News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • ‘It is enjoyable when you don’t do so well and still win’: Dhoni after win against KKR

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Chennai Super Kings captain M S Dhoni on Sunday said his team did not play well enough but it was “enjoyable” to still end on the winning side against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL here.

    With three wins in as many games since IPL resumption, CSK have put their one door in the play-offs.

    “It’s a nice victory to have. At times you play good cricket and you lose. It is enjoyable when you don’t do so well and still win. It was good cricket from both sides, and a pleasure for the spectators,” said Dhoni at the post-match presentation.

    KKR made 171/6 and CSK chased down the target off the last ball.

    “We bowled well in patches. It’s not easy for the fast bowlers. We tried to give them short spells. 170 was a par score, I felt. When Jadeja was bowling, it was coming on and not stopping.

    The way we started, KKR deserve some applause for making a game out of it.

    “We were also worried about how the wicket will be. When you keep playing on a wicket, groundsmen sometimes water it more and leave some more grass,” Dhoni said.

    CSK have now won six games in a row in the UAE.

    “The important thing was to make the most of what we had learnt and to come back stronger,” added Dhoni.

    Player of the match Ravindra Jadeja, who struck 22 off eight balls towards the end, said it is tough to perform in the shortest format after playing weeks of Test cricket.

    “It is difficult. After you have played five-day cricket and then to come to white-ball cricket, I was working on my bat swing. I wanted to repeat whatever I was doing. The runs in the second-last over turned out to be the match-winning over for us.”

    “But Rutu and Faf gave us a good start. You need to be collective as a unit, whether with bat or ball. I was just backing my strength. He was bowling with fine leg and square leg up. I thought he would bowl full outside off, and slow short ball. I thought he would give one ball up, and luckily I connected well,” added Jadeja.

    KKR skipper Eoin Morgan said his team did the best it could.

    “Both sides batted well. Both bowled really well. Can’t fault anything from our side. The second half of the tournament has been a lot of positives for our side. We just have to give ourselves the best chance.”

    “The whole tournament has an abundance of top-class international cricketers. Some of the local Indian guys haven’t even been capped yet.”

    “When Jadeja plays like that, similar to Sam Curran for England, I don’t think there’s a lot to do,” he said.

  • ‘Jadeja has improved his batting under pressure’: Balaji lauds India all rounder

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Chennai Super Kings bowling coach L Balaji lavished praise on Ravindra Jadeja after his match-winning effort against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, saying the Saurashtra all-rounder has improved his batting under pressure.

    “I think, this was exactly one-year back in Dubai, the second game against KKR, Jaddu (Jadeja) won us the game in the last over. I recollected and little-bit went back with the memory and I thought when Ravi was playing, he would do some kind of magic and he has improved his batting under pressure,” Balaji, a former India pacer, said at the post-match press conference.

    Jadeja won a close match for Chennai Super Kings as his back-end pyrotechnics ensured a two-wicket win over KKR.

    Jadeja (22 off 8 balls) launched into pacer Prasidh Krishna, who bowled the 19th over, where the pacer lost his length completely under the Saurashtra all-rounder’s onslaught with CSK reaching the target of 172 in exactly 20 overs.

    “And he (Jadeja) is showing that on the field and making sure, helping us to cross the line. It is a wonderful to see Ravi coming a little-bit higher and higher in his batting order, his batting ability has changed overall in the last one or two years,” added Balaji.

    Meanwhile, KKR chief mentor David Hussey said that pacer Prasidh Krishna, who was taken to task by a blistering Ravindra Jadeja, was beaten by a better player.

    “PK (Prasidh Krishna) has been (an) amazing depth bowler for us throughout this tournament, in the last two games, so he is definitely in our plans to bowl. Unfortunately, he got beaten by a better player today in Jadeja. I’m sure knowing PK he is going to bounce back and become the world class bowler that he actually is normally,” Hussey said.

    He said that Andre Russell, who had to leave the field due to an injury, was probably going to bowl the 19th over, which changed the course of the match.

    “Of course, when Andre (Russell) went off the park, he had one over to go, was he going to bowl, nobody really knows, he bowled particularly well up-front so, he probably was going to bowl the 19th over,” he said.

