RR vs RCB Man of the Match: Rajasthan Royals spinner was elected the Man of the Match for his praiseworthy spell against RCB.
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During the 14th match of the ongoing 12th season of the Indian Premier League between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7 wickets to register their maiden victory in IPL 2019.
Chasing a 159-run target, Royals sealed the chase on the penultimate delivery of the match. It was a 60-run opening partnership between captain Ajinkya Rahane (22) and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler (59) which laid the foundation for the others to follow.
After Rahane won the toss and put RCB in to bat, Royals restricted RCB to 158-4 in 20 overs. Scoring his 12th IPL half-century, wicket-keeper batsmen Parthiv Patel scored a praiseworthy 67 (41) with the help of nine fours and a six.
RR vs RCB Man of the Match
With bowling figures of 4-1-12-3, Rajasthan leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was named the Man of the Match. Other than breaking RCB’s opening stand of 49 in the seventh over, Gopal counted for the dismissal of opposition captain Virat Kohli (23) and overseas batsmen in AB de Villiers (13) and Shimron Hetmyer (1).
The fact that he deceived each one of them with a googly speaks highly about his craft. Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Gopal considered himself lucky to dismiss Kohli and de Villiers. Clueless about why wrist-spinners do well in T20s, Gopal hinted their ability to spin the bowl both ways as a possible reason.
“I am fortunate and lucky to have gotten those big wickets, again I’m saying it as a youngster getting such big names out doesn’t come everyday. I was just fortunate, and the plans worked. Coming in to bowl in the 7th over, we had built a lot of pressure in the Powerplay.
“I had come in after that, and because the batsmen were trying to score off me, I managed to get the wickets. Pretty comfortable bowling my variations, I rely on my gut feet while deciding what to bowl.
“I really don’t know why wristspinners do so well in T20s. But maybe it’s because we can spin the ball both ways. Overall, it’s about bowling in good areas and being disciplined,” Gopal was quoted as saying.
How Twitter reacted:
Not for the first time, Virat Kohli failed to pick up a Shreyas Gopal googlyhttps://t.co/OrjwD8z1TP #RRvRCB #IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/wHpaBiM2ht
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 2, 2019
There are 19 instances of a bowler dismissing Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers in the same innings in IPL – Shreyas Gopal only the second bowler to do so twice after RCB’s current bowling coach Ashish Nehra. #RRvRCB
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) April 2, 2019
Delighted for Shreyas Gopal. In a match that featured Virat ABD Butler Stokes Archer, Gopal walks away with the player of the match award. Superb confidence boost for the young man. And what a spell it was. Could have got 4.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) April 2, 2019
The perks of playing @RCBTweets, you make the news. Gopal is a decent bowler at best. Stats vs this rcb team shouldn’t really count for selections.
Mayank, prayas look real prospects. https://t.co/CH5R9HqVq8
— Maneesh (@Maneesh1G) April 2, 2019
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