IPL 2018, RCB vs DD: Three masterstrokes from the match

After the rain-curtailed match, the action on the doubleheader Saturday shifted to the Bengaluru’s M.Chinnaswamy Stadium where the bottom two teams were ready to face off in a much important encounter.

After winning the toss, RCB invited the opposition to put some runs on the board and the decision paid off for them as Delhi struggled to get going before Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant got them back into the game to help them post 174 on the board.

Chasing a tricky 174, RCB saw themselves over the line with ease as an AB de Villiers show was up for the taking at the M.Chinnaswamy.

The visitors did have their chances but RCB proved too good for them as they cruised to victory by six wickets.

Let’s take a look at some of the decisions that proved to be effective:

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#1 Bowling Umesh Yadav in the first ten overs

Yadav's bowling has been one of the positives for Kohli this season

The bowling from Umesh Yadav has been one of the biggest positives for Virat Kohli despite the losses in the previous few games.

Yet again, the leader of the attack was up to the task as he conceded just 27 runs in his four overs to bag the opposition skipper as the sole wicket.

He bowled three over on the trot in the powerplay and went for just 13 runs. The Vidarbha express has been consistent with his powerplay bowling in the league so far with seven wickets to his name at an economy of just 4.9 runs per over.

#2 Promoting Rahul Tewatia at No. 6

Sending Tewatia ahead of the big all-rounders in the side was a surprise

This move came in as a surprise when Rahul Tewatia was sent ahead of quality all-rounders in Chris Morris and Vijay Shankar.

The two all-rounders, who have acquired themselves a name on the back of their all-round skills at the international level for the national teams, were demoted in the order of batting.

Tewatia was effective in his nine-ball innings that included three fours to take his tally of runs to 13 for this game.

He partnered the dangerous looking Rishabh Pant very well by giving him most of the strike that gave Delhi the much-needed flourish at the end to propel them to 174.

#3 Bringing Maxwell to bowl second over

Using Maxwell as bowling option proved to be

effecctive

for Delhi

Knowing the nature of the wicket that it played in the first innings, it was a conscious decision from Gautam Gambhir to introduce an off-spinner in Glenn Maxwell in the powerplay overs itself.

The move to bring Maxwell ahead of Tewatia, given he was their premier spinner, was tempted after seeing the left-hander opening the innings.

The decision even proved to be effective as he bagged the wicket of Manan Vohra, who was playing his maiden game for RCB.

It somehow gave visitors a hope to bounce back in the game and expose the lower middle order later in the innings. However, Maxwell bowled just two economical overs after conceding 13 runs.

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