PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsAfter their best-ever start to an IPL campaign, the Royal Challengers Bangalore hit a Ravindra Jadeja sized bump in their last game. Scoring 37 runs off the purple cap holder, breaching the defense of Bangalore’s two marquee overseas players and running the third one out with a direct hit, it was Jadeja’s day out. As expected, comments flew left, right and centre about his extraordinary brilliance. But, the best remark came from the man himself. When asked that the only thing he did not do was to take a catch. To this, he was quick with a tongue in cheek reply - “Today was not my day.”
On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals had to find their way through the magic of Kane Williamson. After David Warner fell to an ill-timed run-out and the Hyderabad middle-order continued to look classless, Williamson guided Hyderabad through to the first Super Over of the season. A brilliant over by Axar Patel and a short-run from Warner helped Delhi scramble home to earn their fourth win.
As the two sides now head to Ahmedabad for their next four games, they are neck and neck with eight points each. But this is not the only thing the two sides have in common. With concerns of COVID increasing each day in the country, key players from both sides have opted out of the season. Delhi will have to make do without Ravichandran Ashwin for the time being, while Bangalore will no longer have the services of Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa.
After the game against Chennai, Virat Kohli admitted that it was good to get a game like this out of the way early in the season. However, Bangalore would hope that this does not trigger a series of events like last year when they lost their last five games on the trot.
So far, Delhi have had answers to everything thrown at them. Unlike last season, Prithvi Shaw has been an able company to Shikhar Dhawan and has played impactful knocks at both venues. Steve Smith has moulded himself to fill the Shreyas Iyer void, while Rishabh Pant is in the form of his life. Avesh Khan has been a find and Amit Mishra continues to be useful. Axar Patel made an impact right away. The concern for Delhi is the untested batting order after the top four and the form of Kagiso Rabada.
Uncharacteristic Rabada
Since a dream season in 2019, this year’s IPL has been the worst for Rabada by far. Not only is he giving away runs at a higher economy (8.8), he has only four wickets to his name in as many games.
Usually, Rabada bowls the wicket-taking lengths, either full or short. In IPL 2019, when he took 25 wickets in just 12 games, 59.2% of balls were either in the slot or short. This year that number is still 57.1%. The difference is that in 2019 his length balls went for an economy of 6.5 in 2019, whereas this year those have gone for 8.1.
So far, Ashwin, Mishra and Axar have been able to carry the side with some support from Avesh and Rabada. However, if the wickets in Ahmedabad turn out to be more conducive for pace then it can result in a headache for Delhi. They might need to slot in a overseas pacer which might weaken their batting. If Rabada continues to misfire, Delhi may soon need to give his compatriot – Anrich Nortje – a look in.
10-men RCB
Apart from the hiccup against Chennai, Bangalore have not put a foot wrong this season. However, there are a couple of areas where they can be more robust. They have tried Rajat Patidar twice, Shahbaz Ahmed and Washington Sundar once at number three. Neither of them have been impressive enough to nail the spot. However, the constant churn has not allowed any player to get acquainted with the role. From the above three, only Sundar is a certainty in the XI. Hence, they should give him a longer run.
Dan Christian might be a lucky charm for franchises around the world, but he has had a torrid start to IPL this year. In the three matches he has played so far, he has scored three runs in eight balls. With the ball, he has bowled just five overs. In the field, he dropped Jadeja when he was on nought costing Bangalore the game. With him in the side, RCB are as good as playing with 10-men. While there have been a lot of examples in the past when players have turned their season around, it is worthwhile to have a look at Daniel Sams who will also bring in the left-arm pace variety which is in trend this season.
Probable XIs
DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (C/WK), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada/Anrich Nortje
RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), Washington Sundar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (WK), Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Sams/Dan Christian, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini/Shahbaz Ahmed
