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The ongoing season of the Indian Premier League is nearing its half-way mark and most teams have settled on their winning XI. Furthermore, it's chock-a-block at the top of the points table, with more than half the teams tied for the top spot.
Net runrate will play a key role this season, which means it'll come down to the little things.
While Royal Challengers Bangalore walked away with a 7 run win over Rajasthan Royals, the team's over-reliance on their top order once again came to the forefront.
The Challengers have won four out of seven matches so far. And the performance of the top order is both a boon and bane!
On Sunday, playing an afternoon game, there were two standout performances. Once again Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis posted a century stand to guide the Challengers to a challenging total. But the rest of the RCB line-up failed to fire.
The bowlers, led by Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj, put up their hands for the home side as RCB held on for a nervy win in the end.
Faf du Plessis
Faf again came into the side as an Impact Player with Virat Kohli being handed the captain's hat. And this seems to be working for the Challengers as the 38 year old contributes with the bat and then makes way for a bowler or bowling all-rounder.
During Sunday's game, Faf made way for Harshal Patel who delivered with the ball. A winning formula for RCB.
After being invited to bat, the Challengers were reduced to 12/1 in 2.1 overs with Trent Boult, who picked up his 100th IPL wicket, rocking the top order.
Boult, who removed Kohli for the first time, made the RCB stand-in skipper his 100th scalp in the league and then went onto remove Shahbaz Ahmed.
Following the rocky start, Faf took charge of the innings along with Maxwell. The pair scored in tandem, a sight all too familiar for the Challengers. Du Plessis, who struck a third consecutive half-century, crossed 9,000 runs in T20 cricket.
During his sizzling knock, the RCB skipper struck eight boundaries and two maximums.
Glenn Maxwell
Du Plessis has partnered with two players this season to post century stands: Kohli for the opening partnership and Maxwell for the third wicket.
After Kohli fell for a duck on Sunday, Maxwell and Faf turned RCB's innings around. In their previous encounter at home, the pair had put up the highest third-wicket stand. Once again in their contest against Royals, the duo scored 127 off 66 to set up RCB a defendable total.
Maxwell, who fell for a duck in RCB'S previous game, hammered his highest IPL score in Bengaluru. In his 44-ball 77, the Aussie all-rounder struck four sixes and six boundaries. His sizzling innings earned him the Player of the Match award.
After Faf and Maxi returned to the dugout, the Challengers collapsed for just 50-for-7 at the end of their innings. A point they will need to quickly address as the games roll in fast and thick.
Harshal Patel
Coming in as RCB's Impact Player, he delivered, especially in the final over. Patel turned in a three-wicket haul, including the big wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (47), Sanju Samson (22) and R Ashwin in the final over. Ashwin's wicket in the last over took the game away from the visitors.
The Challengers were clinical on the field, with direct hits and stunning catches. Kohli, who picked up two stellar catches at key moments, took his 100th IPL catch. He is only the third player to take 100 catches in the league.
Apart from Kohli, Suresh Raina and Kieron Pollard have picked up a century of catches. While Raina picked up 109 catches from 205 matches, Kieron Pollard had 103 catches from 189 matches.