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Friday, May 4, 2018

AB de Villiers to return as RCB aim to stay afloat

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Big Picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore could probably afford one more loss. But only if they get very lucky with other results going their way.

They came away from the IPL auction like a tourist with a detailed itinerary: allrounders, check; big-hitters, check; KKR's bowling attack that knocked them over for 49, double check. But one month in, all they have is a bag full of knock-off merchandise. Five defeats in eight matches with a squad that Virat Kohli thought was the most balanced is, essentially, like being stuck with t-shirts that say Wrong instead of Wrogn, right?

But some innocent bystanders have given them a helpful tip, at least with respect to their next adventure. It is hard to compete with Chennai Super Kings' batting line-up. So make fools of their bowlers.

Target scores well above par if batting first. Forget about the run-rate and safeguard wickets for the death if chasing. Basically, RCB have to figure out a way to beat a monstrous batting team with virtually the tournament on the line.

It seems karma wants them to learn how everyone that faces RCB feels.

In the news

AB de Villiers has been declared fit after viral fever ruled him out of RCB's previous two games. Quinton de Kock, however, has flown back to South Africa for a wedding.

Previous meeting

A high-scoring affair when RCB posted 205 and CSK chased it down in a blaze of sixes in Bengaluru. De Villiers made a match-winning 68.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 KM Asif

De Kock's absence may see Parthiv Patel getting his first game of the season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Strategy punt

Imran Tahir has taken 15 wickets in Pune, the most among anyone in the CSK squad, and he has taken out AB de Villiers two times in three IPL innings. This head-to-head can be quite compelling for the viewer as well because the batsman also strikes at 185.7 against the legspinner.

Stats that matter

RCB have four wins in five games in Pune, and de Villiers was Man of the Match in three of those games. He has made 211 runs at a strike-rate of 177. Viral fever, begone.
CSK have rarely had a phenomenal bowling line-up. But they mask that problem with their spinners and Dhoni's ability to use them. In each of their eight years, their economy rate had always hovered around 7 and strike rate around 25. In 2018, those numbers have risen to 8.49 and 34.50.
Before Tim Southee was brought in to the XI, RCB were conceding a six every six deliveries in the death. Now, that figure is a far more respectable 18.3.
Dhoni has scored 329 runs at a strike-rate of 169.6. That's his best tally after nine matches in any season of IPL.

Fantasy pick

Ambati Rayudu. He's the highest scorer of the IPL this season with six scores of 30-plus in nine innings. He's also been hitting at a strike-rate of 153 with 56 hits to and over the boundary.

Quotes

"The last four days have been a blur I have been suffering from severe viral flu, one of the most debilitating illnesses I have ever experienced. Aside from one visit to the hospital, I have barely left my hotel room. Sleep has been almost impossible, and the migraine headaches have been extreme."
AB de Villiers wrote in a column for Times of India

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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Chris Gayle claims RCB told they would retain him

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Tags: Indian T20 Cricket 2018, Bangalore XI, Punjab XI, Christopher Henry Gayle, t20, franchise

Published on: May 01, 2018

Kings XI Punjab opener Chris Gayle has stated that the names that matter at RCB had actually called and told him that they wanted to have him in the team for IPL 2018

Kings XI Punjab opener Chris Gayle has stated that the names that matter at RCB had actually called and told him that they wanted to have him in the team for IPL 2018, but that did not turn out to be the case.

“I was their biggest draw. It was disappointing from that end, because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained. But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn’t want me and it’s fine,” Gayle told The Times of India in an interview.

Gayle struggled for runs in the 2016 and 2017 editions, and initially even went unsold at the auction, before being grabbed by Kings XI Punjab. The 38-year-old has already scored over 250 runs for the team with a hundred to his name.

“As I said, I can’t fight with anyone. I think I had a wonderful CPL and BPL, where I scored two centuries for my side Rangpur Riders. The stats don’t lie: 21 centuries, most number of sixes. If that doesn’t put a stamp on brand Chris Gayle, I don’t know what will,” he said in the TOI interview.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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RCB seek quick fix to death bowling woes

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Big picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore retained Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, two of the best batsmen in T20s, ahead of the IPL auction. With batsmen to play around them, it was always going to be a case of RCB's bowling unit needing additional resources. Out of six games, RCB have conceded more than 200 three times and lost all those games.

