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IPL 2023: Faf du Plessis' tactical blunders leave RCB red-faced

Here are five keys that made the difference between winning and losing in another pot-boiler

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Faf Du Plessis of Royal Challengers Bangalore looks on as Chennai Super Kings players celebrate a wicket. — IPL

by Leslie Wilson Jr

Published: Mon 17 Apr 2023, 11:27 PM

When it comes to the matter of winning a toss sometimes it is best if the humble spin of the coin goes against you, because a captain will not have to rue the decision you take after that.

It will long be debated whether Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis did the right thing by putting CSK in to bat first at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a decision which went a long way in deciding the outcome of a match between the Southern Indian neighbours, Chennai and Bangalore.

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Was a Chennai Super Kings total of 227 gettable was the big question?

But it was a case of so close and yet so far despite the batting carnage displayed by Du Plessis (62 off 35 deliveries) and Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36).

Here are five keys that made the difference between winning and losing in another pot-boiler.

Did Faf get it wrong?

Chennai got the rub of the green to take control of the match and ride the momentum with the help of some debatable tactical decisions by RCB skipper Du Plessis as they posted a daunting total of 226.

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While pacers Mohammed Siraj, Warne Parnell, and Vyshak Vijay Kumar all coming in for some harsh punishment from Devon Conway (83 from 45), Du Plessis appeared to overlook leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who once held the world record for most T20 wickets in a year, to attack the free-hitting Shivam Dube (52 from 27 deliveries) who took the spinners to the cleaners.

The Dube demolition

After Player of the Match Conway’s hard-hitting 83 off 45 that took CSK to 177 off just 15.4 overs, Dube seized the moment to showcase his power hitting, once dispatching the ball into the roof of the stadium with a six that travelled more than 100 metres.

Harshal Patel and Siraj attempted to hit him with yorkers and change of pace, but Dube was seeing the ball well enough to send it to different parts of the boundary. He was a monolith and although Parnell had him caught by Siraj, he had done enough damage which RCB would later regret.

Losing the momentum

Du Plessis and Maxwell made a match out of it with a 136-run partnership for the third wicket but the writing was on the wall that once they both departed, which they did within a span of 12 runs.

Bangalore was always going to be under pressure to maintain the momentum and put itself within reach of winning.

Renowned finisher Dinesh Karthik (28 of 14) kept RCB’s hopes alive with some intelligent batting but it did not last long.

Right decision to field first?

If Du Plessis was hoping to capitalise on the dew and restrict his opponents to a total of 180-190, it did not materialise on a wicket that is a notorious belter with short boundaries (60 yards) to boot.

Although the 226 for six was a daunting total it was not unreachable.

But as MS. Dhoni said the toss did not matter as there are always two ways to approach a game if you chasing or defending a total.

Dropped catches

Everyone knows that catches win matches but in this case, Chennai was lucky. Maheesh Theekshana dropped a pair, but ultimately it did not prove costly in a game that was always headed for a tight finish.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings beats Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs.

Chennai Super Kings 226/6 (Devon Conway 83, Shivam Dube 52; Wanindu Hasaranga 1-21)

Royal Challengers Bangalore 218/8 (Glenn Maxwell 76, Faf du Plessis 62; Tushar Deshpande 45-3).

Leslie Wilson Jr

Published: Mon 17 Apr 2023, 11:27 PM

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