  • IPL 2021: Kohli completes 10,000 T20 runs, Maxwell smashes 56 as RCB post 165/6

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Glenn Maxwell finally came good with an attacking 56 after skipper Virat Kohli’s second consecutive half-century, taking Royal Challengers Bangalore to a par-score of 165/6 against Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Sunday.

    Kohli, who completed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket, scored 51 off 42 balls with three fours and three sixes but it was Maxwell who justified his expensive price tag with a 37-ball blitzkrieg before Jasprit Bumrah brought MI back in the game.

    Maxwell’s innings had six fours and three sixes as he showed true destructive potential with switch hits, lap shots and flicks during the final overs when he launched into MI pacers Adam Milne (1/48 in 4 overs) and Bumrah (3/26 in 4 overs) with utter disdain.

    Such was the ferocity of Maxwell’s hits that even the normally calm MI skipper Rohit Sharma looked helpless before Bumrah removed both Maxwell and AB de villiers (11) off successive deliveries which at least helped them save 20 to 25 runs in the final two overs.

    At the onset, Kohli hit the very second ball of the match from Trent Boult (1/17 in 4 overs) for a six.

    It was an inswinger which the RCB skipper flicked and Rahul Chahar at deep mid-wicket got his palms but couldn’t latch on to it.

    The normally dependable Devdutt Padikkal (0) had an off-day as Bumrah bowled a beauty which pitched on length and moved away taking the outside edge into Quinton de Kock’s gloves.

    Kohli found a confident partner in Bharat (32 off 24 balls) as they quickly added 68 runs for the second wicket.

    Bharath for good measure swept Rahul Chahar against the turn for two sixes while Kohli also imperiously pulled Bumrah for a six over deep mid-wicket.

    However Bharat couldn’t convert his start as Chahar bowled one straight and full and the batter didn’t get the required elevation being holed at long-off boundary.

    Once Bharat was out and Maxwell came in, RCB despite some great shots couldn’t force the pace as Kohli and Maxwell added 50 runs in seven overs which can never be termed scoring at a great clip.

    Maxwell did entertain the crowd with a switch hit six off Chahar.

    Kohli also got a reprieve when he tried to cut Chahar and Hardik Pandya at point made a mess of an easy catch by trying to dive when all he required was to move a few paces to grab a regulation catch.

    It was a day when the Indian captain was expected to convert his half-century into a big score but he failed to control the pull shot to a delivery from Adam Milne that had extra bounce and substitute fielder Anukul took a great catch running from mid-wicket boundary.

    Once Kohli was gone, Maxwell once again upped the tempo with the former Proteas skipper AB de Villiers also hitting a six over long-on off Bumrah.

    Maxwell picked Milne’s knuckle ball for a second switch hit six and then for good measure used his pace to hit a switch lap shot as RCB crossed the 160-run mark.

  • IPL 2021: Jadeja cameo helps CSK to beat KKR by two wickets in Abu Dhabi thriller

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Ravindra Jadeja won a close match for Chennai Super Kings for the umpteenth time as his back-end pyrotechnics ensured a two-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League thriller here on Sunday.

    Jadeja (22 off 8 balls) launched into pacer Prasidh Krishna, who bowled the 19th over, where the pacer lost his length completely under the Saurashtra all-rounder’s onslaught with CSK reaching the target of 172 in exactly 20 overs.

    Instead of bowling yorkers, Krishna repeatedly bowled length balls as Jadeja hit two sixes and two boundaries to make it a cakewalk in the final over.

    Krishna conceded 22 runs in the penultimate over to leave CSK with four runs to get in the final over.

    But there was more drama in store as Sam Curran and Jadeja were snuffed out by Sunil Narine before Deepak Chahar ended the match with a single.

    However KKR skipper Eoin Morgan’s captaincy left a lot to be desired as the decision to bring in Krishna in the 19th over would be debated.

    Morgan in his defence could sight Anre Russell’s injury being the reason but Narine in the 19th over could have posed more challenge for a rampaging Jadeja.

