SRH make RCB think twice about IPL campaign

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the thirty-sixth game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Marco Jansen was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Jansen infuses absurdity with wrath

One over. There are three runs. There are three wickets in all. If new-ball bowling is an art, Marco Jansen was Pi-flippin-casso, at least for tonight.

Faf du Plessis, converted into an "S" by the away movement and got bowled past the leading edge, recoiled from the sound of his castle falling down.

Virat Kohli was his second victim. This was also a peach: full and angled. With the extra cover drive stealing the edge through to the slips, he had pitched it before he could reach it.

When you see Jansen's 6'7" stature, you know he's going to get a lot of bounce. However, if he can seam the ball like this - and get it to go both ways to secure the left-handed Anuj Rawat's outside edge as well - he'll be an essential addition to a variety of teams. He is responsible for the sixth-lowest total in IPL history, as well as the fourth-largest loss in terms of balls remaining, with 72 remaining.

Maxwell's hot and cold season

Glenn Maxwell, the misfiring marauder, has been adamant about attacking the bowlers whenever he has been at the crease this IPL. And he's done it so successfully that, entering this game, he had the second-highest strike-rate of 193.10 among all batters who had faced at least 50 pitches this season.

Is he, though, giving himself enough of a chance to have an impact on games? In the second over against the Sunrisers, he came in to bat and fell in the fifth. He came in the first over and was out in the seventh over against the Lucknow Super Giants. The Delhi Capitals entered him in the third over and he left in the 12th. 

In a Twenty20 contest, Maxwell has the ability to score 150 runs. In the middle, he should really allow himself more time.

The ideal game

In eight games, Kane Williamson has won seven tosses. However, that wasn't enough for him. He knew he was capable of more.

Williamson threw Jansen a couple of slips the moment he noticed some early seam movement. BAM. Kohli was nabbed at the second slip.

Dinesh Karthik is an outstanding ball sweeper. He went for one here, but only got it to the keeper by feathering it. The umpire did not award it. As a result, Williamson knew exactly what he needed to accomplish. Decision Review System (DRS). Bingo.

On the tail of the Royal Challengers, he unleashed his fastest bowler. BAM. Wicket. With the Royal Challengers seven down in the 13th over, he recalled his yorker specialist. BAM. Wicket. Thangarasu Natarajan was outstanding once again, with his 3 for 10 in three overs propelling him to second place on the wicket-takers list this year.

The perplexity

Kohli's season average is a hardly believable 17.0 after going for a golden duck in back-to-back games. That is only one point better than Mohammed Siraj in this circumstance.

Kohli is in a desperate need of a break. However, this is a T20 World Cup year, and, now that he is no longer captain, he becomes a pure batter, which India has plenty of. That, too, an accumulator. So what if he opts out of the IPL, someone else shines, and the selectors prefer him at No. 3?

Consider Sanju Samson at No. 3 on those Australian pitches with real bounce as a thought experiment.