Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their first ever match in the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, against CSK after 2008. Undoubtedly, it was a collective effort from the entire RCB unit. Winning the match by 50 runs in modern-day T20 cricket is considered unacceptable, there will be questions asked to Ruturaj Gaikwad, the skipper in charge, for a dismal performance. Let’s find out what led to CSK’s defeat.
(1)Ruturaj Gaikwad’s blunder in giving Ravichandran Ashwin new ball
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad had won the toss & opted to bowl first. Astonishingly, Nathan Ellis was left on the side & the young sensation Matheesha Pathirana was brought into the combination. The surface was a bit sluggish, not a complete rank turner as the odd ball was keeping low.
The moment Phil Salt saw Ravichandran Ashwin bowling the 2nd over, he whacked him all around the park. Ashwin conceded 16 runs in his very first over and Salt had smacked 2 fours and 1 six. Many would say that Ashwin is used to bowl with new ball but he has returned to CSK after 2015 and despite being MS Dhoni behind the wickets, Ashwin wasn’t able to fox Salt.
RCB’s score just took a flight and they scored 25 runs at the end of 2 overs. Ashwin later took a wicket in 8th over of Padikkal but after that his 2 overs went under-utilized. It might be a small factor but the openers Salt & Kohli took RCB to more than a decent start.
(2) Rahul Tripathi batting ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad
CSK made Rahul Tripathi to open the batting along with Rachin Ravindra while chasing a challenging 197 runs. Rahul Tripathi was undone by a bumper by Hazlewood in the 2nd over who forced Tripathi to play an awkward pull shot and gave a catch to the square leg fielder Phil Salt, and was dismissed for 5 runs in 3 balls with a solitary boundary.
In the same 2nd over of the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad was undone when he tried to play a pull shot on the wide off-stump bumper delivery;the CSK skipper couldn’t control the pull shot, the fielder and deep-square leg took a running catch with good control. CSK’s score was 8-2 in 2 overs and the not so strong middle order was exposed.
Josh Hazlewood bowled quite straight line & lengths which made life harder for the batters to play attacking brand of cricket. It’s quite a mystery that why Ruturaj was seen batting at No.3 position as he has hardly batted at that position. The pitch started to become minefield and the required run rate went past 10 runs per over.
(3) MS Dhoni’s batting position a concern
MS Dhoni came to bat at the No.9 position when the score was 99-7 in 15.2 overs, needing another 98 runs to win which was quite improbable. MS Dhoni, in one of his interviews, had mentioned that he wants youngsters like Shivam Dube to bat higher up the order but if MS Dhoni had come atthe No.6 or No.7 position, then the result would have been slightly different.
MS Dhoni, though,h smashed some boundaries in his knock of 30 runs in 16 balls to give fans something to cheer; but the home crowd would have been happier if CSK icon had come ahead of Jadeja or Ashwin.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming will have to find a proper middle order like ex-players Ambati Rayudu & Ajinkya Rahane who can fill the void. It won’t be a bad option if Devon Conway comes into the team and opens the batting along with Ruturaj Gaikwad. This defeat will hurt CSK for a long time not because they didn’t perform well but they took RCB lightly who don’t have that many star cricketers as compared to last 2 editions.
Also Read: CSK vs RCB: RCB’s Bowling Unit Inflict A Tragic CSK Collapse