    The win also meant that CSK remained unbeaten after the IPL resumed and once again were back at the top in the pecking order, with 16 points.

    In pursuit of a challenging 172, CSK were down and out at 142/6 before Jadeja took the onus on himself.

    KKR had posted 171/6, as they rode on late flourish by former skipper Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana after the foundation was laid by Rahul Tripathi (45).

    CSK wasn’t able to capitalise on the aggressive 74-run opening start given by Ruturaj Gaikwad (40 off 28 balls; 2 fours and 3 sixes) and South African Faf Du Plessis (43; seven fours).

    KKR pegged CSK by sending both the openers back in quick succession.

    CSK then suffered a middle-order collapse.

    Spinner Varun Chakravarthy had got KKR back into the game by dismissing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

    Earlier, former skipper Dinesh Karthik’s late cameo and Nitish Rana’s steady long handle took Kolkata Knight Riders to a par-score of 171 against Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League encounter on Sunday.

    Seamer Shardul Thakur (2/20 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/21 in 4 overs) performed impressively to keep KKR under leash till the 13th over when they were 93 for 4.

    However, the last seven overs yielded 78 runs and KKR were able to put on a more than fighting score largely due to Sam Curran (0/56 in 4overs) leaking runs at the back end.

    Even Josh Hazlewood (2/40 in 4 overs) got a bit of stick helping KKR’s cause.

    The platform was laid by Rahul Tripathi (45 off 33), who hit four boundaries and one six but it was the CSK bowlers, who kept making inroads and did not allow the KKR batsmen to either free their arms or settle down.

    Opting to bat, Kolkata lost opener Shubman Gill (9) in the first over after a horrible mix-up with Venkatesh Iyer.

    One-down Tripathi and in-form Venkatesh Iyer (18) tried to resurrect the innings but the southpaw was unable to convert his start after he nicked one to Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Thakur.

    Tripathi, who fetched his first boundary, an imperious pull shot over mid-wicket, also got a ‘life’ after the ball on which he had nicked, was adjudged as a ‘no-ball’.

    Off the very next one, he smashed his first maximum over deep extra cover.

    Skipper Eoin Morgan (8) also fell cheaply as he holed to Du Plessis off Josh Hazlewood as KKR was in spot of bother at 70/3.

    Tripathi also fell in the 13th over, as he was cleaned up by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja as KKR slipped to 89/4.

    Then Andre Russell (20) took on Sam Curran in the 15th over, smacking two fours and a monstrous six, as KKR fetched 14 runs.

    But Shardul Thakur forced Russell to drag one back onto his stumps.

    Then it was the Rana and Karthik show that took them past 170.

    Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: 171/6 in 20 overs (Rahul Tripathi 45, Nitish Rana 37 not out, Dinesh Karthik 26; Shardul Thakur 2/20).

    Chennai Super Kings: 172 for 8 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 44, Ruturaj Gaikwad 40, Ravindra Jadeja 22; Sunil Narine 3/41).

  • Sunrisers Hyderabad restrict Punjab Kings to 125/7

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: West Indian Jason Holder’s impressive spell of three wickets for 19 runs helped Sunrisers Hyderabad restrict Punjab Kings to 125 for 7 in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

    Sent in to bat, Punjab Kings batsmen struggled to get going on a slow wicket and failed to stitch any big partnership, the highest being the 30-run stand between Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram, who top-scored with a 32-ball 27, for the third wicket.

    Captain KL Rahul had scored 49 in the previous match but got dismissed early this time as he fell to Holder’s first ball for a run-a-ball 21 in the fifth over.

    The other opener Mayank Agarwal (5), who had scored 67 against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, was out four balls later as he sliced a Holder delivery to Kane Williamson at mid off.

    Punjab Kings were 29 for 2 after Power Play and could have been three wickets down the next over but David Warner dropped Markram off Khaleel Ahmed.

    The Mohali-based side were 55 for 2 at halfway mark.

    Chris Gayle shunned playing his trademark big-hitting shots but got dimissed for 14 off 17 balls off the bowling of Rashid Khan.

    Nicholas Pooran (8) followed his senior West Indian colleague to the dressing room the next over, while Markram’s promising innings ended in the 15th over while looking for big shots to accelerate the innings.

