Yuzi’s spell, Devdutt’s impressive debut and more: 5 talking points from SRH vs RCB
A resilient performance and a comeback for the ages meant RCB kicked off the 2020 campaign in the Dream 11 IPL with a memorable win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. A team effort with contributions from batsmen and the bowlers gave RCB the perfect start and 2 crucial points from their first game of the season. We look at 5 talking points from a game in which RCB snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Yuzi spins a web
Yuzvendra Chahal’s history as a champion Chess player is well documented. Later being groomed by MS Dhoni from behind the stumps has made the leg-spinner from Haryana a complete leg-spinner. Whenever Virat Kohli needed a wicket or just someone who could stem the flow of runs, Chahal was Kohli’s answer.
Chahal put his hand up and delivered. He beat the bat, bamboozled even the well-set pair of Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow with his guile and variation. Just at every point when the game seemed to be drifting in favor of the Sunrisers, Chahal pulled it back with a wicket. First, it was Manish Pandey off the last ball of the 12th over. Then, with 5 overs to go, Sunrisers needing only 43 more to win, a double strike, Bairstow coaxed into an unnecessary slog, and a perfect googly which crept through between Vijay Shankar’s bat and pad triggered a Sunrisers collapse.
By the end of a spell of spin bowling masterclass, Chahal had registered figures of 18/3 and had turned the game on its head.
Devdutt - A star is born
There is something so pleasing about watching a youngster perform on his debut. Manish Pandey watched on from the opposite side his Karnataka teammate Devdutt Padikkal’s initiation onto the big stage; a throwback of sorts to Pandey of 2009. To say the audition went well would be an understatement.
A confident innings, one filled with the typical grace of a left-hander, combined with the confidence of youth had propelled RCB to a fabulous start. An uncapped Indian player outscoring the Australian limited-overs skipper on his debut in the IPL is not something we witness every day. A half-century filled with shots filled with lazy elegance was a sight to behold.
Finch takes on Rashid
Rashid Khan was expected to be the Sunrisers’ trump card. Having got off to a great start, RCB’s innings would have been derailed if the team had lost wickets soon after the powerplay. When David Warner recognized the importance of a wicket, and turned to Rashid, the experience of Aaron Finch not only helped navigate through the crucial Rashid spell without any damage but also inflicted a psychological dent to the opposition.
Only 12 runs had been scored off the first 15 balls after the powerplay, and Finch’s familiarity with the situation meant he identified the moment. A four and a six off Rashid Khan meant the run rate was back up and running healthily above 8. Finch partnering Devdutt Padikkal, not hogging the strike while the youngster was on fire was central to the partnership flourishing without any hiccups.
AB shows no ring rust
There are some things that are universal. An extended break often brings along with it a feeling of scratchy unfamiliarity, the muscles would fail to remember its trained reflex to every action. And then there is, of course, AB de Villiers to whom the rules often attributed to mere mortals do not apply.
First a rebuild with Virat, and then the characteristic boom at the end meant RCB innings got the much-needed impetus at the back end of the innings. His 200th six for RCB in the IPL was followed by the 201st off the very next ball. A 30-ball 51 with a stamp of AB’s class and authority was enough to take RCB past the 160-run mark.
An in-Saini spell of fast bowling
When the more accomplished bowler in Umesh Yadav was having an off day, his pace bowling partner Navdeep Saini took up the responsibility. Bowling 140+ with consummate ease, Saini not only clocked speeds worthy of the ‘Fast bowler’ tag but also maintained immaculate line and lengths to tie the Sunrisers batsmen down. When he returned to bowl the crucial 18th over, his aggression brought him a deserved 2 additions to his wickets column. Saini hammered the last nail in SRH’s coffin, dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan.
NEXT