An interesting second half of the season could be at stake in this game. If Royal Challengers beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, both teams will have three wins in seven games. If Knight Riders win, a clear gulf between the top and bottom half will start to form.

Knight Riders endured their worst day of the season on Friday, losing by 55 runs to Delhi Daredevils after conceding the season's biggest total. There were also several fielding lapses; match-winner Shreyas Iyer was dropped twice. Despite that, KKR's depth in batting and bowling should provide a stern test for Royal Challengers, given the short dimensions of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In the news

Royal Challengers will likely look at ringing in a few changes on the bowling front after failing to defend a 200-plus total against Chennai Super Kings. Left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya, who hasn't played since their third match, against Rajasthan Royals, had an extended spell at practice.

The likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Manan Vohra, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Pawan Negi, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt, wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Shivam Mavi

Previous meeting

Knight Riders ran down 177 comfortably in the opening game for both these sides at Eden Gardens. That chase included a 17-ball fifty from Sunil Narine.

Strategy punt

Lynn and Narine are an efficient batting pair because of their varied preferences. Lynn relishes pace: he strikes at 178.8 per 100 balls, and hits a boundary every 3.4 balls in the IPL since 2015. Against spin, he has a strike rate of 127.3, with a boundary every seven balls. Narine, on the other hand, prefers spin: he has a strike-rate of 196.6 against these bowlers, with a boundary every three balls.

Royal Challengers could use a spinner against Lynn and a fast bowler to Narine, with tight fields to prevent singles. That could force both batsmen to attempt tougher shots against a type of bowling they're not comfortable with.

Stats that matter

Royal Challengers are the worst bowling team at the death this season, conceding 13.29 runs an over in that period. They are also the second-most efficient batting team in that period, scoring 11.49 runs an over.
In IPLs since 2015, de Villiers hasn't had a strike-rate under 150 against any form of bowling. His worst strike-rate is against left-arm spin: 154.8.
Andre Russell may have a slight weakness against right-arm legspinners. Since 2015 in the IPL, he has scored just 66 runs off 52 balls, and has been dismissed three times.

Fantasy pick

After their struggles against Super Kings, it's a good time to bank on some untested death bowlers for Royal Challengers, such as Tim Southee, who joined the team late, after missing the first few games due to an illness. In T20s since 2015, Southee has taken 52 wickets, 18 of which have come in the death overs.

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KKR batting might too much for de Villiers-less RCB

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Kolkata Knight Riders 176 for 4 (Lynn 62, Uthappa 36) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 175 for 4 (Kohli 68*, McCullum 38, Russell 3-31) by six wickets

Shaun Tait and Ajit Agarkar discuss Royal Challengers' continuing struggles after their fifth loss in seven games

Kolkata Knight Riders gained two significant advantages even before a ball was bowled in Bengaluru. First, Dinesh Karthik chose to bowl at a favourable chasing ground. Then, Knight Riders found out that AB de Villiers was out with a viral fever. Both those factors had a decisive impact as Knight Riders chased down a target of 176 with relative ease, with five balls to spare, consigning Royal Challengers to their fifth loss in seven games.

Without their highest run-scorer of the season, Royal Challengers had to employ a less attacking approach, aiming for par instead of a 200-plus score, like the one they got in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings after losing the toss. All they could manage was 175 - the par score in day-night games at this ground in the IPL since 2015 has been 172 - even with a terrific, 44-ball 68 from Virat Kohli.

Even on a pitch that was turning appreciably, Knight Riders had too much firepower. Led by Chris Lynn's 62, along with rapid cameos from Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik, Knight Riders cruised home against a bowling attack that lacked penetration and sufficient defensive skill.

Sussing out conditions

Brendon McCullum was brought into the XI due to de Villiers' sickness. Quinton de Kock, despite coming off a half-century in the previous game, hadn't quite found his fluency. For Royal Challengers' batting line-up, already weakened significantly, a strong start was imperative.

McCullum and de Kock scored 40 runs in the Powerplay, 11 runs below their average score in the period this season. McCullum soon found his hitting rhythm, though, with two fours and two sixes in two overs after the Powerplay, lifting the scoring rate to over eight.

Soon after the time-out, however, Royal Challengers lost their way. De Kock holed out to deep cover. McCullum toe-ended a pull to the keeper. Two balls later, Manan Vohra was bowled off the inside edge. A score of 67 for 0 quickly turned to 75 for 3.