    Deepak Hooda (13) hit some lusty blows before substitute fielder J Suchith plucked the ball out of thin air in an outstanding fielding effort to dismiss the batsman.

    Punjab Kings took 14 runs from the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to end their innings at 125 for 7.

    Harpreet Brar remained not out on 18 from as many balls.

  • Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson wins toss, opt to field against Punjab Kings

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to field against Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

    Punjab made three changes to their playing XI, handing debut to medium pacer Nathan Ellis and also bringing in Chris Gayle and Ravi Bishnoi while leaving out Fabian Allen, Ishan Porel, and Adil Rashid.

    Sunrisers, however, fielded the same playing XI.

    Teams:

    Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (C), David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Khaleel Ahmed

  • Bowlers script Delhi Capitals’ 33-run win over Rajasthan Royals

    By PTI

    ADU DHABI: Delhi Capitals bowlers made up for the team’s underwhelming display with the bat to hand Rajasthan Royals a 33-run defeat in their Indian Premier League match, here on Saturday.

    The Capitals bowling unit restricted the Royals to 121 for six after the team put on board 154 for six on the back of Shreyas Iyer’s 43 and a late flourish provided by Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 28 runs off 16 balls.

    Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson looked in sublime touch, scoring an unbeaten 70, but with wickets tumbling at regular intervals from the other end, the Royals innings failed to get the momentum it needed.

    South African pacer Anrich Nortje (2/18) led the Delhi bowlers who performed as a cohesive unit.

    Avesh Khan (1/29), Kagiso Rabada (1/26), Axar Patel (1/27), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/20) snapped a wicket each.

    With the win the Capitals returned to the top of the table while the Royals moved down to the sixth spot.

    Defending a modest total, pacers Khan and Nortje provided the electric start that the Capitals needed, sending back both openers — Liam Livingstone (1) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) in the first two overs.

    Skipper Rishabh Pant made a bowling change by bringing in Ashwin and the senior Indian spinner got rid of the dangerous David Miller (7) to leave the Royals tottering at 17 for 3.

    With the required run rate increasing, Rajasthan needed 107 runs in the last 10 over.

    Samson and young Mahipal Lomror (19) seemed to be reviving the innings but the ever-reliant Rabada nipped the partnership in the bud.

    Riyan Parag (2) and Rahul Tewatia (9) couldn’t provide a valuable contribution either.

    Samson was going strong, hitting boundaries at will but the Delhi bowlers came back strongly.

    Earlier, the Royals pacers — led by Mustafizur Rahman (2/22), Chetan Sakariya (2/33) and Kartik Tyagi (1/40) — shared five wickets while spin all-rounder Rahul Tewatia (1/17) dismissed one batsman.

    Tyagi, the star of the match against Punjab Kings, drew first blood with his very first delivery in the fourth over, cleaning up Orange Cap holder Shikhar Dhawan (8).

    The Delhi opener looked to play a good length delivery but the ball rolled back to hit the timber.

    Prithvi Shaw (10) soon followed his opening partner back to the dugout, slicing the ball off Sakariya to Liam Livingstone at mid-off.

    At the end of the powerplay, the Capitals were precariously placed at 36 runs for the loss of two wickets.

    With spin introduced in the seventh over Shreyas Iyer (43 off 32 balls) and skipper Rishabh Pant (24 off 24 balls) started to repair the damage caused by the loss of the openers.

    The duo, who stitched a 62-run partnership, kept the scoreboard ticking, while also hitting the occasional boundaries at the huge Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

    The stylish Iyer then hit the first maximum of the match over long off in the 10th over off left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (0/34).

    As the two Delhi batters found their footing, Rahman was brought back into the attack and the move immediately paid dividends as Pant, looking to hook the ball away, ended up getting an under edge.

    Samson then showed his skills with gloves to stump Iyer, who failed to stretch his back foot inside the crease as wicket continued to tumble at regular intervals.

    Shimron Hetmyer, who was striking the ball well, then upped the ante, hitting three boundaries off Tyagi to plunder 16 runs in the 16th over.

