IPL 2019, Match 1, CSK vs RCB: 4 mistakes that cost RCB the opening game

In the opening encounter of the IPL 2019, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings took on the Royal Challengers Bangalore side led by Virat Kohli. CSK skipper Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl on a pitch that was tailor made for spinners. The former India skipper opted to go with three spinners in Tahir, Jadeja and Harbhajan while RCB went with Moeen Ali and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kohli opted to open with Parthiv Patel and Dhoni straightaway went with Harbhajan Singh from one end. The pitch started misbehaving very early in the innings and soon Kohli got out while trying to muscle the ball over deep square leg. Harbhajan clocked back the years with some majestic off spin bowling and got rid of Moeen Ali and de Villiers.

In the end, RCB were humiliated as they were bowled out for 70 while CSK barely had any trouble chasing down the target. Here are the four mistakes that cost RCB the match against CSK.

---

#1. Inability to adapt against quality spin bowling

Mooen Ali

During the initial days of IPL, not many believed that spinners can bowl in the powerplay since almost all the teams had destructive opening batsmen. However, during the 2010 edition of the IPL, CSK broke that trend and relied heavily on spin. The slow Chepauk pitch along with the talented duo of Ashwin and Jakati made life difficult for the top order batsmen of the opposition.

CSK followed the same template in this match as Harbhajan’s disciplined bowling in the powerplay led to the dismissals of Kohli and Moeen Ali. The RCB batsmen showed little interest in reading the ball and lacked the technique and temperament to grind it out on a tough pitch.

On paper, RCB might have the best batting lineup in this tournament, but other than Kohli and de villiers, none of them were experienced enough to counter CSK’s spin trio. The RCB skipper will surely expect more application from his batsmen in the upcoming games.

#2. Poor shot selection

AB de Villiers

While it is acceptable that the Chepauk pitch was poor considering the standards of T20, the RCB bastmen made life more difficult for themselves by trying to hit decent balls for sixes instead of rotating the strike.

Virat Kohli was forced into playing a big shot off the bowling of Harbhajan due to some tight bowling from Chahar at the other end while Moeen Ali gave a very simple catch to Harbhajan as he misjudged a length ball and was stuck on the back foot.

Probably the poorest stroke of the day came from de Villiers in Harbhajan’s third over as he didn't try to make a dropped chance count by playing the same shot again and holing out to Jadeja at deep square leg.

RCB's top order collapse provided a great opportunity for the likes of Hetmyer and Dube to step up and grab their chances. But Hetmyer made a horrendous error by misjudging a run while Dube tried to steer the ball past the slips and gave a simple catch to Watson.

#3. Lack of depth in the batting lineup

Hetmyer

Virat Kohli might have broken a few records as a captain in ODI cricket and Test cricket but his team selection was once again poor in the IPL. He decided to go with only 6 proper batsman on a rank turner against a team that posessed a very experienced spin bowling trio.

With his height and the ability to bowl a stump to stump line, Washington Sundar would have been an ideal pick on this pitch instead of Navdeep Saini who does not have an impressive record in the T20’s. Sundar is also a very handy batsman and he regularly played as a opener for the Indian U-19 team and his state side.

With the amount of statistics available these days, Kohli must surely have been aware about Hetmyer and Grandhomme’s weakness against spin when they are settling at the crease and he made a mistake by not picking an additional batsman.

#4. Overreliance on Kohli and AB de Villiers

Virat and ABD

One weakness that has continuously haunted RCB over the years has been their middle order collapses whenever Kohli and AB de Villiers fail to deliver at the top of the order. RCB’s struggles were similar this time around too as no player showed the commitment and failed to step up for the team in a tough scenario.

This was a great opportunity for someone as talented as Hetmyer to mark his arrival in the IPL. He will regret his dismissal more than anyone as it was a wrapped up gift to the CSK unit. There was lot of talk around Shivam Dubey’s big hitting skills but this was another case of a modern day batsman underestimating the importance of patience when the pitch is assisting the bowlers.

The whole unit will be down on confidence after the mauling they received from CSK and they will once again look upto Kohli and ABD to boost their morales for upcoming matches.