Kohli owns the death

De Villiers' absence also hampered Kohli's scoring template. Aware that his presence in the death overs could marginally increase the utility of Royal Challengers' score, Kohli was cautious early in his innings. He took 18 balls to score 20, but with Royal Challengers at 100 for 3 in 14 overs at that point, Kohli couldn't wait any longer.

Royal Challengers hit nine boundaries in six overs thereon; Kohli hit six of them. Royal Challengers scored 75 from there; Kohli hit 48 of them. His innings included three sixes, two of which were a direct result of a strong bottom hand through the line of the ball, hit in the arc between long-on and deep midwicket. Royal Challengers had 175, a score that seemed below par given the ground dimensions.

Theatrics of T20s

Before the start of the chase, Knight Riders' target of 176 - one less than the score Royal Challengers needed to beat Delhi Daredevils earlier this season and one more than the score Knight Riders needed in the reverse fixture against Royal Challengers at the Eden Gardens - seemed insufficient.

Lynn and Narine made a strong start before a rain interruption that lasted 30 minutes. Then, with Knight Riders seemingly in control, the game drifted on with the illusion of control. Royal Challengers made a strong comeback in that period, including having Andre Russell caught for a golden duck on his 30th birthday.

The equation by then came down to 43 off 24 balls. But just when the game seemed in the balance, Knight Riders broke the chase open, much like those two previous games Royal Challengers were involved in.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2018

No room for error for RCB and Mumbai

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Big Picture

With two wins each in the first half of the season, there is little breathing room for either Royal Challengers Bangalore or Mumbai Indians in their last seven league games. Realistically, both will need to win six of those seven remaining games to have a shot at making the playoffs.

That makes this head-on clash critical to the fortunes of both the teams.

Mumbai won their last game while RCB lost theirs, but both gained positives from belatedly embracing change. Mumbai left out Kieron Pollard to rejig an underperforming middle order, while Royal Challengers included Tim Southee and strengthened what had till then been one of the worst bowling attacks in the competition.

The Pollard exclusion hasn't been fully tested yet, since Mumbai only lost two wickets in their chase against Chennai Super Kings, but their batting order - with Ben Cutting also slotting in, in place of Mustafizur Rahman - looked ominous, with serious hitting ability all the way down to No. 8.

The Southee inclusion helped RCB gain some control against Kolkata Knight Riders' top order in what Brendon McCullum felt were "probably the best ten overs we've had as a [bowling] group". That it didn't translate to a win shouldn't dishearten RCB too much, as they attempt to take whatever positive energy they can muster into their last home game until May 17.

In the news

RCB's stores of positive energy will be greatly enhanced if AB de Villiers, who missed their game on Sunday night with viral fever, has recovered enough to slot back into their line-up.

Previous meeting

Rohit Sharma's 94 off 52 propelled Mumbai to 213 for 6. With wickets tumbling at the other end, Virat Kohli's rather more pedestrian 92 off 62 ended up as an exercise to minimise Royal Challengers' net-run-rate damage.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Manan Vohra, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Tim Southee, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Mumbai Indians: 1 Suryakumar Yadav, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Rohit Sharma (capt), 4 Ishan Kishan (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ben Cutting, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Strategy punt

RCB have been the worst bowling team in the death overs this season, conceding 13.19 runs per over and a boundary every 3.3 balls. Mumbai's misfiring middle order has meant they are second from bottom among batting sides at the death, scoring only 8.33 runs per over while losing a wicket every 13.7 balls.

Mumbai, however, have rejigged their middle order, with JP Duminy and Ben Cutting featuring in the starting XI in the side's last game against Super Kings. Given how badly RCB have struggled as a bowling side, Mumbai could consider retaining the same line-up, which sacrificed a frontline bowler to gain batting depth, and give themselves the license to hit out from ball one.

They could, however, bring back Mustafizur Rahman (against whom de Villiers has a T20 strike rate of 94.7) for Mitchell McClenaghan (v de Villiers, strike rate 191.2).

