IPL 2022: How Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis kept RCB chances alive with an easy win

Gulf News

Pressure on Rajasthan Royals to end on winning note against Chennai.   See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #cricket #IPL2022

Transcript

00:00How do you sum up and what do you feel about RCB's chances? They've got a pretty good chance now.

00:15Hello, good evening. Welcome to yet another episode of Straight Back with Gulf News and Mr

00:21Cricket UAE. Unfortunately, Mr Cricket UAE, Mr Anish Sajjan, he is not with us this evening.

00:28This is Gautam with you. And my guest for the evening is A.K. Satish, sports editor of Gulf

00:34News. Welcome Satish. Thank you. Thanks, Gautam. Yeah. Now, first up today, of course, you know,

00:44it was it was really a masterclass by Virat Kohli and Fabio Plessy, because they knew that

00:51if they need to get that 169 in good time, they needed a good start from them.

00:57Now, that yeah, so that happened. I mean, they really raised their game to that level,

01:01but we'll come to that later. How do you how do you sum up and what do you feel about

01:08RCB's chances? They've got a pretty good chance now.

01:11Yeah, I think that it's straightforward now. Delhi has to win. If Delhi loses,

01:18then they're out. And if Delhi wins, and hopefully they have a very good run rate,

01:23so they should go through. So it's a do or die game for Delhi. And given the

01:30chances that they should do well, because they have got two wins in the last two games.

01:35But you never know Delhi, which team we are going to see on that particular day,

01:40because there are some games they have played exceedingly well. And then some games they have

01:45not lived up to the expectations or lived up to the team potential that it had. And I think it

01:52will be a wonderful game day after tomorrow. Right. Yeah, basically, you know, all the last

02:00jigsaw will be settled on Saturday. Right now, what we have is just for the viewers,

02:06I mean, we have got Gujarat Titans, they stand unaffected because they are still on 20 points

02:12after their 14 games. Lucknow Supergiants have reached 18. Now, Rajasthan Royals even

02:21if they lose tomorrow, they've got a very healthy run rate, they will be still on 16.

02:26Now the issue, as Satish says, is between RCB and Delhi. So after that, Sunday's game will be

02:34primarily of, you know, no consequence, because they both are at 12 points, and they can't make

02:41it anymore. Right. Now, first up, you know, possibly what you know, Hardik Pandey is going

02:50to say after today's game is that, you know, they wanted to, you know, they wanted to check out

02:54on scenarios by batting first. But what do you make of that decision to, you know, like try and

03:02chase a total on a wicket, which was, which showed a fair bit of grit early on? But Gautam, I think

03:08if you look at now with the wickets are so much used, I think the teams that are winning the

03:14tosses nowadays are electing to bat. Because the due factor, more than the due factor, the wicket

03:19crumbles more in the second innings. So the ball is gripping and it's not coming out of the bat. So

03:24I think most of the teams, if you look at in the last few games, they win the toss and elect to

03:28bat. Because I think the initial part where they win the toss and put the other team into bat is

03:33gone. Because the wickets are now completely overused. And we are almost on the last three

03:38games away from the end of the league phase. So I think even tomorrow or day after, the teams that

03:45win the toss, I'm sure they are going to bat first. Because at least you have some certain

03:49firmness at the start of the game. So as the game progresses, the ball will start gripping more.

03:55But again, like the total was not enough probably though. Hardik Pandya feels that

04:00it was a par score. I would have said another 10-15 runs would have put more pressure on

04:06Bangalore. But again, when Virat Kohli and Faf, they get into the group, no total is big enough.

04:14Yeah. I mean, see the thing is, that's what. It was very clear that Virat could take up the

04:20role of the aggressor in the power play. And he, you know, even when he was... There was a

04:25clear ploy to attack Rashid Khan today. Don't you think so? Though initially, he eventually had the

04:31last laugh, but it was little too late in the day. And it seemed that he was batting on a different

04:36surface. So what was the difference? Was it the intent? What do you think? Or that over from Shami,

04:42I mean, where he milked him? Gautam, when Virat gets into his group, basically what was missing

04:50was his confidence. The moment he comes out and if you look at him, he was not getting out to the

04:57opposition. He was getting out to himself, basically, if you look at it. So probably today,

05:02he didn't have any of those extra baggage. He must have come today free. Because more importantly,

05:08what would have happened is, his personal form wouldn't have mattered today. It wouldn't have

05:11been in his mind, because he knows the team cost depends on him. So his thought must have been

05:16completely on the team. So he took away his form, which was good, because it made him forget it.

05:22And then the moment he forgot and he was in his natural space, Virat is Virat. We all know what

05:29he could do. Right, right. Yeah. And the other thing is, I mean, this is the unit, I mean,

05:37yes, they are still somewhat, you know, that iffy thing is there because of that horrible match,

05:43which they had in terms of the run rate. But today, the RCB whom we saw, I mean, they look

05:51quite potent. I mean, you know, we know that there was a bit of an up and down campaign that

05:56they've had. But they look quite potent in terms of their bowling attack as well. What do you feel

06:01about it? Bowling, they were always good. Only thing is, now they have more spinners like Maxwell

06:08and Hastaranga. Of course, Hazlewood has been the best bowler for Chennai last year also. So

06:14unfortunately, he was not clicking almost every match. But still, he's a very good bowler. Maybe

06:19the last game, he gave away too many runs. So they had a very balanced attack this year, Gautam.

