IPL 2018, KXIP vs RCB: 5 talking points

In arguably the most one-sided contest at the 2018 IPL thus far, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Kings XI Punjab by ten wickets at the Holkar Stadium in Indore to go level with Mumbai Indians with 10 points from 12 matches in the points table.

It was Kings XI's second-lowest total in IPL history and gave their bowlers little chance at a win with the RCB openers Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel blazing away to victory with almost 12 overs to spare with an eye on the net run-rate which could prove critical in the end with a number of teams involved in the scramble for the playoffs increasing day by day.

Here are the 5 major talking points from tonight's match.

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#5 Umesh Yadav's double-wicket over

Umesh Yadav has been brilliant for RCB, especially in the powerplay overs and skipper Virat Kohli has been using him wisely to his strength and not keeping him till the death overs where he usually tends to take a beating.

Yadav made a good start as usual and should have had Chris Gayle caught behind in his very first over only for Parthiv Patel to drop the chance while KL Rahul also had a lucky escape off his next over.

Yadav did get both players though as Kohli's move to persist with the pacer for a third over on the trot paid off as he dismissed Rahul and then Gayle using the short-ball to good effect.

#4 Kings XI's batting collapse

The likes of Mayank Agarwal have failed to provide the middle-order solidity for Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul and Chris Gayle have been the mainstays of the Kings XI batting line-up and concerns have been raised about the ineffectiveness of their middle order with Rahul, in particular, doing the bulk of the scoring for the side.

Those fears showed its true colours tonight as Kings XI suffered an embarrassing batting collapse despite the openers getting their side off to a decent start.

Gayle and Rahul added 36 runs for the opening wicket but once the latter was dismissed by Umesh Yadav, the floodgates opened as Kings XI kept losing wickets at regular wickets to eventually be bowled out for a paltry total of 88 runs with almost five overs to spare.

#3 Tailenders and run-outs

The Kings XI skipper was run-out after a terrible misjudgment in running for a non-existent run

While tailenders often love to have a swing with the bat when it's a lost cause as was the case tonight for Kings XI, they hardly got a chance to do that as another Achilles heel for batsmen lower down the order - running between the wickets - made its presence felt in a grand scale.

Three of the final four wickets to fall for Kings XI came courtesy of disastrous running between the wickets. The first to fall was skipper Ravichandran Ashwin whose lack of agility failed him after a mixup with Axar Patel. To be fair to Patel, there was never a single in it and Ashwin has only himself to blame for gifting his wicket away.

Mohit Sharma also met a similar fate as his indecisiveness in going for the run cost him as he was marginally short of the line when AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali teamed up to get rid of the bails.

Axar Patel was involved in his third run-out of the day as Ankit Rajpoot found himself short of the crease after attempting a non-existent second run in an attempt to get the more accomplished batsmen on strike. Good work from Tim Southee in the deep meant that there was no escape for Rajpoot and that brought down the curtains on the Kings XI innings.

#2 Virat Kohli survives two close chances

Kohli survived a couple of chances early on before getting into his groove

When a team is defending a low total as Kings XI were doing tonight, it is essential that they take every opportunity that comes their way.

But Ravichandran Ashwin's failed to do that with the skipper himself at the centre of the first opportunity that came his side's way. Virat Kohli attempted a non-existent single to mid on and would have been well short of the crease had Ashwin managed to dislodge the stumps at the non-striker's end but he missed it by a whisker and the RCB skipper was safe.

He had another reprieve soon after as Aaron Finch missed a chance at mid-off which was pretty easy compared to the Australian's standards. But he reacted late and the chance was gone and with it any chance for Kings XI to make a contest out of the match.

#1 Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel makes it look easy

Parthiv Patel has performed well since being drafted into the RCB playing eleven

Having dismissed Kings XI Punjab for a total well under the 100-run mark, the RCB team management would have no doubt pondered over their approach to the run chase as it presented themselves with an opportunity to better the net run-rate in the race for a playoff spot.

Yet there was the danger of losing wickets early on in going after the bowling but the RCB openers - Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel - not only ensured that their team were off to a flying start but also stuck around to finish off the job in style.

Kohli had a couple of close escapes but largely looked comfortable in the middle but it was Patel who grabbed eyeballs with his stylish strokes often eclipsing his skipper in terms of the aggressive approach to the scoring.

Kohli caught up eventually with Patel but if the wicketkeeper-batsman can keep up the starts he has been providing to his side, RCB could still be in with a chance to make the playoffs.

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