Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer. Image: BCCI

Former Indian player Wasim Jaffer was surprised by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer’s decision to not bowl all-rounder Nitish Rana in their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday.

RCB eked out a three-wicket win against KKR in a low-scoring chase at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. KKR pacers Umesh Yadav (2/16) and Tim Southee (3/20) dented RCB’s chase with the early dismissals of their top-order batters to reduce them to 17/3 at one stage.

IPL 2022: RCB defeat KKR by three wickets

Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav. Image: BCCI

However, the target wasn’t a big deal for RCB and Sherfane Rutherford (28) and David Willey (18) negated the KKR bowlers by playing enough dot balls. KKR spinner Sunil Narine sent Willey back to the dugout as the batter attempted to play a big shot but found Rana at midwicket.

Shahbaz Ahmed and Rutherford dealt with KKR bowlers with utmost cautiousness but opened their hands against leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy. RCB needed 24 runs off the last three overs and Iyer brought Southee to bowl the 18th over.

Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy. Image: BCCI

Southee did snare a couple of wickets in his final over but KKR didn’t have proper bowling options and Andre Russell displayed signs of shoulder issues. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer bowled the penultimate over where Harshal Patel smashed him for a couple of fours to bring the equation down to seven runs from six balls.  Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik hit a six and a four off the first two balls bowled by Andre Russell to take his side to the finish line.

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It feels like Varun Chakravarthy struggles a bit bowling to the left-handers: Wasim Jaffer

Jaffer said KKR could have handed Rana or Iyer a few overs in the middle overs. The former Indian player also pointed out that Chakravarthy struggled to bowl against left-handers.

“I was surprised that Shreyas Iyer did not bowl Nitish Rana when there were two left-handers there and Chakravarthy was clearly struggling against them. One or two overs from Rana would have meant that Russell wouldn’t have had to bowl.

“He could have bowled Venkatesh Iyer earlier if Russell was struggling. Things could have been a little bit different if he had saved Chakravathy’s over there and used it for right-handers,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo. 

Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer (Credits: KXIP Twitter)

“Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee made a match out of it by getting RCB 17/3 in the powerplay. KKR would have had a better chance if Chakravarthy had bowled better.”

“It feels like Varun Chakravarthy struggles a bit bowling to the left-handers. He started bowling from around the stumps and then came over the wicket, but his length was on the shorter side.

“It helped the batters to pull him. He was probably scared to throw the ball in the air or in front of the batters. Had he gone for 20-25 runs or had taken a wicket at that stage, it would have been interesting,” he added. 

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KKR lost to RCB by three wickets after they held Faf du Plessis and his men for the most part of their chase. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will next play against Punjab Kings on Friday (April 1) at the Wankhede stadium.

Also Read: RCB vs KKR: “He’s One Step Ahead Of The Batters At All Times” Chris Lynn Praises Harshal Patel For Outplaying Andre Russell