06:25Like, if you look at, probably they had one of the best balanced attacks in this entire

06:32last 10 years or so. Because they used to have these one or two little holes where that would

06:37sink that ship. But this year, thanks to the bad form of Kohli or even not the best form of Faf,

06:47the players like Lomore and Pathidar, they came and they filled in. So I would say this is

06:52probably one of the best teams in the last decade, I would say. Because earlier, they were only

06:58dependent on either AB or they used to depend on Gale or they used to depend on Kohli. So one of

07:04them used to perform well. It's a team game at the end of it. So if you don't get the entire team

07:10doing well as a unit or someone taking the responsibility on a given day, it becomes

07:15difficult. So that way, I was surprised actually the amount of losses they had and the place where

07:21they are in, they should have been topping the table. But nevertheless, they still are in with

07:26a chance. Right, right. Yeah, I mean, so the thing is, so basically, we can, you know, we will have

07:33to certainly wait till Saturday before we decide on the final lineup. But the issue is, again,

07:40you know, after this set of matches, you're going into two different, you know, two fresh set of

07:45wickets, both at Eden Gardens as well as Ahmedabad. Now, Eden Gardens, the kind of, you know,

07:53early feedback that I'm getting is they are trying to ensure and that's what the trend had

07:58been over the last five, six years that the kind of wickets that Mumbai had provided, they're trying

08:03to look at that where there's a bit of both bat and ball. So there, if we look at, you know,

08:10Gujarat versus Lucknow Supergiants, and three and four, we don't know as yet,

08:15where do you think this is leading to? I mean, it's still early days, maybe we can do this

08:21discussion on Saturday, but where do you think it's going to lead? If either Delhi or Bangalore,

08:28they come in, they will be more, Gujarat, anyway, they are quite secure in the sense,

08:34they have seen the worst, and they have come out of the worst times. Now, over the last 14 games,

08:40which they have played, they have somehow sometimes come back from literally on the verge

08:44of from the jaws of defeat, they have come back, for example, Chennai game, where they were

08:49completely down and out. And Miller played a brilliant knock. So, and they have many players,

08:55like not just Aditya Pandya, if Aditya is not scoring, Devatia is scoring, if Devatia is not

08:59scoring, Miller is scoring, if both of them are not scoring, someone else is scoring. So,

09:04they have a complete team, and they have seen all the pitfalls and everything. So,

09:09they are well-rounded team in that sense. And I would say somebody like a Delhi or a Royal

09:14Challengers, because they would have, they have also struggled to reach where they are.

09:19So, I would say, these two teams will have a slightly upper hand than maybe Lucknow Supergiants.

09:26And if at all Rajasthan Royals come in, I see them having a big disadvantage because they have

09:31been riding on Josh Butler's performance all through. Because the five or six games,

09:38he single-handedly won for them with the knock he played. So, that becomes a bit crucial there

09:43in the knockout phase, which we have seen in the past. Gale used to score runs in tons in the league

09:48games. But the knockout pressure could put more pressure on the player who has been scoring,

09:54performing single-handedly, then that will work as a disadvantage.

09:59Right. I mean, there is a bit, you're right in the sense, there is a,

10:02you know, history always says that the team that eventually wins, they don't have

10:08a completely smooth ride through. And there will be the bumps, they will come back and possibly

10:14peak on those two days where it matters. I mean, we have seen this happen with Mumbai,

10:19with Chennai so many times. And even Kolkata, I think once when they won it,

10:24they came back from the brink, I think.

10:26They did. They did. And last year was a very good example when, you know, who thought that

10:30they would make the final. Final, correct. So, that's it. Actually, it will be a pity that,

10:36you know, one of them, I mean, be it RCB or Delhi, may have to, you know…

10:41No, but Gautam, there is an important game for RR tomorrow against CSK. But they shouldn't,

10:48Rajasthan should not lose big time. Even if they lose, they should ensure that

10:52their run rate doesn't slip too low, this thing down. Of course, they have got a plus three,

10:57which is way too much for them to slip. But they shouldn't be in such a stage where

11:04they should not come into the fourth or third. So, they should also ensure that they need to

11:10win. And that win also will help them going into the playoffs. Obviously,

11:14you need to have a victory. Yeah. Nothing can be taken for granted,

11:20except those first two. Yes, that's right. So, yes, that's what it is. And you have already

11:29spoken a bit about tomorrow's game. But yes, Rajasthan Royals versus Chennai Super Kings.

11:35Chennai are already looking at next year's campaign. But then having said that, they can

11:40spoil a party or two. Now, what's your take that, you know, whom do you see going through in tomorrow's

11:46game? I would say Chennai, because they have nothing to lose. And with the Royals challengers

11:55already on 16 and Delhi almost close to just one win away from their last match. The pressure is

12:02more on Rajasthan to at least maintain the run rate and keep their position. So, I would say

12:09Chennai has an upper hand. And of course, that's my favourite team. So, I'll go with Chennai.

12:15Right. Right. Yeah, I mean, if you ask me, I think that definitely Chennai has this,

12:21you know, the weight, it depends on, you know, how they're performing on a given day.

12:25But yes, I mean, on the note, the campaign is ending. It's very difficult to see Chennai or

12:31Mumbai pulling something out of the woodwork over the next two days. But if that happens,

12:36that will really make this last stretch even more exciting. And Gautam, you have to also look at one

12:42more thing. Ever since the last set of matches, last three, four games, Butler has not been

12:49scoring because the wickets have slowed down. The ball is not coming onto the bat the way he wanted

12:54it to come. So, he's a brilliant timer of the ball, but the ball is not coming on nicely. So,

12:59they have to really look at tomorrow as a case in point where if he fails, they need to still go

13:05ahead and win the match tomorrow. That will give them the confidence going forward to the playoffs.

13:10Right. So, that's about it. I mean, on that note, we will wrap this up tonight. And again,

13:18we come back tomorrow after the Rajasthan Royals versus Chennai Super Kings game to take a look at,

13:23you know, how next day's game will pan out and also about next week's action.

13:27Thank you so much for joining us. Good night. See you tomorrow.

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