Stats that matter

Mumbai have won each of the last five meetings between the two sides, and have a 16-8 win-loss record against RCB overall.
Suryakumar Yadav has been involved in Mumbai's highest partnership in six of their seven matches so far.
The second spinner has been one of the many problem areas for RCB this season. While Yuzvendra Chahal has been the team's most economical bowler this season (7.92), the other spinners - M Ashwin, Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi - have combined to concede 9.70 per over while picking up seven wickets at an average of 37.43.
Since 2015, Rohit Sharma has averaged 44.9 and struck at 142.8 in matches Mumbai have won. In losses, the corresponding figures are 23.0 and 125.5, which tells you how much his team depends on his runs.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium is no longer the fortress it used to be. Since the start of the 2017 season, RCB have won only three of their 11 matches here. Where the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad has been the venue most congenial to the home side in this period (Sunrisers Hyderabad have won nine out of 11 games there), the Chinnaswamy has been the second-worst, behind the SCA Stadium in Rajkot, where Gujarat Lions lost four out of their five games last year.

Fantasy pick

JP Duminy didn't get to bat in Mumbai's last game, but he remains a good fantasy selection given his record in Bengaluru: he has played four IPL games here and passed 40 three times, with a highest of 67 not out, all this while striking at 169.07.

Quotes

"He has been performing well at all positions, not only as an opener, but one down or two down. In the last game, he came up to No. 3. It was his responsibility. In the coming games, we'll see more of it."
Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai's top-scorer so far, on Rohit Sharma's batting position

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RCB said they'd call me back, but they didn't - Gayle

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With 252 runs in four matches this season for Kings XI Punjab, Chris Gayle has rediscovered the form that made him such a force for Royal Challengers Bangalore over the years, before he was released by the franchise ahead of the 2018 IPL.

Gayle, however, revealed he'd been told RCB would retain him, only to not hear from the franchise again. "I was their biggest draw. It was disappointing from that end, because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained," Gayle told The Times of India. "But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn't want me, and it's fine.

RCB let Gayle go after he scored only 200 runs at a strike rate of 122.69 in nine innings in the 2017 IPL, but between then and now the batsman had found T20 form.

In the 2017 CPL, Gayle was the highest scorer for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He bettered that in the BPL, where he topped the tournament run charts by a distance and scored 146 not out with 18 sixes in the final.

"I think I had a wonderful CPL and BPL - where I scored two centuries for my side Rangpur Riders. The stats don't lie: 21 centuries, most number of sixes. If that doesn't put a stamp on brand Chris Gayle, I don't know what will."

Gayle nearly didn't make it to this IPL entirely. Having gone unsold when his name came up for bidding the first time during the player auction in January, he was eventually bought at base price by Kings XI towards the end of the auction's second day.

"I'll be honest in admitting that it was very surprising for me to not get picked by any team," Gayle said. "I don't know what went behind closed doors, but I also understand that these things happen," he said. "It's just the way it is. But it's fine, I've moved on from it. Like I said, it's a great opportunity to be playing for King XI Punjab, and so far I've had a great time. Perhaps it was supposed to happen, you know. King Gayle: destined to be playing for Kings XI Punjab."

After finally being picked at the auction, Gayle did not have a smooth start to the season either: he was benched for Kings XI's first two games. However, after overseas batsmen Aaron Finch and David Miller had poor starts themselves, Gayle was given a go at the top of the order. He scored a 33-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings and then followed up with a hundred and another half-century, forming a prolific opening partnership with KL Rahul, another player RCB let go.

"Even though I was selected in the very last round of the auction, I wasn't really worried about it," Gayle said. "At some stage, you are going to walk away from the IPL and other forms of cricket. This is how I've always been: living in the present. But, given the sense that I was picked up and playing for a new franchise, it was very pleasing. And the way I have played in the first three games, I think it has been fantastic. I'm very happy with where I'm at."

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Mumbai almost out as RCB finally defend a total

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Royal Challengers Bangalore 167 for 7 (Vohra 45, Pandya 3-28) beat Mumbai Indians 153 for 7 (Pandya 50, Southee 2-25, Umesh 2-29, Siraj 2-8) by 14 runs

Umesh Yadav took two wickets off consecutive deliveries with the new ball, Ishan Kishan fell for a golden duck and Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Mumbai Indians by 46 runs. Two weeks later, Umesh was on a hat-trick with the new ball against Mumbai again, Kishan bagged another golden duck, his third in four innings, but this time Umesh's opening burst also included Rohit Sharma's first-ball duck and the Royal Challengers bowling line-up sustained the pressure throughout for once to defend 167 on their home ground and move up to fifth place after only their third win from eight matches.

