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The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered their second home defeat of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) edged past them by eight runs on Monday, April 17.
Bangalore have been criticized for their tactics throughout the IPL 2023 season, and things weren't much different against the Super Kings. Faf du Plessis and Co. made a slew of rather strange decisions and executional errors that saw them fall short in a game they were in control of at various points.
RCB are currently placed seventh in the IPL 2023 points table and don't have much time to find some consistency in the league. Their net run rate isn't great either, and another loss or two could seriously dent their playoff hopes.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by RCB in their IPL 2023 match against CSK.
#3 Mistake - RCB didn't have any clear plans for Devon Conway and Shivam Dube
RCB managed to prise out Ruturaj Gaikwad early and dismissed Ajinkya Rahane shortly after the first strategic timeout. Despite being in a decent position at the time, they squandered their advantage, with Shivam Dube and Devon Conway stitching together a 80-run partnership.
Bangalore completely lost the plot in the 10-15 over phase as they dished out several loose deliveries. Instead of targeting Dube with fast and short stuff on his body, they dished out full-tosses and slot balls. Even when they did go short, they relied on cutters into the surface as opposed to hurrying the tall batter.
RCB failed to cut off Conway's main scoring areas too as he found success with most of his lofted shots. There was some hold and turn in the wicket, something the home side failed to utilize in the first innings.
#2 Masterstroke - Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell counter-attacked brilliantly
RCB were pegged back early in the chase, with Virat Kohli dismissed in the very first over and Mahipal Lomror sent back soon after. However, their overseas batting pair of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell ensured that they didn't suffer a loss of momentum.
Maxwell was on the attack right from the start, hitting two sixes off Akash Singh to get his innings going. The batter didn't need to try anything unorthodox as he relied on conventional shots to find and clear the boundaries.
Du Plessis, meanwhile, was clearly struggling with a niggle but gave it his all. He was severe on everything in his slot and took on both pace and spin successfully. The RCB skipper batted until the end of the 14th over, playing the perfect supporting act while maintaining a strike rate of almost 190 himself.
It would've been easy for RCB to enter their shell after losing two early wickets, but they were hell-bent on fighting fire with fire. Du Plessis and Maxwell counter-attacked brilliantly to give their team a shot, even taking runs off negative match-ups like Ravindra Jadeja.
#1 Mistake - Wanindu Hasaranga bowled just two overs in the first innings and batted at No. 9
Why don't RCB have more faith in Wanindu Hasaranga? Two games into IPL 2023, the Sri Lankan has bowled a combined five overs and has faced a total of two balls.
Hasaranga deceived Rahane with a trademark googly and seemed to be RCB's most threatening bowler against CSK. Although he went for 21 runs in his two overs, he nearly forced Devon Conway to chop on and looked like his team's best bet to take a wicket.
Especially in a high-scoring game like this one, Bangalore needed to trust their spinners more. They were always going to go for runs, but they were also the likeliest to pick up wickets.
Bangalore bought Hasaranga for ₹10.75 crore at the IPL 2022 auction, presumably for his all-round services. However, they don't seem to trust him with the bat at all, even sending the likes of Wayne Parnell over him.
Hasaranga is an excellent spin-hitter and has been in good form in T20 leagues around the world over the last few months. He needs to be trusted more in both departments in IPL 2023.
