Virat masterclass, Washi’s power-play and Morris’s incredible debut: 5 talking points from RCB’s thrashing of Chennai Superkings

Virat’s innings

First, he got his eye in. Even when the RCB innings was limping along at around 6 an over, he did not panic. Even when wickets kept falling, he stuck to his guns and kept rotating the strike; his aim to bat out the 20 overs. When after 16 overs RCB were 103/4, a score of 150 looking like a good score on a track which was slowing down, Virat pressed the accelerator as only he can. 

It was a calculated assault. He nudged and milked the Chennai bowling, and unleashed chaos when the moment came. He is called the run machine for a reason. Running between the wickets as if his life depended on it, he ran 10 doubles - 8 for himself and two for his partner Shivam Dube in the last 4 overs. He peppered every part of the park, brought out every classy shot in his arsenal, and did a tribute to AB de Villiers too, walking across the crease and lapping one over fine leg. A masterclass on how to bat on a not-so-easy track, Virat’s unbeaten 90 propelled RCB’s score from being a par total to a winning one.

Shivam Dube plays the perfect partner

While Virat stole the show at the death, Shivam Dube started the destruction. At a time when the team was looking to get a move on, Dube made sure Virat did not have to bear all the load. A 14-ball 22 at the other end in a 76-run partnership was the perfect finish RCB could have hoped for. Batting with Virat can be an exhausting experience - he will push you to run impossible doubles, and Dube’s fitness would have been pushed to the limit in the last 4 overs. Shivam kept up with Virat, and in the end, his innings perfectly complemented Virat’s innings.

Washi and Saini crank up the pressure

RCB needed a good start with the ball. Bowling to the in-form pair of Shane Watson and Faf Du Plessis who have been the mainstays of CSK batting was not going to be easy. At the same venue, less than a week ago, the pair had chased down 178 by themselves. The powerplay would have set the tone for the run-chase. And it was the RCB bowlers who turned on the pressure. Debuting Morris bowled 5 dot balls in the very first over; Saini followed it up with 5 more in his over. The Chennai openers could get nothing away. 

When Washington Sundar came on to bowl to two attacking right-handers, the Chennai openers thought they could release the pressure. But, Washington Sundar was proved difficult to get away. A top edge, a leg-before appeal was followed by a hit to deep mid-wicket by Du Plessis which saw the back of him. Watson swiped across the line and missed the ball completely and the dangerous Chennai openers were back in the hut within the powerplay with the score on 25. 

Navdeep Saini bowled 16 dot balls in his 4 overs - an insane average of 4 dot balls in an over in a T20 game. Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar both finished with economy rates of less than 6-an-over.

Yuzi aces the Dhoni challenge

Yuzvendra Chahal was having an unusual off day till then. He had given away 25 runs in his first 3 overs. But, Virat trusted in his ace bowler. When Dhoni walked out to bat, 74 to get in the last 5 overs, Chahal was brought on to do the job. And job he did. He bowled wicket-to-wicket for the first 5 balls of the over. Dhoni hit him for a six. But Chahal was clever. He chose the perfect moment to land the sucker punch. A wide flighted delivery which lit up Dhoni’s eyes, he hit it straight to long-off. Chahal had outsmarted the sharpest of cricketing brains. The end of Dhoni was symbolic of the end of the CSK challenge.

Morris’ incredible debut

Chris Morris showed just what RCB had missed in the first 5 games of the season. Finally returning to action, Morris’s intensity in the first over laid down a marker for the rest of the innings. 5 dot balls in the first over the ball nipping away at pace was the perfect start in the defense of 170 runs. He was brought on to keep the pressure on in the middle overs, and he delivered again with a 3-run over. He came back at the death to finish off the job, dismissing Rayudu, Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja. He bowled 3 overs in the most intense situations of a T20 game - 1 in the powerplay, 2 at the death. He returned with figures of 3/16 from those 3 overs. A performance that would have earned him a man of the match award on any other day, Morris's presence made a seismic difference to RCB’s team balance.