RCB wins a thriller in Ahmedabad

After the toss, one of the commentators declared that the first round goes to Rishabh Pant. Toss seemed to be a deciding factor after the previous match in Ahmedabad which was heavily affected due to the dew. In fact, the ground was feeling like an astroturf pitch day before yesterday. But we can’t control nature, can we? As luck would have it, there was no dew yesterday and in fact, there was a sandstorm before the chase started and I guess it worked in RCB’s favour. 

When a team starts winning close encounters, you can very well guess that luck is on their side, and to be frank you do need a bit of luck to win tournaments like IPL.

Delhi Capitals were coming off a super over win against Sunrisers Hyderabad whereas RCB were smarting from the loss against CSK – was it CSK or was it Jadeja? RCB on their part took it like a freaking show by Jadeja and hence didn’t put too much pressure on themselves. When you are in a roll, your body language changes and that’s reflecting on Virat Kohli too because after a long time RCB is looking like the team to beat. 

But Delhi Capitals are no pushovers and it was a game that I looked forward to because one thing was sure and that was we would see a great match of cricket. And that’s exactly how it panned out as RCB beat Delhi Capitals by 1 run. The thrillers are back in IPL and with all the doom and gloom outside, it’s not bad that our minds are kept diverted for a few hours. So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match? Let’s have a look.

The hits:

I find it so difficult to believe that AB DeVilliers doesn’t play any form of cricket other than IPL. You can practice for hours but there is no better practice than match practice. With so less match time under his belt, I wonder how he keeps belting out unbelievable batting performances match after match. I don’t think I have ever seen an out-of-form AB. If there is one international cricketer whom I love and respect after Sangakkara and Gilchrist then it’s AB DeVilliers. Yesterday close to 60 runs were scored by RCB in the last 5 overs and AB contributed 50 of them. He was the difference between an average score and an above-average score and finally, the winning margin was only 1 run so you can imagine those last over hitting made all the difference for RCB.

Shimron Hetmeyer is one of the most talented cricketers from the West Indies. But he has a big problem when it comes to consistency. The day he is in form, you just love seeing him bat but he hardly follows that with a few more and generally falters in the next match. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the upcoming matches but yesterday Delhi Capitals were down and out when he changed the complexion of the match single-handedly. It sounds difficult to believe that he outscored Rishabh Pant but the fact is Pant was struggling against the same bowlers, in the same pitch where Hetmeyer was going hammer and tongs! He brought the equation down to 14 runs off the last over – an over where he didn’t get much of the strike and Delhi Capitals finally lost by one run. Both Hetmeyer and Pant got half-centuries though Hetmeyer got it in 23 balls to bring Delhi Capitals back to the match. The disappointment was writ large on the faces of Pant and Hetmeyer after the last ball was bowled and quite understandably so because it was a case of so near yet so far. I am sure we will see some more fireworks from these talented youngsters in the days to come.

This year we are seeing some fantastic bowling performances by uncapped Indian pace bowlers. Avesh Khan is one of them. He has been consistent right from the first match and he continued doing so yesterday too. He has upped his pace and his line has been immaculate. He is getting some prize scalps too. Recently he got the wicket of MS Dhoni and yesterday he got the better of Virat Kohli. 

The misses

Kagiso Rabada was the highest wicket-taker last season but he is a pale shadow of that Rabada from UAE. He is missing the length consistently and is going for runs. Yesterday he was not asked to bowl in the death but he still went for plenty. It won’t be a bad idea for Delhi Capitals to rest him and play Nortje or Woakes in a few upcoming matches. 

Virat Kohli must be thinking about what’s going on. A couple of years back he used to come to the crease only to score centuries and today it’s so different with him struggling to score half-centuries. The funny part is that he is not struggling on the crease. Till the time he is batting he is looking in form and then he plays a false shot and gets out. It’s something in the mind and India and RCB must be hoping that we all get to see the old run machine back amongst us! Will it happen before the IPL gets over? Let’s wait and watch.

Steve Smith is clearly struggling to adapt to Indian conditions and more so with T20 cricket. Gone are the days when he used to make up the slow start with big finishes. Delhi Capitals need a player at number 3 who can play till the end and that’s not happening. I think it would make sense to replace him with a local player like Vishnu Vinod or Lalit Yadav going forward. The absence of Shreyas Iyer is hurting them a lot and it’s important they get their team combination right otherwise it can be troublesome for them towards the end of the tournament.

What to look forward to?

Washington Sundar seems to be struggling this year and it won’t be a bad idea to rest him for a while and get Shahbaz Ahmed to play instead. Rajat Patidar looked good and so Finn Allen has to wait for his debut. I think Siraj is still a work in progress when it comes to death overs bowling and hence I would like to see Daniel Sam’s bowling at the death. Siraj is superb with the new ball and it won’t be a bad idea to bowl him 3 overs initially with the final over around the 15th or 16th over. They don’t need much tinkering with the team because their core team is playing well and once Virat Kohli starts scoring this team will become unbeatable.

For Delhi Capitals they need a few changes in their batting and bowling personnel. I would love to see Lalit Yadav back in place of Steve Smith and it would be good to get Chris Woakes back in place of Amit Mishra. Rabada should be rested and Nortje should be a given a chance. Will they make so many changes after a couple of misfirings? It would be interesting to see.

All in all both Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are all set to go to the playoffs. Only a miracle from some other teams can change this script. And if that happens we are in for some great cricket in the next couple of weeks.

What do you think should be the playing XI for Delhi Capitals? Do write in as we move to Delhi tonight where Chennai Superkings take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.

PS. Adversity brings the best out of us. In this doom and gloom that’s surrounding us, it’s heartening to see how citizens from all walks of life coming together and helping each other in whatever way they can. Yes, we shouldn’t have reached this stage. Yes, the system failed us. Yes, the people who are supposed to protect us are giving excuses but finally, it’s our life and we should be careful and we should take care of our well-being. If you can help please help but most importantly don’t let your guard down. This pandemic is not going away in a hurry. So take care and be safe.

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