The Kings XI Punjab thumped the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs in a low-scoring encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli, won the toss and elected to field on a dry surface on offer at the Garden City.
The move paid rich dividends as the bowling unit stepped up in unison to strangle the visitors and restrict them to a low score of 138 in the first innings. The star-studded batting line-up of the Kings XI Punjab failed to apply themselves on the slow pitch resulting in their downfall. The batting was reliant on their overseas recruits and their struggles at the top of the order did not help the team’s cause.
A brutal onslaught of 38 runs in 17 deliveries by Axar Patel at the back end of the innings ensured the Punjab-based franchise carried some kind of momentum into the second innings of the match.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017, RCB vs KXIP: Player Ratings
In reply, the formidable batting line-up of the Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to live up to the expectations as they were bundled out for 119 runs with an over to spare. The home side failed to stitch any substantial partnerships together which resulted in their downfall.
Take a look at five things that went wrong for Kohli and his men in this crucial contest:
#1 Kedar Jadhav’s poor outing
The pocket dynamite from Pune, Kedar Jadhav is currently the most exciting middle-order batsman in the domestic circuit. The management of the Royal Challengers Bangalore would have hoped for some brilliant performances from the little man in the absence of KL Rahul in the middle order. The right-hander has not been at his best in the tenth edition of the IPL and failed to create any magic in today’s encounter as well.
The 32-year-old had a poor day at the office today as he failed with the bat and behind the stumps to let his team down. Jadhav missed an easy stumping of Wriddhiman Shah in the third ball of the tenth over bowled by Yuzuvendra Chahal.
The miss proved to be costly as Saha went on to anchor the innings and score 21 runs. The part time wicket keeper had a tough day as he failed to collect two deliveries from Chahal in the 14th over. To make matters worse, the two deliveries reached the boundary ropes, resulting in eight easy runs for the opposition.
The middle-order batsman then failed to guide his team in the run chase as he was dismissed for six on the last ball of the eighth over.
#2 Chris Gayle fails to fire on comeback
Chris Gayle is regarded as the most destructive batsman in the shortest format of the game. A nightmare for any bowling unit, Gayle has the ability to single-handedly take the game away from the opposition with his big hitting skills and sheer power to clear the boundary ropes with ease.
The 37-year-old has been one of the mainstays in the batting line up of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and his dismal run at the top of the order has been one of the main reasons for their poor run in the tenth edition of the tournament.
The charismatic West Indian has been in and out of the playing XI for the Bangalore side in this edition, mainly due to a lack of runs in the earlier phase of the tournament. However, he was named in the starting XI for today’s exciting contest against the Kings XI Punjab.
The left-hander failed to trouble the scorers as he was dismissed on the fourth ball of the first innings by Sandeep Sharma.
Gayle’s wicket early on in the innings dented the run chase.
#3 Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers’ inconsistent run continues
The skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli has been struggling with the bat in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. The stylish right-hander has endured an inconsistent run at the top of the order after making a comeback into the side post his shoulder injury.
The 28-year-old started the innings in a commanding fashion as he flicked Sandeep Sharma for a boundary off the first ball he faced but failed to shoulder the responsibility of taking his team through in the run chase. He was dismissed for a run-a-ball six.
Meanwhile, the Superman of world cricket has not set the stage alight in this campaign and he failed to make any sort of impact in the penultimate match for the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The South African looked to take the attack to the opposition early on in his innings but unfortunately for him and the Challengers, he was caught by Wriddhiman Saha for 10 off Sandeep Sharma.
The Challengers were left tottering at 37 for 3 inside the first six overs with the three big guns back in the pavilion.
#4 Shane Watson’s last over hammering
Shane Watson’s horror run in the tenth edition of the tournament continued as he struggled with both bat and ball in this contest. The veteran all-rounder is entering the twilight of his career and his struggles throughout the tournament have been the main reason behind Royal Challengers Bangalore’s poor performances.
The experienced all-rounder was smashed for 19 runs in the last over of the innings by Axar Patel to give the Kings XI Punjab some much-needed impetus at the end of the innings. He was clobbered for a massive six off the first ball over long-on and then smashed for two consecutive boundaries on the third and fourth ball of the over to give the Punjab outfit some momentum going into the second innings.
The Australian had an opportunity to make amends with the bat and take his team across the finishing line but failed to perform under pressure as he struggled in his six-ball stay.
#5 Lack of application from the middle order
The batting line-up for the Royal Challengers Bangalore has struggled throughout the course of the tournament. The batting unit is heavily dependent on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and unfortunately for them, both players have been short of runs. The lack of depth in the middle order is haunting the Bangalore side as they are consistently recording below-par totals.
Chasing 139 runs, the middle order failed to apply themselves and forge crucial partnerships to take the Challengers to victory. The home team lost wickets at regular intervals in the run chase and eventually fell short by 19 runs.
Jadhav, Kohli, de Villiers and Watson all fell cheaply after failing to make meaningful contributions to leave the RCB tail with too much to do.
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