CSK took on RCB in match 22 of the 2022 IPL and finally got points on the board, as they won the match by 23 runs in the Southern Derby. Shivam Dube played the innings of his life, an unbeaten 95 off just 46 balls, forming a massive 165-run partnership with Uthappa, who scored 88. With the dew not appearing, CSK’s spinners had a good outing, as Theekshana and Jadeja picked up seven wickets between them. Let’s look at some of the key points from the match.
RCB’s bowling plans
On a ground that had a huge boundary on one side, RCB were poor with their lengths, especially against Shivam Dube. The ground’s dimensions demanded that the bowlers bowl on a good length, forcing batters to hit across the line on the longer side of the ground. Instead, RCB bowled too full and straight and were rightly punished.
In the Powerplay, RCB bowled just two balls on the fuller length, and it resulted in them conceding just 35 runs in the first six overs. However, their plans changed post the powerplay, especially after the 10th over mark.
The scoring areas of Dube and Uthappa paint a fair picture of how RCB erred on length and line. The duo scored 61 runs straight down the ground, a 33.33% of their total runs. Dube’s most productive shot was the slog shot, yielding 22 runs. This shows how RCB got their bowling plans horribly wrong for the venue.
CSK’s Perfect Powerplay
The main issue for CSK this year has been the lack of wickets in the Powerplay. The absence of Deepak Chahar has hurt them a lot but a change in plans in this game reaped great rewards and played a crucial role in finally winning a game in this year’s IPL.
Faf du Plessis has been a slow starter, especially against spin, and with a left-hander in Anuj Rawat at the other end, CSK went with off-spin of Moeen Ali to start the inning. Although Ali didn’t pick up any wickets, he conceded just a single in his first over. In a 10.8 RPO chase, Ali’s over set the tone of the defence nicely for CSK, who eventually ended up taking three wickets in the Powerplay, effectively ending the chase.
Erratic Akash Deep
RCB and Akash Deep had a forgettable night against CSK. Deep was guilty of bowling all over the place and didn’t settle into any rhythm throughout his four overs.
As seen in the above viz, at a ground with shorter straight boundaries, Deep erred on the full length a lot against the right-handers. He also offered a lot of room outside the off stump. The left-right combination of Dube and Uthappa was not helping Deep, as he kept the ball on a similar line and length against both the batters, failing to adapt to the change of guard.
He was particularly guilty of drifting down the leg side of the left-handers, offering easy scoring options on the leg side, which Dube gleefully accepted. Deep ended up conceding a whopping 58 runs off his four overs.