RCB won their second match, and now no team is unbeaten in the Tata IPL 2022. Dinesh Karthik played an unbeaten knock of 44 runs in 23 balls, and he was well accompanied by Shahbaz Ahmed, who scored 45 in 26 balls.
The lower middle-order batters chased down the target, which was quite unexpected as Shahbaz Ahmed is an inexperienced bloke.
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RR while chasing the target
RR had given a tough target of 170 to chase for RCB as the ball was skidding while the conditions were extremely hot. RCB were going bang-bang as they scored 48 runs in the power-play overs.
The likes of Faf were in destruction mode as they scored 29 runs in 20 balls. Within a short period, RCB lost 5 wickets and the score was 87-5 as RCB needed another 83 to win in 7 overs.
It looked like RCB had lost the match, but from nowhere the duo of Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik took the team out of deep trouble as winning was by no means easy.
Karthik targeted Ashwin, and he just bashed him all around the park and made him look like a street kid. Dinesh Karthik hunted down the target with 5 balls left, which made a statement that RCB isn’t a finished product.
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RCB with the bat in hand
RCB had won the toss and elected to field first. RR had a quiet power-play as they scored 35 runs for the loss of one wicket and the conditions were tough for the batters to middle the ball.
Jos Buttler, the centurion from his previous match, where he was just dominating the bowlers of MI, found it extremely tough till one stage. Buttler then went berserk as he smashed 20 odd runs over and, all of a sudden, the target was 170 (Buttler scored 70 in 47 balls).
The way Buttler disseminated it made a statement that his batting prowess is unmatched. Shimron Hetmyer played second fiddle as he scored 42 runs in 31 balls. His knock made sure that runs kept flowing from both ends.
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What lies ahead for RR
RR is due to face LSG on the 10th of April, who is also on a roll as they have won 2 out of 3. RR needs to make sure what role Ravichandran Ashwin plays as his 4 overs should be utilized in a proper manner as his one bad over changed the complexion of the match.
There is no doubt that Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the best white-ball bowlers, but he needs to make sure that he bowls according to the situation.
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What went wrong for RR
RR’s death bowling was their biggest mistake. The likes of Navdeep Saini were taken to the cleaners as they were expected to slow down the runs. The bowling was not up to the mark as the power-play overs yielded a massive 48 runs.
Kumar Sangakkara needs to have a candid discussion with Chahal and Ashwin as their roles are uncertain and need to be sorted out as soon as possible.
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Dinesh Karthik as finisher
Dinesh Karthik made a resounding statement that he still has the zest and passion. He is also banging on the door of the Indian team as a finisher, which may be too early, but there are chances that selectors go backward. He made 80 odd runs look like 60, which was his peculiarity of the knock.
All in all, he has started showing signs of being a finisher, which can be dangerous for the opponent team as a batter-like him at No.7 can be lethal and prove a game-changer.
His way of selecting fragile bowlers was amazing as he took a bold step by going all guns blazing against the spin wizard Ashwin.
