The game shaped by the conditions: 3 talking from RCB loss to CSK in Dubai

It was a strange game. Strange in the sense that the game was going according to RCB’s gameplan until suddenly it stopped. CSK’s bowlers took complete advantage of the conditions, not letting RCB get the final flourish they would have hoped for. When it was their turn to bowl, RCB bowlers did not find the same joy that the Chennai bowlers did, as CSK cruised the chase. We look at 3 talking points from a difficult Sunday afternoon in Dubai.

The setup which went to plans

RCB had a clear plan from the get-go. As has been a pattern throughout the Dream11 IPL 2020, the openers got the team off to a solid start. Devdutt and Finch ensured that there were not going to be any early hiccups, while at the same time managing to keep the run rate up in the powerplay. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers steadied the ship, putting on an 82 run stand. The middle overs may have seen less flashy strokes and the destruction we expect from De Villiers and Kohli, but it seemed the two had a blueprint in mind. The blueprint which has brought the team incredible success thus far in 2020. To build a strong base to launch from. At 114/2 going into the final 4 overs, RCB’s top four had yet again created the perfect launchpad.

The final flourish that never came

Unfortunately, the final flourish which has become customary never came. The Chennai bowlers exploited the conditions perfectly. A surface which was as close as it could get to emulating the slow Chennai track and an outfield that would make clearing the fence not an easy task meant CSK were in familiar territory. A slew of cutters, slower deliveries on back of a length did not allow RCB’s batsmen to get anything away at the death. Even the odd ball in their swinging arc proved difficult to clear the outfield, CSK’s fielders patrolling the ropes being found more often than the gaps. A 31/4 slump in the final 4 overs was not the kind of finish RCB would have been hoping for, but on a track which was not ideal for free-flowing stroke-play, 145 was par for the task.

The surface which shaped the game

Often, a lot is made of the playing conditions and how they shape the course of a game. Perhaps more than it should be given credit for. However, if there was one game where the importance of the surface in shaping the game was to be given its due credit, this was it. While the CSK bowlers were adept at making full use of the barren surface, RCB bowlers could not quite get the same value out of it. When an off-cutter in only the second over of the innings bowled by Morris jumped off a length on Du Plessis, 145 seemed like it had an invisible 20 runs added to it. But, it was not to be the case. RCB bowlers just could not find the pace and length to derive as much help out of the pitch as CSK’s bowlers did. Skipper Virat Kohli in his post-match interview echoed the stance, giving credit where it’s due to the Chennai bowlers who utilized the conditions better.