for years, was on the day served a harsh reminder of the competitive nature of the Dream 11 IPL. On a day when there were a handful of overs at best which RCB could rave about, the result was far off from what the team would have desired.

On an evening when almost every RCB player had a day they would like to forget, Yuzvendra Chahal’s four overs were a refreshing sight for an RCB follower. After KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal had provided Kings XI with a solid start in the powerplay, Yuzvendra Chahal was back with his usual bag of tricks. A googly perfectly pitched left Mayank Agarwal befuddled, a ball that saw his stumps castled. Yuzvendra Chahal’s four overs went for only 25 runs.

On a surface which provided next to nothing for the bowlers, RCB’s pacers found it hard to create any opportunities against a well-set KL Rahul. Washington Sundar’s ability to restrict the two set batsmen who were on the prowl for quick runs to only 13 from his two overs was an impressive effort. If Sundar applied the brakes, Shivam Dube provided two important breakthroughs, dismissing the two dangerous overseas batsmen - Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell. The two RCB all-rounders alongside a miserly-as-ever Chahal had pulled the game back for R

However, KL Rahul was still going strong. You know it is not your day when captain Kohli drops two catches. KL Rahul made the most of the two lives he got. Rahul’s onslaught and a classy century meant the last four overs had yielded 74 runs for the Kings, elevating their score to a lofty 206.

RCB would have needed to get off to the perfect start if they were to achieve the highest-successful run-chase in the team’s history in the IPL. But, 3 wickets by the time even 5 runs were put on the board meant there was too much left on Aaron Finch and AB De Villiers’ plates. Despite a valiant 49-run partnership between the two overseas pros, RCB were well behind the game. Finch and De Villiers departed within a gap of 3 balls, and the end was nigh. 

However, Washington Sundar made sure the team would not crumble without a fight. A 27-ball 30 from the southpaw was an encouraging sign with at least 12 games still to go in the tournament. Despite all the efforts, it was an evening the team would like to learn from, and quickly discard from their memories, one which ended in a 97-run defeat. With a 3-day break before the team’s next fixture against the Mumbai Indians, it will be back to the drawing board to come back stronger.