A Dinesh Karthik Masterclass But A Possible Blunder From Sanju Samson

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2022 Tactical Review

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Royal Challengers Bangalore staged one of the best comebacks to win the match against Rajasthan Royals by four wickets after being reduced to 87/5 in the 13th over chasing 170. It was a Dinesh Karthik-Shahbaz Ahmed show that brought them two points to add to the league table. 

Both teams were unchanged from their respective previous matches. RCB won the toss and opted to field at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. 

1) Early Assistance To Pacers 

As has been the trend of the IPL 2022, the pacers have been getting a lot of assistance with the new ball and yesterday was no different. RCB kept on the pacers for the first eight overs and completed the quota of David Willey during that. 

Apart from Willey, Mohammad Siraj and Akash Deep bowled two overs each in that period and troubled the RR batters, who scored 61/1 in 8 overs. 

2) Hasaranga- Harshal Keep Buttler Quiet 

Wanindu Hasaranga was introduced in the 9th over and Harshal Patel in the 10th. Harshal got Devdutt Padikkal out and Sanju Samson walked in. 

Hasaranga had a change of ends and Akash Deep filled an over in between. The idea was to give more grip to the leg spinner which Harshal might have got in his over and also not face Jos Buttler in the 11th over. 

Sanju Samson vs Wanindu Hasaranga is an interesting matchup where the leg-spinner has completely dominated the batter. Before this match, Hasaranga had got Samson out three times in 12 balls and had only conceded 2 runs. During this match, Samson struck Hasaranga for a six but two balls later gave him an easy catch. 

While Hasaranga kept getting a bit of grip from the pitch, Harshal kept doing what he does best - mixing line, length, and speed. 
Hasaranga and Harshal kept both Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer quiet with their bowling partnership till the 16th over with RR score at 107/3. 

3) Mohammad Siraj Given Two Overs In Slog Overs 

One of the major concerns why Siraj used to get hammered in the previous IPL seasons was he was given two consecutive overs in the slog overs. After understanding this weakness, RCB decided not to give him much role in the backend of the inning. 

However, after a long time, Siraj was once again given two overs to bowl in the slog overs with Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer well set at the crease. As expected, Siraj got hammered for 30 runs. 

Harshal Patel's overs were completed by the 18th over so Akash Deep was given the duty of the final over. Buttler and Hetmyer smacked 23 runs off his over to get Rajasthan to 169/3. 

Read more about how RCB has used Siraj over the years here. 

4) Chahal Chokes RCB's Good Start 

Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat gave RCB a terrific start to the run chase, scoring 48 runs inside the powerplay. 

Yuzvendra Chahal was introduced in the 7th over and du Plessis decided to take on the leg-spinner - an unfavorable matchup - and got out. Navdeep Saini got Anuj Rawat out in the next over. 

Luckless Virat Kohli got runout in the 9th over and on the next ball, David Willey got bowled by a beautiful ball by Yuzvendra Chahal. Shahbaz Ahmed was once again sent in ahead of Dinesh Karthik. 

Sherfane Rutherford couldn't attack much after a sudden collapse and Trent Boult got him out in the 13th over to make matter worse for RCB. 

5) Possible Sanju Samson Blunder 

With the score reading 88/5 after 13 overs and Dinesh Karthik new to the crease, Sanju Samson made a mistake of giving R Ashwin the 14th over ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. The thing was, Karthik gets troubled playing googly, and Chahal, who was in great rhythm, could have challenged him. 

Ashwin got smacked for 21 runs in the 14th over and Karthik got going. What made the matter worse was Navdeep Saini getting the 15th over and he too conceded 16 runs in that over. 

Chahal's last over was given in the 17th over but till then, Karthik and Shahbaz had already scored 51 runs in 21 balls before that. The duo played out Chahal's over for four runs and continued hammering the rest of the bowlers. 

Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 44 off 23 balls and Shahbaz Ahmed scored 45 from 26 balls.