CHENNAI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar hailed his bowlers for delivering three crucial Powerplay wickets, calling it the turning point in their 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Friday.
Josh Hazlewood (3/21) removed CSK opener Rahul Tripathi and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Deepak Hooda, reducing the home side to 30 for 3 at the end of six overs while chasing 197.
"It was game-changing because we got two-three wickets in the first six overs. Amazing to see how they kept it on the hard length because the ball wasn't coming on to the bat easily," Patidar said at the post-match presentation.
"This track was pretty helpful for spinners, so I was just keeping it in my mind that I could use my spinners at the early stage. Especially Livingstone, the way he came in and bowled four overs was incredible."
Patidar, who was adjudged Player of the Match for his 51 off 32 balls in RCB’s total of 196 for 7, said he was confident the score would be difficult for CSK to chase.
"If I talk about this match, it was a good total on this surface because the ball was stopping a bit, and it wasn't easy for batters to hit fours and sixes. It's always special playing in Chepauk because of the fans, the way they support their teams."
Reflecting on his innings, he added, "I think it was very important because we were targeting 200, as that wouldn't be easy to chase. My goal was clear that as long as I was there, I would maximise every ball."
Hazlewood noted that RCB has been improving steadily since their seven-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders in the season opener.
"Feeling nice and fresh. As a group tonight, we were outstanding. Improved from our last game against KKR. Made good use of the conditions and did well as a pace and spin unit," he said.
"I think with this wicket here, you get a little bit of up and down, a little two-paced, so the fuller ball is easier to face. Just hitting that 8-10m length worked well. The energy was great, the effort from the fielding group was excellent—saving runs and taking catches."
The Australian pacer also highlighted the importance of having a left-arm quick like Yash Dayal in the squad.
"It really lifts us up as bowlers. Any time you get injured, you can feel down, but if you use that time nicely and get some good gym work in, it's a nice position to be in. I think having a left-armer (Yash Dayal) is crucial. Every team in the competition has a left-arm quick, and his changes of pace were excellent today—he is a class act," he said.
CSK captain Gaikwad admitted his side was chasing at least 20 runs more than the par score.
"I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket. It wasn't that easy to bat. Bad fielding cost us. When you're chasing 170, you have a little more time, but when you're chasing 20 runs extra, you have to bat differently in the Powerplay, and it didn't happen today," Gaikwad said.
"It (wicket) got a little slower, a little sticky. The new ball was sticking a bit. Don't know how it happened. Rahul backed his shot, I backed mine as well. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Gaikwad also pointed out the need for improvement in CSK’s fielding efforts.
"I feel the fielding has to improve a lot, and we have to come back stronger in the fielding department. We dropped catches, boundaries kept coming, and they (RCB) kept going—the momentum didn't stop till the last over.
"But at the end, we didn’t lose by a big margin, just 50 runs. Definitely a different scenario when you have three world-class spinners in the team. You want new batters to face them. It didn't happen this time.
"There's a long flight to Guwahati (for the next match), but we just have to turn up mentally and see which areas we can improve," he added.