    The big-hitting West Indian, who hit five fours, scored a brisk 28 off 16 balls.

  • IPL 2021: Mustafizur, Shakariya shine as Royals restrict Delhi Capitals to 154/6

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Rajasthan Royals’ pace battery, led by Mustafizur Rahman, put up a disciplined effort to restrict Delhi Capitals to a modest 154 for six in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

    The Royals pacers — Rahman (2/22), Chetan Sakariya (2/33) and Kartik Tyagi (1/40) — shared five wickets while spin all-rounder Rahul Tewatia (1/17) dismissed one batsman.

    Tyagi, the star of the match against Punjab Kings, drew first blood with his very first delivery in the fourth over, cleaning up Orange Cap holder Shikhar Dhawan (8).

    The Delhi opener looked to play a good length delivery but the ball rolled back to hit the timber.

    Prithvi Shaw (10) soon followed his opening partner back to the dugout, slicing the ball off Sakariya to Liam Livingstone at mid-off.

    At the end of the powerplay, the Capitals were precariously placed at 36 runs for the loss of two wickets.

    With spin introduced in the seventh over Shreyas Iyer (43 off 32 balls) and skipper Rishabh Pant (24 off 24 balls) started to repair the damage caused by the loss of the openers.

    The duo, who stitched a 62-run partnership, kept the scoreboard ticking, while also hitting the occasional boundaries at the huge Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

    The stylish Southpaw hit the first maximum of the match over long off in the 10th over off left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (0/34).

    As the two Delhi batters found their footing, Rahman was brought back into the attack and the move immediately paid dividends as Pant, looking to hook the ball away, ended up getting an under edge.

    Samson then showed his skills with gloves to stump Iyer, who failed to stretch his back foot inside the crease as wicket continued to tumble at regular intervals.

    Shimron Hetmyer, who was striking the ball well, then upped the ante, hitting three boundaries off Tyagi to plunder 16 runs in the 16th over.

    The big-hitting West Indian, who hit five fours, scored a brisk 28 off 16 balls.

  • Mumbai hopeful of Hardik’s return against RCB on Sunday, says Zaheer

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Mumbai Indians Director of Cricket Operations, Zaheer Khan on Saturday exuded confidence that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya would be fit to play in their next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore after missing the title holder’s first two games in the second leg of the ongoing Indian Premier League.

    MI did not have the best of starts in the second phase of the tournament, losing their first two games against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

    But Zaheer is optimistic about Hardik’s return in the playing eleven in their next game on Sunday.

    “Well, we have a practice session today lined up, so after we finish the press conference we are going to go there and will take an informed call on that. He (Hardik) has started practicing, that’s what I can share with you guys right now. So, we are hopeful that he (Hardik) will be fit and available. That’s what we are hoping,” the former India pacer said at the pre-match conference.

    MI head coach Mahela Jayawardane had said that the Baroda all-rounder missed the game against CSK due a little niggle.

    He also the missed the next game against KKR.

    According to Zaheer, every team has become smart in their preparations and the five-time champions MI very well know how to perform under pressure.

    “As you know, IPL is a very highly competitive tournament, so teams are always trying to have a one up on each other and they are getting smart in their preparation and these days every team is analysing every other team. So we have to stay on the top.”

    “The focus has always been on us, this team has been so successful because we have been focusing on our processes, our strengths and our players who are taking the field. And these are the players who have got us the championship, so we have that kind of approach and we have had quite a lot of good conversations around those things,” he said.

    “When it comes to the back-end of the tournament, the pressure is (high), this team certainly knows how to perform under pressure,” added Zaheer.

    MI middle-order has misfired in the first two games since the IPL’s resumption.

    “When you look at the scorecard, you will say ya (laughs), there is a concern.”

    But Zaheer stressed that it was just a matter of time.

    “But I don’t see it (the middle-order form) as a concern. It is just about finding that rhythm. You have seen in this format and this tournament particularly that once you get on a roll, you can win a couple of games together,” he said.

    “This team has been so successful because of certain processes in terms of form, it is always just one innings away, be it a batter or a bowler and for you to win games of cricket, everything has to come together,” he explained.

