The IPL playoffs shifted from Kolkata to Ahmedabad, and so did the fortunes of the two teams as Qualifier 2 saw the Rajasthan Royals humble the Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets. Prasidh Krishna set the tone early, aided by Obed McCoy, and restricted RCB to a slightly below-par total. On a pitch that offered decent bounce for the pacers, the RCB bowlers, especially Mohammed Siraj, had their worst bowling performance of this season. Joss Buttler, who eventually scored his fourth ton of the season, combined with Yashasvi Jaiswal to hand RR the advantage inside the Powerplay. We look at some key talking points from the game.
Samson’s use of Krishna and spinners
Prasidh Krishna usually bowls two overs in the Powerplay and then two in the death overs. However, RCB had Dinesh Karthik, who has been one of the best hitters against pace in this year’s IPL, slotted to bat in the death overs. The Ahmedabad pitch offered good bounce and carry for the pacers. Considering all these, Sanju Samson made a very bold yet effective move.
After getting Kohli’s nick in his first over, Krishna was a charged-up bowler, letting the ball rip with extreme pace off a good and short of a good length. Samson changed his usual tactics and utilised Prasidh’s three overs inside the Powerplay. It also meant that Chahal and Ashwin were kept for slightly later than usual to help RR counter the DK threat, considering Karthik’s moderate returns against spinners.
Boult’s over against Maxwell
At the end of the 13th over, RCB were in a good position, with their score at 107-2. Glenn Maxwell had just scored 12 runs off the previous over from Chahal and along with Rajat Patidar, held the key for RCB going into the last few overs. Despite three overs of spin remaining, Samson brought on Trent Boult, possibly to counter Maxwell, who had quickly moved to 21 off just eight balls.
After running three off the first ball, Maxwell was back on strike for the third ball, and a bizarre choice of shots followed. Boult now had a deep fine leg and a deep square leg for Maxwell. Anticipating a short ball, Maxwell couldn’t transfer his weight forward for a full-length ball, which was a nice bluff from the bowler. Maxwell then tried a reverse pull off a slower ball and a cut shot off the next pacy ball but missed both of them.
Then came the sucker ball. Aimed well at the body, Maxwell failed to keep his pull shot down and hit it straight to Obed McKoy at fine leg, who took a brilliant diving catch. This over not only proved vital in changing the momentum towards RR, but it also showed Maxwell’s lack of patience and game awareness, as he could have had three overs of spin to target later on.
Ashwin’s bowling speeds
Ravichandran Ashwin struggled against the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, conceding 10 runs per over. A major reason behind it was his bowling speeds, which were quicker than usual. Even in Qualifier 2, Ashwin bowled a lot quicker than his usual mid-80 KPH range, but a key difference in both the matches was his length.
Ashwin’s average speed against RCB was more than 93 KPH, and it might have been a result of the surface not allowing the ball to grip a lot. However, to not get hammered as he was in the last game, Ashwin kept targeting the good length. More than 75% of his balls were on a good length, and he didn’t bowl a single full-length ball against the left-handers. His pace, combined with these lengths, did not allow the batters to rock back or step out. The result – figures of 1/31 off his four overs.
RR have now qualified for just their second IPL final after they clinched the title in the first-ever season. They will be facing the red-hot ‘hosts’, GT, at their home venue, but this win will surely boost their confidence going into the show-piece fixture on Sunday.