IPL 2017: Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 5 Talking Points

#2 Surprise decision at the toss

Wason won the toss but surprisingly decided to bat first

At the IPL, most teams choose to field first if they win the toss, considering most totals are chaseable. This is particularly the case for the 8 pm games where dew could make bowling difficult and batting easy during the second innings.

So it came as a huge surprise when Shane Watson won the toss and chose to bat first. The pitch was difficult to bat on and only AB seemed even remotely comfortable on the pitch. Compared to that, batting looked slightly easier in the second innings, although credit must be given where it is due, to the batting quality of Manan Vohra first and later, Hashim Amla and Glenn Maxwell.

The chase of 149 was made to look like a walk in the park especially with the flurry of sixes that helped KXIP finish the match in a hurry. One wonders, in hindsight, if RCB should have chosen to bat second, but allowance has to be made for the fact that Watson wasn’t exactly confident of his batting line-up.