    Zaheer said they got good starts in the last two games but weren’t able to finish off things.

    “So far, we have been getting good starts, we have been having those platforms, (we are) not being able to close in those situations, so the focus will be on that going forward. It is just about everything coming together and we just need that one game and that one game I am certain has to be the next game,” he said.

    “Because we are getting in that business end of the tournament where every game is going to matter and every game is going to bring in more pressure. When we have such a successful background to look at and such experienced players to fall back on, we are looking forward to the challenge and we are looking forward to the opportunity we have right now, going forward to make history.”

    “It is just a matter of time before we turn things around,” Zaheer signed off.

  • Testing time for India stars as out of sync RCB face rusty Mumbai Indians

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be aiming to up their captaincy quotient and raise their respective team’s performance by a few notches when Royal Challengers Bangalore lock horns with defending champions Mumbai Indians in an IPL game, here on Sunday.

    India’s outgoing T20 captain and the one who will replace him, both have endured crushing defeats.

    It puts them on a slippery slope as the tournament approaches its business end.

    RCB are still in top four with 10 points from nine games while MI after their back-to-back defeats have slumped to sixth spot with eight points from nine games.

    The fact that bulk of India’s top-order batters, who are currently under-performing, are from these two sides, sticks out like sore thumb.

    Going into the World T20, Kohli, Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are some of the batting mainstays.

    Also there is Hardik Pandya, who is not being picked by Mumbai Indians as he is perhaps not 100 percent fit to carry his all-round duties which includes four overs of brisk fast-medium bowling.

    But if Hardik is batting fit and still the burly and bordering on sloppy Saurabh Tiwary is preferred, then it does seem a bit baffling as the Baroda all-rounder purely as a batsman is miles ahead of the Jharkhand man.

    Kohli showed some form en route his half-century against CSK at Sharjah but the overall form has been scratchy and his MI counterpart also didn’t completely look in his elements during the previous game against KKR.

    The more worrying factor will be Surya’s lack of form which might be a result of lack of game time, having sat through two Tests in England.

    He is suddenly looking a lot rustier than usual.

    It was no different for Ishan also as the trio needs to fire to be in good head space before the T20 World Cup on same tracks that are expected to get slower.

    One can only hope that their form doesn’t desert them when they need it most in the “Desert Nation”.

    Interestingly, both RCB and MI have lost their two matches on resumption to same opposition — KKR and CSK.

    What’s more disconcerting has been the patchy bowling efforts from both sides save an odd bowler.

    For Mumbai, it is Jasprit Bumrah, who has looked head and shoulders above the rest of the pack while Yuzvendra Chahal with wiry little frame is carrying the burden of an entire below-par bowling attack.

    No support for either of the two from the other bowlers have not helped their cause either.

    RCB’s case is a bit trickier as they have now lost seven matches on the trot in the UAE.

    Five of those defeats came in the last edition.

    RCB’s bowling attack, in terms of quality, is a bit wafer-thin as the likes of Harshal Patel don’t have the wherewithal to perform match after match.

    In case of Navdeep Saini, a success-rate of just about “half wicket per IPL game” (17 scalps in 30 matches) gives a picture of why Kohli can’t always rely on him.

    Wanindu Hasaranga was taken after just two good matches against a second string Indian side in Sri Lanka and even if one goes by his ICC rankings, there are enough quality players who would see his spell through.

    In batting, it’s more about Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal who put on 111 for the first wicket only to find that others weren’t good enough to add even 50 runs.

    They have a keeper in Kona Bharath, who is primarily a red-ball specialist.

    Against the CSK, Harshal Patel, who had some sporadic experiences of batting for Haryana, was sent ahead of him.

    That only speaks of skipper’s lack of trust having sent him up the order.

    Glenn Maxwell as usual is the “big buy” which more often than not goes waste and Tim David not being the man for slow tracks is also hurting RCB chances.

    Squads:

    Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Captain), Navdeep Saini, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Rajat Patidar, Dushmantha Chameera, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Kyle Jamieson, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Akash Deep, AB de Villiers.

    Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain) Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Neesham, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, Adam Milne, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult.