India vs Australia: A statistical look at the 1st T20I

A valiant batting effort from Ravindra Jadeja followed by an equally prodigious spell by his concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal and Thangarasu Natarajan guided India to an impressive 11-run victory in the 1st T20I against Australia.

India were put into bat first by the Aussies and despite losing two early wickets, they managed to keep the run-rate above-par. Opener KL Rahul played his part, but it was Ravindra Jadeja's performance that took India out of their misery. The all-rounder walked in to bat when India were 92/5 after 14 overs. Six over later India were posted 161/7.

The talking point, however, came when India brought Yuzvendra Chahal in the XI for the second innings, replacing Jadeja who took a hit on his helmet by a Mitchell Starc delivery. No concussion test was conducted at the time of the incident, but much to Australia's disarray, match referee David Boon approved India's request to bring the leggie in.

A win is a win no matter how or by how many though, and here we take a look at some detailed statistics from the game:

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja's anchoring innings

While others around him kept on falling, opener KL Rahul scored 51 off 40 balls to the keep the hopes alive. The 28-year-old smashed five fours and one six while completing 1000 T20 runs in 2020. He is only the second batsman to reach the milestone in the year after Pakistan's Babar Azam. Here's a look at the highest run-scorers in T20 cricket in 2020:

Most runs in T20s this year

Player

Mat

Inns

NO

Runs

Babar Azam

32

29

7

1242

KL Rahul

23

22

3

1044

MP Stoinis

33

33

7

986

AD Hales

32

30

2

928

Shoaib Malik

37

31

7

887

Ravindra Jadeja's performance underlines how deep India's batting order can be. After playing a match-winning partnership at the same venue against the same opponent in the final ODI a couple of days ago, the all-rounder was at it once again. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 44 off 23 balls, an innings that included five fours and one six. This is now the highest score by an Indian batting at no. 7 against Australia, and third-best overall. Of his 44 runs, a whopping 39 came against the pacers with a certain Josh Hazlewood leaking the most (25). By the end of the 18th over, India had 127 on board, but Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood leaked 34 runs combined in the final two overs.

Top 5 scores vs AUS in T20Is by #7 batsman

Player

Runs

Ground

Start Date

JDP Oram (NZ)

66*

Perth

11-Dec-07

RS Bopara (ENG)

65*

Hobart

29-Jan-14

RA Jadeja (INDIA)

44*

Canberra

04-Dec-20

CK Kapugedera (SL)

43

Pallekele

06-Sep-16

C de Grandhomme (NZ)

38*

Sydney

03-Feb-18

Natarajan and Chahal the shining light

Defending 161 against Australia can rightly be an arduous task, but Yuzvendra Chahal and Thangarasu Natarajan made sure India walk home with a win without breaking a sweat. Natarajan, in his four overs, picked three wickets for 30 while Chahal also picked three, but conceded just 16, delivering the most economical spell of the night. And with his three-wicket haul, the 29-year-old left-arm seamer became only the seventh player to pick three plus wickets on T20I debut for India, and second after Bumrah against Australia.

For Chahal, he delivered his best bowling spell against Australia in the T20Is. Prior to tonight's game, Chahal had just two wickets in four games against the Aussies. Here's a look at his performance against Australia in T20Is:

Y Chahal vs AUS in T20Is

Overs

Runs

Wkts

Econ

Ground

Start Date

4

23

1

5.75

Ranchi

07-Oct-17

3.3

29

0

8.28

Guwahati

10-Oct-17

4

28

1

7.00

Visakhapatnam

24-Feb-19

4

47

0

11.75

Bengaluru

27-Feb-19

4

25

3

6.25

Canberra

04-Dec-20

India's unbeaten run continues

A win on Friday means India have now won their ninth T20I game on the trot (excluding the no result game vs SL on 5th Jan 2020 at Guwahati). Their last defeat came against West Indies at Thiruvananthapuram in 2019, and since then, the team has defeated Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia in the format. The Men in Blue not only built on their record but also halted Australia's run of form at home. A defeat means the Aussies lost their first home T20I since 2019. 

Most wins by a team vs AUS in AUS in T20Is
Team Matches Won Lost NR
India 10 6 3 1
Sri Lanka 9 5 4 0
South Africa 7 2 5 0
England 8 1 7 0
West Indies 3 1 2 0
New Zealand 3 0 3 0
Pakistan 4 0 3 1

Furthermore, this was India's sixth T20I victory over Australia at their own turf, which is the most by any visiting team in the format.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray

Related tags:

AustraliaIndiaRavindra JadejaYuzvendra Chahal

Fans question ICC rules as Chahal replaces Jadeja as concussion substitute

India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal replaced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as a concussion substitute in the first T20I against Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday.

Jadeja was seen limping during his match-winning innings in what appeared to be a hamstring worry. Soon after, he was hit on the head by a Mitchell Starc delivery in the final over of the Indian innings.

However, the southpaw looked in great touch as he smashed 44 runs off just 23 balls to help the visitors post 161/7 in their 20 overs.  

"Ravindra Jadeja was hit on the helmet in the final over of the first innings of the first T20I. Yuzvendra Chahal will take the field in the 2nd innings as a concussion substitute. Jadeja is currently being assessed by the BCCI Medical Team," the BCCI tweeted.

Australia head coach Justin Langer looked really unhappy with the decision as he was seen arguing with match referee David Boon.

Meanwhile, Chahal who has already picked up the crucial wickets of Australia skipper Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Matthew Wade in the second innings, has sparked a massive debate on social media.

Related tags:

AustraliaIndiaRavindra JadejaYuzvendra Chahal Social Buzz

Most wickets: Indian T20 League 2020 Purple Cap list and current leader

Check out the top bowlers in the Indian T20 League this season and find out who’s leading in the most wickets taken chart in this year's Purple Cap leaderboard.

The Purple Cap is awarded to the bowler with most dismissals at the end of the tournament. The award is passed on from one bowler to another depending on who has taken most wickets at the time before the final winner is decided at the end of the tournament.

Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir won the Purple Cap in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008 after taking 22 wickets and playing a crucial role in Rajasthan's only victorious campaign to date.

The following two editions saw RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha win the Purple Cap with the now-defunct Deccan team in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

The leading wicket-taker in the tournament's history with 170 scalps, Lasith Malinga won the Purple Cap in the following edition in 2011 and Morne Morkel was the bowler with most wickets in the subsequent edition.

The only two bowlers who have won the Purple Cap on more than one occasion are Chennai’s Dwayne Bravo, who had the most wickets in 2013 as well as 2015 and Hyderabad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had dismissed more batsmen than any other bowler in 2016 and 2017.

Chennai, in fact, took home the Purple Cap for three successive seasons from 2013 to 2015. As mentioned above, Bravo accounted for two of those, while Mohit Sharma was their main man with the ball in 2014.

The last two editions witnessed Punjab’s Andrew Tye bag the award in 2018 and Chennai’s Imran Tahir went home with the prize in 2019.

Indian T20 League 2020 Purple Cap holder

Delhi pacer Kagiso Rabada managed to pip the Mumbai duo to win the 2020 Indian T20 League Purple Cap after picking 30 wickets in 17 games.

Position

 Player Team Wickets
1 Kagiso Rabada Delhi 30
2 Jasprit Bumrah Mumbai 27
3 Trent Boult Mumbai 25
4 Anrich Nortje Delhi 22
5 Yuzvendra Chahal Bangalore 21

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Mumbai

Related tags:

Kagiso RabadaIndian T20 League, 2020Jasprit BumrahMohammed ShamiYuzvendra ChahalSam CurranTrent Boult Indian T20 League

Brett’s watch list: Two more days of nerve-wracking drama

Two days of nerve-racking drama is all that is left in the group stage of this year’s Indian T20 League before we head into the playoffs. The topsy-turvy nature of the competition has fully lived up to its hype and I’m excited more than ever to see what it has to offer in the final few rounds of the fixtures. And so, today, I’m going to talk about the players I believe will be key in their final league stage games of the campaign:

Delhi - Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada’s performance in the early stage of the competition was right on the money, picking a whopping 17 wickets in the first seven games. A dip in form, however, has coincided with Delhi’s batting order collapse and the team has suffered big time. Rabada has gone wicketless in his last two games and that has allowed Mumbai’s Jasprit Bumrah to overtake him in the competition for the Purple Cap.

Delhi face Bangalore next, a game that will either confirm or deteriorate their place in the playoffs. A game as big as this requires players with a strong mentality, something that I feel Rabada has.

Bangalore - Yuzvendra Chahal

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been one of Bangalore’s consistent performers this season, picking at least a wicket in all but one game so far. Equipped with a sharp proficiency of keeping his opponents in check, I reckon he will once again be the key for them on Monday. Delhi are coming off four back-to-back defeats and I believe Chahal can be the one to provide that much-needed psychological edge needed by Bangalore.

With Delhi’s batting order out of form, I expect the Indian leggie to make all the difference on Monday.

Hyderabad - Wriddhiman Saha

Three games, 156 runs at a strike rate of 144.44, and Wriddhiman Saha has suddenly become Hyderabad’s go-to man as they head into the final league stage game looking to turn things around against a stern Mumbai unit. Saha has been a sudden surprise for Hyderabad and has duly filled the void left by Bairstow. His inclusion has also allowed the team to bring in Kane Williamson, meaning that their batting order finally has some spine.

Opening the batting alongside David Warner, Saha, for me, is someone Hyderabad will rely on for a quick head start.

Mumbai - Kieron Pollard

Mumbai have lost just one of their last four games since being forced to forgo the services of Rohit Sharma to an unfortunate injury, but that hasn’t stopped the defending champions from wreaking their usual carnage. A win for Chennai on Thursday granted Mumbai an automatic place in the playoffs, but they didn’t take their Saturday’s game against Delhi anywhere near lightly. Scorching through their entire unit, Mumbai won the game by nine wickets.

The upsurge in form despite missing Rohit Sharma is largely down to Kieron Pollard. The big man, who is now handling the reigns, may have been quiet with both ball and the bat, but his contribution goes beyond that and Mumbai certainly know that. In their final league game, expect him to bat higher up the order and close the game for his side early.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

Related tags:

BangaloreDelhiHyderabadMumbaiYuzvendra ChahalKagiso RabadaKieron PollardWriddhiman SahaIndian T20 League, 2020 Indian T20 League

Talking points from Hyderabad’s dominant win over Bangalore

A sensational effort with the ball followed by a measured chase with the bat saw Hyderabad cruise to victory against Bangalore and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

A bowling masterclass

Hyderabad were tasked with the challenge of containing an in-form batting line-up and they did that with ease owing to an incredible performance from their bowling unit. Outside of Shabaz Nadeem, none of Hyderabad's bowlers conceded over 6.25 runs an over, with pacer T Natarajan being the pick of the bunch, bowling a brilliant spell of 1-11 in his quota of four overs. All-rounder Jason Holder and seamer Sandeep Sharma picked up a couple of wickets each, while Rashid Khan recorded figures of 1-24 in his four overs as they combined to restrict Bangalore to just 120 in their batting effort. A stunning display from the unit.

Chahal's valiant effort

Tasked with defending just 121, Bangalore needed a monumental effort from their bowlers and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was up to the task, giving away just 19 runs in his 3.1 overs and picking up two key wickets. While Chahal was unplayable, the rest of the Bangalore bowling unit failed to emulate his lead as Bangalore succumbed to defeat in just 14.1 overs. However, Chahal was a rare silver lining on a terrible day for Bangalore.

Holder's helping hand

Having sat out most of the season, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has made a big impact for Hyderabad and in today’s must-win encounter for his side, he delivered his best performance of the season in a terrific display with both bat and ball. In the first innings, Holder gave away just 25 runs in his quota of four overs and picked up two scalps at the death, and that restricted Bangalore to just 120. With the game still in the balance during Hyderabad's chase, Holder walked in and smashed 26 off 10 balls to get his side over the line and keep them alive in the competition. The West Indian’s stellar display with bat and ball was the reason for Hyderabad’s cruise to victory.

Only the strong shall survive

Hyderabad's win means that all but two teams have something to play for in the final four matches of the league stage of this season. Mumbai, who Hyderabad will battle in the final league stage match, have already secured a top 2 berth while Chennai are out of the race for a spot in the playoffs. Two points separate six teams on the table and each team has their destiny in their own hands ahead of the final round of fixtures of this season.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Hyderabad

Related tags:

Jason HolderIndian T20 League, 2020BangaloreYuzvendra ChahalHyderabad Indian T20 LeagueReview

Brett's Watchlist: Can Pollard and Chahal continue to be the X factors?

The penultimate Sunday of the league stage of the Indian T20 League will serve us two juicy fixtures, as the high-flying Bangalore will take on Chennai and then later in the evening, it will be the unpredictable Rajasthan against title-favourites Mumbai.

So two great matches with a plethora of world-class talent on show, but here’s who I will keep a keen eye on during the two matches:

Bangalore – Yuzvendra Chahal

Arguably the best Indian bowler in the Indian T20 League for the past couple of years, Yuzvendra Chahal is delivering yet another sensational season for Bangalore. So far, he’s picked up 15 wickets, joint-third-highest in the league alongside Mumbai's Jasprit Bumrah and Rajasthan's Jofra Archer. So often, when the team is in need of a breakthrough, skipper Virat Kohli just tosses the ball to Chahal and usually, the feisty leggie answers his captain's call with a wicket or even two. Chahal's consistency and his bravery in tossing the ball irrespective of the ground or the pitch is why he picks up so many wickets. It’s simply must-watch television when Chahal has the ball in hand!

Chennai – Deepak Chahar

Another Indian bowler that has been extremely consistent and reliable is Chennai's Deepak Chahar. He hasn’t picked as many wickets as he did last season in this campaign but he’s bowled terrific spells and has been the only bright spark in a rather tame Chennai bowling attack. So far, he has 10 wickets to his name in 10 matches and I can assure you that he’s deserved a few more for his tremendous discipline with line and length. Chennai are most certainly going to miss the playoffs, so Chahar has three matches left after the game vs Mumbai to prove why he is among India's finest in the shortest format of the game and I'm certain he'll be gunning to finish the season strong with a few more wickets to his name.

Rajasthan – Sanju Samson

After a dismal run that saw him score just 77 runs in eight matches, Sanju Samson finally showed a glimpse of his immense talent that we had witnessed in the first two matches of the season, with a stylish 36 off 26 balls in his team’s defeat against Hyderabad. Samson looked a class above the rest of his teammates, which includes three World Cup winners in Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, but as has often been the case with him, he hasn’t been able to produce such innings with any sort of regularity, making it difficult to gauge his ceiling. Rajasthan and Samson have three games left to snatch an unlikely playoff spot, but if they are to pull off the improbable, they will need Samson to deliver with the bat.

Mumbai – Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard has always been a streaky player for Mumbai and that’s mostly down to the team utilising him as a floater in their stacked batting line-up. However, this season, the big West Indian hasn’t let the shuffling affect his batting at all. Through nine matches, Pollard has had six outings with the bat and been dismissed only once, scoring 208 runs at a strike rate of exactly 200. While he possesses the ability to tank any ball past the boundary ropes, that has sometimes been his undoing too, but this season, I’ve seen a more measured Pollard, willing to take doubles, knock it around even at the death and put away any loose delivery on offer. He’s been terrific to watch this season and I'm expecting him to carry this form through what’s left of this season.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Rajasthan

Related tags:

Yuzvendra ChahalDeepak ChaharSanju SamsonKieron PollardIndian T20 League, 2020 Indian T20 LeagueBinga's Tips

Why Bangalore have the best T20 bowling attack

The 2020 edition of the Indian T20 League has seen some top-class performances by teams, especially with their bowling attacks showing more potency than ever. From Delhi to Mumbai and Bangalore, the bowling attacks have been super impressive this season.

While Mumbai and Delhi have banked upon their strong overseas pace bowlers for maximising returns, Bangalore have relied on overall quality, variety and using players in specific roles, barring the minor game plans taken on instinct.

There's no answer to what an ideal T20 bowling attack should or could look like. But if one were to be drawn up, it would likely look very similar to that of Bangalore's.

What makes Bangalore the most dangerous bowling team in this season of the Indian T20 League when bowling was always their concern?

Mix of pace and spin in powerplay

In Washington Sundar, they have one of the biggest spin bowling assets in the first six overs in the competition. Sundar has the best economy among bowlers bowling at least 20 overs inside the powerplay this season and is also mighty effective against left and right-handed batsmen.

Complementing Sundar perfectly is the combination of Isuru Udana and Chris Morris. While Morris swings the ball upfront, Udana offers left-arm pace variation and is also capable of swinging the ball back into the right-handers or changing up with a slower one. Add Mohammad Siraj and Navdeep Saini's extra pace and bounce and you have a quality powerplay bowling group that not only takes wickets but also keeps the opposition batting in check.

Leg-spinner in the middle and more spin

Bangalore are blessed to have one of the best leggies today in this format in world cricket. Yuzvendra Chahal turns the ball big when there is purchase, but also has a wily googly, smart line and pace variations and is more than capable of breaking partnerships in the middle overs. Add in Sundar bowling a few in the middle and Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Siraj and Chris Morris to step up the heat and that's a  pretty handy T20 bowling attack already.

That Bangalore can counter middle-order batsman with spin and pace weaknesses and also tackle both left and right-handed batsmen with spin back-ups makes this a rather flexible bowling unit.  From hit-the-deck Indian pacers to overseas pacers capable of varying pace and bowling yorkers, Bangalore has them all. 

The death solution

Bangalore have always had trouble curbing the scoring rate in the death overs. While a lot of that was left unsolved this season too, the recovery and return of Morris has made Bangalore incredibly strong in this phase.

In the last couple of post-match presentation ceremonies, Virat Kohli has stressed on the importance of having someone like Morris in their bowling unit. A pacer who can swing the ball upfront and nail the Yorkers in the end, Morris meets most criteria and can consider himself to be a certain starter through the season.

Now with Morris doing well in the death, Bangalore can use Saini's hit-the-deck lengths and Isuru Udana's pace variations. Chahal can also come in for an over immediately after the middle overs phase if the set batsmen aren't too sure against spin. 

With back-up players in the quality of Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn and Adam Zampa, Bangalore seem to have covered all bases. It's possibly just about picking the perfect XI, and not obsessing over the batting front of things.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

Related tags:

Washington SundarChris MorrisIndian T20 League, 2020BangaloreYuzvendra Chahal Indian T20 League

Indian T20 League players who left Mumbai and flourished

Four-time Indian T20 League champions Mumbai have had some of the biggest names in cricket in their roster. From Sachin Tendulkar to Rohit Sharma, the list is illustrious and long. At the same time, however, there are also those who needed to get away from Mumbai to truly maximise their potential.

Here, we take a look at five such players:

Yuzvendra Chahal

Doubtlessly one of the best wrist-spinners in the business today, Yuzvendra Chahal got his Indian T20 League start with Mumbai back in 2011, with 'start' being the operative term as he just made a single appearance on the field for them, that too two long years later, in 2013. However, a switch to Bangalore in 2014 brought with it with a change in fortunes, and wickets came fast and easy to Chahal. That year alone, he bagged 12 scalps from 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.01, and since 2014, he has gone on to take an incredible 109 wickets and counting.

Dwayne Bravo

It's easy to forget, given that Dwayne Bravo is today regarded as one of the best all-rounders of T20 cricket, that he was let go by Mumbai after joining them for the first three seasons following the Indian T20 League's inaugural year. However, once Chennai picked him up, Bravo has lived up to his surname, under the guidance of captain extraordinaire MS Dhoni, who honed his bowling variations to make him one of the most fearsome death overs bowlers. Aside from his wizardry with the ball, he has shone with the bat on more than one occasion too.

Shikhar Dhawan

After beginning his Indian T20 League stint with Delhi in the league's inaugural year, Shikhar Dhawan bounced to Mumbai the next year in a trade with Ashish Nehra. Two average seasons later, the now-defunct Deccan team was where the keys to his potential were finally unlocked, as he went on to rack up 400 runs that season alone, and topped it with 569 runs the following year. He then went on to continue that level of success with Hyderabad. However, despite six successful seasons with Hyderabad, Dhawan found his way back to the team with whom he started it all - Delhi, where he continues to infuse his quality to the top order.

Kuldeep Yadav

Denying a passionate cricketer the chance to play not only drives him to contemplate leaving the team but that pent-up desire gushes out with even greater fury when he does get the opportunity. That's what happened to Kuldeep Yadav. Not getting a chance to play during his stint with Mumbai in 2012, the Kanpur native seized the opportunity the first time he was let out on the pitch for Kolkata in 2016, taking six wickets in three matches and going on to put on a dominant performance over the next two seasons that saw him bag 29 scalps.

That harmony has remained intact as Kuldeep still plies his trade for Kolkata to this day and does it very well indeed.

Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler is now regarded as one of the most deadly men to wield a bat during a T20 game and especially one to watch when the stakes are high. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman was a shadow of his current form back when he was with Mumbai from 2016-17, barely putting together one half-century in those two entire seasons.

However, a move to his present-day squad Rajasthan in 2018 brought out his true potential. After a sluggish start, and once he was moved up the batting order, Buttler left nothing on the table. He whacked out five fifties that year and hauled 548 runs - his best Indian T20 League season till date.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe

Related tags:

MumbaiJos ButtlerShikhar DhawanKuldeep YadavYuzvendra ChahalDwayne BravoIndian T20 League, 2020 Indian T20 League

Indian T20 League 2020: Key stats from Bangalore's 10-run victory over Hyderabad

Virat Kohli's Bangalore got off to a brilliant start in the 2020 Indian T20 League, beating David Warner's Hyderabad by 10 runs.

Bangalore were put in to bat first and despite the opening over struggle, openers Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch set a glaring momentum for the batsmen to follow. Padikkal, playing his first-ever Indian T20 League game, showed no signs of nervousness whatsoever and went on to notch a maiden half-century in a mere 36 balls. AB de Villiers followed suit and did what he does best to take his side to 163/5 in 20 overs.

Hyderabad lost David Warner quite early, but Manish Pandey and Jonny Baisrtow made sure their team stays in the game. Yuzvendra Chahal, however, struck gold in the 12th over, dismissing Pandey, and what followed next was absolute mockery of Hyderabad. From 121/3, the team slumped to 153/10. The contribution from the batsmen read;

Top-three batsmen: 101 runs

Rest: 37 runs

Extras: 15 runs

Apart from Priyam Garg, none of the batsman below managed a score in double digits.

Bangalore’s best Powerplay in UAE:

It took an over for Devdutt Padikkal to set in but once he did, there was absolutely no stopping him. Facing Sandeep Sharma, who has an amazing record against Bangalore, in the second over, he started off with a couple of boundaries in the first three balls to get the momentum going. And as he settled in, the plan looked evident; let Aaron Finch go slow and allow the 20-year-old to go big.

After a difficult over from Sharma, David Warner brought Thangarasu Natarajan into the attack, but little did he know that the 29-year-old was going to get hit for 12 runs in his over. By the end of the Powerplay, Bangalore posted 53/0 on board, which is now their best-ever return on the UAE soil. Their previous best was a return of 50/1 against Delhi in the second match of the 2014 edition.

Bangalore's Powerplay score in U.A.E in Indian T20 League
Matches Runs Wicket
Match 3, Hyderabad vs Bangalore, 21 Sep 2020 53 0
Match 2, Delhi vs. Bangalore, 17 Apr 2014 50 1
Match 11, Bangalore vs. Kolkata, 24 Apr 2014 49 0
Match 18, Punjab vs. Bangalore, 28 Apr 2014 44 4
Match 5, Bangalore vs. Mumbai, 19 Apr 2014 30 3
Match 14, Rajasthan vs. Bangalore, 26 Apr 2014 22 5

Padikkal went on to notch an outstanding maiden half-century in just 36 deliveries. He wouldn’t have reached the milestone though if Rashid Khan had judged the elevation of his sweep shot on the square leg right.

The 20-year-old’s return of 56 runs is now the ninth-highest score by any debutant in the Indian T20 League. And well, he is only the second Bangalore player to score a half-century on debut after Shreevats Goswami (52 off 42) in 2008 against Delhi.

Virat’s opening game voodoo

After a blistering start from Padikkal and Finch, the onus came on captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to carry on the momentum. And while the latter took little time to hit the ground running, the skipper was shown his way back to the pavilion by Natarajan after scoring just 14 off 13 balls without hitting a boundary or even a maximum. 

Since the inception of the league, the Bangalore and India captain has scored a total of 249 runs in 12 innings at a measly average and strike rate of 22.63 and 113.18 respectively in their opening fixtures, with the highest being a 51-ball 75 against Hyderabad in 2016. In those 12 innings, the 31-year-old has scored just one half-century. In fact, in the opening three editions of the league, he managed a total of six runs. Here’s how his returns look like:

Season opposition Runs balls SR
2008 v Kolkata 1 5 20
2009 v Rajasthan 3 8 37.5
2010 v Kolkata 2 5 40
2011 v Kolkata 23 18 127.78
2012 v Delhi 8 8 100
2013 v Mumbai 24 14 171.43
2014 v Delhi 49* 38 128.95
2015 v Kolkata 13 15 86.67
2016 v Hyderabad 75 51 147.06
2017 v Hyderabad - - -
2018 v Kolkata 31 33 93.94
2019 v Chennai 6 12 50
2020 v Hyderabad 14 13 107.68

Chahal’s outstanding return

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was key to Bangalore’s revival late into the game. The leggie gave away a mere 18 runs in his fours overs and notched three important wickets of Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and Jonny Bairstow. He, in fact, struck at an important moment when Pandey and Bairstow were on course of building a match-turning partnership. This was the third time that Chahal has got the better of Pandey in the Indian T20 League, with only Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh (four each) ahead of him.

Meanwhile, it was Bairstow’s second appearance against Bangalore in the Indian T20 League, and it is safe to say he loves hitting Kohli’s men around the park, having scored a match-winning knock of 114 of 56 in last year’s edition. On that day, it was Chahal who finally got the better of him. And on Monday at the Dubai International Stadium, the England batsman scored yet another quick-fire half-century, but for the second time running, he was dismissed by Chahal.

Chahal’s return of 18/3 is the best bowling figure by a Bangalore bowler against Hyderabad. The leg-spinner overtook Washinton Sunder’s spell of 24/3 he posted in last year’s edition.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / Indian T20  League

Related tags:

BangaloreHyderabadVirat KohliYuzvendra ChahalIndian T20 League, 2020 Indian T20 LeagueExpert Column

Fantasy Focus: Spinners and all-rounders are top priority

With conditions in UAE rather alien, it can certainly be difficult to make the call on who to take in your team. Well, look no further, as we help you with five picks that are guaranteed to do well this season.

Player: Sunil Narine

Team: Kolkata

The West Indies all-rounder is a cheat code. Since he’s opened the batting for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Narine has scored over 500 runs in the last two seasons and picked up 27 wickets in just 28 matches. If he doesn’t get the opposition with the bat, he gets them with the ball. In the CPL, Narine played just five matches and scored 144 runs and picked up six wickets, further showcasing his ability to affect the game with both bat and ball. A no-brainer pick and a favourite to be your team’s captain.

Player: Glenn Maxwell

Team: Punjab

Punjab, the United Arab Emirates and Glenn Maxwell? It’s a throwback to 2014 when the Australian all-rounder smashed 300 runs in just five matches and eventually went on to pick the MVP award. The 31-year-old is coming into the tournament on the back of a good series against England, where he scored 187 runs in three matches, which includes a match and series-winning ton in the final ODI. Maxwell has already showcased that his game is well-suited to the conditions in the UAE and with the entire season scheduled to be conducted in the gulf country, the Australian could prove to be an excellent pick for your fantasy squad.

Player: Imran Tahir

Team: Chennai 

The South African spinner continues to age like a fine wine. Tahir picked up, a mind-boggling 26 wickets last season at a good economy rate of 7.88. In his most recent endeavour in the Caribbean Premier League, Tahir finished with 15 wickets in 11 matches at a ridiculous economy rate of 5.82.

With pitches in the UAE excepted to be conducive to spin, expect Tahir to have another big season in yellow for the Chennai.

Player: Yuzvendra Chahal

Team: Bangalore

Speaking of spinners, few in the game are as good as Yuzvendra Chahal in T20s. His knack of challenging the batsman to go after him by relentlessly throwing looped deliveries has yielded 30 wickets in the last two Indian T20 League campaigns. Despite playing half of his matches the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is rather infamous for its short boundaries and high-scoring matches, Chahal has managed to keep his economy under eight in the past three seasons, showcasing that he’s not only capable of picking wickets but is also street-smart and can curb the scoring rate.

A great pick for your fantasy team.

Player: KL Rahul

Team: Punjab

It’s hard to argue a case against KL Rahul being the best Indian batsman in the Indian T20 League since 2018 because there simply isn’t one. The newly-appointed Punjab skipper has scored 1,252 runs at an incredible strike rate of 146.60 and a scarcely believable average of 56.90. Since leaving Bangalore and batting at his preferred position at the top of the order, Rahul has blossomed into one of the nation’s finest batsmen in limited-overs cricket and the responsibility of captaincy will only help him grow as a player and lead by example on the field.

If there is one batsman that is must-have, it’s KL Rahul.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe

If you wish to raise the stakes further, SportsAdda has even more to offer!

Related tags:

Glenn MaxwellKL RahulYuzvendra ChahalImran TahirSunil NarineIndian T20 League, 2020 Indian T20 LeagueExpert Column