IPL 2023: Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell set up vital RCB win over Rajasthan

Faf du Plessis and Glen Maxwell treated the usually raucous crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to an hour-long exhibition of what makes the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s top order among the best, if not the best, in the IPL, as the home team registered a crucial seven-run win over Rajasthan Royals.

The third-wicket partnership between the RCB’s two marquee overseas players was not merely about hefty power and flamboyant strokeplay, but about the perfect construction of what a modern-day T20 innings needs to be like, which they, along with Virat Kohli, have consistently produced throughout the tournament so far. The three of them have put on the five highest partnerships of the tournament, and du Plessis has been a part of each of them.

Two early wickets, including the first-ball dismissal of Kohli, could have prevented an acceleration. But from the minute Maxwell came to the crease, recognising the need to take advantage of the field restrictions and the possibility of the run rate slowing down with the introduction of spinners, the two were on the charge.

The 𝘽𝙄𝙂 𝙎𝙃𝙊𝙒 unleashed 🤩

Half-century up for @Gmaxi_32 👏🏻👏🏻

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/lHmH28JwFm#TATAIPL | #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/ynjIcpu58D

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2023

Maxwell arrived into the middle at 12-2 in the third over, and Bangalore were 62-2 at the end of the sixth. Both players managed the risk effectively and rotated strike against the spin of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, and then immediately targeted the pace of Jason Holder and Trent Boult.

The run rate never slipped below 10, the boundaries never dried up (both hit 10 each), and by the 15th over, they were well on course for a score in excess of 200.

However, despite Maxwell and du Plessis putting on a show, the lack of a solid finisher – Rajat Patidar’s injury-induced absence has pushed Maxwell up the order – and brilliant death bowling from Rajasthan Royals, meant that after the duo departed in successive overs, Bangalore trudged to just 32 runs off the last five overs, leaving some nervousness around their total of 189.

Death bowling problems

Midway through the first innings, after Boult had taken two early wickets, the broadcasters advertised a fan poll on their website, asking which one of Boult and Mohammed Siraj was the more valuable Powerplay bowler. Siraj lived up to the billing, knocking over the stumps of Jos Buttler in the first over, and later won the poll too.

His brilliance in the Powerplay this year, though, only tells part of the story. Bangalore depend on Siraj to bowl two overs at the death too – and more so due to the ongoing absence of Josh Hazlewood – where him and the entire bowling line-up are consistently slipping up.

Wanindu Hasiranga and Harshal Patel managed the middle overs well, breaking the near-100 run partnership between Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal, getting the wicket of Sanju Samson, and putting Bangalore in a commanding position, needing Rajasthan Royals to get 61 runs from the last four.

The partnership for the second wicket nearing the 100-run mark ⚡️⚡️@rajasthanroyals move to 92/1 at the end of 10 overs 👌🏻👌🏻

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/lHmH28JwFm#TATAIPL | #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/gTgeoAIapO

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2023

Then the invariable slip-up. Siraj conceded 29 from his last two, and David Willey 12 off his last, leaving the door just open for the visitors as they needed 20 in the final over. A few well-executed yorkers from Patel would ultimately get Bangalore over the line, but the fact that the opposition was just one shot away, in a game where they should have never even been close, will be some cause for concern.

Playing most of their games at home so far, due to the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections, Bangalore have conceded at least 170 runs in five of their seven matches, leaking too many runs at the death.

Familiar Kohli dismissal

Last month, in the first ODI of India’s home series defeat to Australia, Mitchell Starc had trapped Kohli in familiar fashion. The left-arm pacer fired in an in-swinger from over the wicket, Kohli planted his front foot across, misjudged the movement in trying to flick to the legside, as the ball caught his pads stuck between the middle and leg stumps.

To his credit, Kohli has a respectable overall record against left-arm pace, but much like some of the other top Indian batsmen in recent times, has shown a weakness against left-arm swing with the new ball.

In the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup too, Boult got him leg before with an in-swinger. But he had never dismissed Kohli in the IPL. On Sunday, the Kiwi would finally do that, resulting in Kohli’s seventh first-ball duck in tournament history using a mirror-image of that delivery in Manchester four years ago, and of Starc’s ball at the Wankhede last month.

The pitched-up in-swinger hit Kohli’s pads between middle and leg. RCB’s stand-in skipper did not even consider a review. He had been here before.