Royal Challengers Bangalore was able to register their first win of the IPL season against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. The target of 129, set by KKR, appeared to be an easy one but the duo of Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee made a match out of it by getting three quick wickets. RCB managed to come out of it with 4 balls to spare but Wasim Jaffer thinks there was a way out for KKR.
The former India opener reckons KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer might have missed a trick by not using part-time spinner Nitish Rana. Jaffer, on ESPNcricinfo, highlighted that Varun Chakravarthy didn’t appear comfortable while bowling to left-handers in the game. So he feels Shreyas could have brought Rana into the attack, considering two left-hand batters, Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed, were at the crease.
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“I was surprised that Shreyas Iyer did not bowl Nitish Rana when there were two left-handers there and Chakravarthy was clearly struggling against them. One or two overs from Rana would have meant that Russell wouldn’t have had to bowl,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.
“He could have bowled Venkatesh Iyer earlier if Russell was struggling. Things could have been a little bit different if he had saved Chakravathy’s over there and used it for right-handers,” he added.
Lauding KKR pacers Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee’s performance in the power play, Jaffer explained that Kolkata would have had a significant chance at defending the total had Chakravarthy found his rhythm.
“Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee made a match out of it by getting RCB 17/3 in the powerplay. KKR would have had a better chance if Chakravarthy had bowled better,” Jaffer further said.
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After being reduced to 17/3, RCB’s middle order and Dinesh Karthik’s experience as a finisher helped the team to chase down the total in the final over with three wickets and four balls to spare.
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