Du Plessis' ability to read the game is his currency: Nick Knight

Being consistent with reading game situations makes Faf Du Plessis a special player, feels former England batter Nick Knight. The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain dug his team out of trouble after they lost four wickets for 62 runs with a 96 off 64 balls against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday as they clinched a 18-run win.  

Knight was full of praise for Du Plessis' tactical nous and temperament.

"You look at the side, they were not getting the starts. Your currency as a top-order batter is what you do when you are four down. Faf's innings was just that. He read the game well and built a partnership. That's everything what the dug out and the fans were hoping for. He has been consistent with reading the game," Knight said in Cricket.com's match review. 

"What's brilliant with Faf is how he marshalled his bowling resources. He held back Hasaranga even after giving him two overs early, for one over against Stoinis," he added.

Helping Du Plessis rebuild the innings was allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed (26 off 22 balls) as the pair put up 70 runs for the fifth wicket. Ahmed was crucial with the ball as well, giving away just 25 runs from his four overs. Knight felt the southpaw is an integral part of RCB's good run in the tournament.

"He is playing a really integral part in their success. If you look at the IPL, you need the guys batting No.4 or No.5 making these contributions. It is always not possible to shine when you are batting No.5. He has also bowled the four overs today and he is becoming essential to the side," the former England opener said. 

Kohli's slump temporary, Hazlewood perfect

Virat Kohli endured another dismal night as he was dismissed for a first ball duck by Dushmantha Chameera after trying to hunt a ball a moving away from him. Knight credited the field set up by Rahul to get the Kohli out. 

"No, someone in the next three games is going to pay. But before we talk about Virat, we need to understand that it was brilliant bowling and planning from KL Rahul. Bowling teams usually don't get enough credit for these dismissals," he said.

Kohli has had a lukewarm IPL 2022, scoring 119 runs from seven matches with a best score of 48. Knight was confident that it is a matter of time before he starts scoring runs again.

"I don't think he is out of form. If you are not performing for 7-8 games, you get a bit anxious. But, if we consider today's dismissal, as a batter you want to get to double figures, get 30 or 40 and then relax. He needs to do nothing different, runs are around the corner for him," Knight said.

Josh Hazlewood, who made the switch from CSK to RCB this season, was lethal against LSG as he claimed 4-25 to dent their chase.

"There aren't many bowlers who can exploit the pitches with a little bit of green and carry," Knight said.

"It was a perfect pitch for Hazlewood and he is a fantastic bowler in any conditions, but more so with the ball carrying outside off stump. At the start he bowled with a straight seam and moved the ball both ways. Late, he wrapped the fingers outside the seam and drifted it outside. It's not a surprise to me that he picked up four wickets."

Jason Holder was one of the bright spots for LSG with the ball as he claimed 2-25. Knight felt the West Indies allrounder can be a good option in the middle overs.

"I definitely feel he's a good option to have. I don't think they'll be using him in the final overs, so probably they can split his overs in the middle. With Holder, they are closer to getting their combination right," Knight said.

Despite the failure of Manish Pandey at No.3, Knight felt LSG shouldn't be shuffling their batting order by sending in Stoinis too early.

"Stoinis is a match winner. Probably around overs 12-14 is the best time for him to come out. But when there are wickets at the start, probably i'll hold him back. You cannot keep changing the selection because you might not find the right combination by game 10 with 14 games in the group stage," he said.

Stoinis was fuming after he was dismissed by Hazlewood in the 19th over. But a ball before that, he lost his cool after the umpire did not signal wide despite the ball passing from outside the marked lines. Knight felt that the umpires are looking to be fair to both the bowlers and the batters.

"I think it was a wide definitely and I feel for the batsman. Bowlers are bowling that wide deliveries is to prevent batters to score on both sides and restrict them by packing the offside. I think the umpires are trying get the balance between the ball and the bat by giving a bit leeway," Knight said.