The defending champions, meanwhile, are back in seventh place and need to win all their remaining six matches lest they wish to rely on other teams to help them stay in playoff contention. Rohit opted to bowl and a combined bowling show from the spinners and Hardik Pandya in the death overs was restricting Royal Challengers to under 150 until Colin de Grandhomme's 10-ball 23 lifted them in the last over. Eventually, the early loss of wickets hurt Mumbai this time and even though the Pandya brothers seemed up to the task of scoring 62 runs from the last five overs, some pin-point bowling with pace variations sealed it for the hosts.

RCB and the death overs

Virat Kohli had bowled Umesh and Yuzvendra Chahal by the 15th over yet again and the Pandya brothers had the cushion of Ben Cutting to follow in the chase. Among the quicks, only Tim Southee and Mohammed Siraj had two overs left each so Kohli decided to give the 16th to de Grandhomme. He conceded 17, and Mumbai needed 45 from 24 only to see a different story unfold this time. Siraj and Southee bowled a stirring mix of length deliveries, pace variations and wide yorkers to prevent the Pandyas from hitting down the ground. Siraj conceded only one boundary in his last two overs, Southee allowed Mumbai five little singles in the 18th over and Siraj also had Krunal caught at point for 23 to give the visitors a stiff equation of 25 from six. Hardik then hit Southee's offcutter to long-on and Cutting connected well with only two of the remaining five deliveries. Southee finished with 2 for 25 and a Man of the Match award.

Even though their bowling contingent turned the story around, the death overs stung Royal Challengers' batting line-up this time. They were 123 for 3 with Kohli on 29 and five overs to go, easily set for 175. However, Jasprit Bumrah had two overs left, and Hardik bowled offcutters and slower ones consistently to remove Mandeep Singh, Kohli and Washington Sundar in the 18th over for only two runs. Bumrah didn't get all his yorkers right but the batsman couldn't middle many either. Only one of his final 12 deliveries went to the boundary and there were five dots among them as well. So, Royal Challengers found themselves 143 for 7 with one over to go. Fortunately and decisively for them, de Grandhomme smacked three sixes off the last four balls, including a free hit, for a competitive total.

The costly Mumbai overs

Barring three expensive overs, Mumbai conceded only 101 runs in 17 overs on Tuesday night. Most of the Mumbai bowlers strangled the batsmen, not letting any of them, except de Grandhomme, finish with a strike rate of over 150. It was the remaining three overs that Royal Challengers cashed in on to hammer 66 runs.

The first of those was the fourth over, by JP Duminy. Opener Manan Vohra smacked the part-time spinner for 20 runs off the first four balls with two sixes and as many fours in the 22-run over. Duminy was probably used in the Powerplay because of a left-handed opener - Quinton de Kock - but bowled only one ball to him out of 12. The second expensive over was Hardik's after Brendon McCullum had scratched his way to nine off six balls. In the 10th over, he dispatched two full-tosses for consecutive sixes, the first of them a no-ball, and then struck the fourth legitimate delivery, a knuckleball, through the covers for four. Twenty off the over. It shot their run rate above eight an over but there was more to come, right at the end.

Mitchell McClenaghan started the last over impressively with three singles before de Grandhomme launched an offcutter over midwicket, collected two down the ground, hit a six off a no-ball and ended the innings with a free hit he smoked over long-off. Royal Challengers had gone from 146 to 167 in only three legitimate deliveries.

Mumbai's spinners stifle RCB early on

Rohit surprisingly decided to open the bowling with Duminy in a spin-heavy first nine overs and the move worked brilliantly except in that fourth over. Duminy extracted sharp turn and bounce in the first over with five dot balls and almost had Vohra caught at midwicket for 6. McClenaghan used a mix of back-of-length and slower deliveries to concede only seven in his first two overs and had de Kock caught at midwicket for a 13-ball 7. Seeing the turn on offer, Rohit bowled Krunal and Mayank Markande from overs six to nine to see them beat the bat, bowl stifling lines and concede only 24 runs, including Vohra's wicket for 45.

Mumbai were similarly shackled in the middle overs but that was down to the early wickets and even though Hardik batted before his brother for a slightly brisk fifty, he and Duminy had to do a lot of consolidation after they were 47 for 4 in the eighth over. Umesh brought two in sharply to trap Suryakumar lbw for 9 and had Rohit inside edge one next ball to de Kock diving full-length behind the stumps. Kishan was bowled by Southee in the first over.

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