IPL 2020: RR vs RCB Game Plan 2 – Bring in an extra spinner and choke Rajasthan Royals
The 33rd match of the IPL 2020 tournament between the blockbuster teams, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, could all be about match-ups. We take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the 33rd game of IPL 2020 – RR vs RCB.
RR vs RCB: Shahbaz Ahmed’s left-arm spin an attractive option?
The usual statement used when a change is around the corner is,” Why fix something something that ain’t broken”. It might be true but RCB won’t be doing something wrong in tinkering with their line-up. In the last game against KXIP, Mohammad Siraj turned out to be the weak link for RCB as the opposition batters targeted him. However, one can’t point him out as the reason for the loss as the RCB batsmen failed to put on a sufficient total to defend.
So, either Virat Kohli can back him for a few more games or pick Shahbaz Ahmed or Pawan Negi instead of the pacer. There was an air of excitement around Shahbaz before the tournament kicked off but RCB managed to find balance with a different line-up. With the pitches expectedly slowing down, it might be the right time for RCB to get him in.
The good thing for RCB is that they have sufficient options in the line-up itself to not make any changes to bring in Shahbaz or Negi. If RCB correct their mistake of not bowling Washington Sundar in the Powerplay phase against Kings XI Punjab, they should be finding all-round balance with their bowling attack once again. While it is obvious, it does no harm to reiterate that Sundar has bowled far better when he has started his spell during the Powerplay or bowled within the first ten overs of the game. In fact, the off-spinner has not picked up a single wicket when he has not started his spell within the six overs this season.
With Saini and Morris in the team, RCB would have no issues in providing a bowling partner for Sundar in the first six overs. If the new spinner comes in, he will directly operate in the role that Mohammad Siraj was playing. Siraj was mainly used as a middle-overs option. This will allow RCB to choke Rajasthan with spin during the middle-overs without having to hold back Sundar’s overs. As seen before, Morris and Saini have also been pretty good during the end overs. Morris, in particular has been flawless without his execution of yorkers and bouncers to limit the batsmen.
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As shown in the ‘different phases’ chart, RCB have a match-winner at all stages. If it is Sundar during the Powerplay, Chahal will strangle you through the middle while Morris can contain the best during the end overs. There is simply no let-off for the opposition batters and there is no reason for RCB to move away from this plan.