Brendon McCullum, KKR head coach tried to justify skipper Eoin Morgan’s decision of not giving that fourth over of RCB innings to Varun Chakravarthy (his 2nd over) but added that in retrospect the leg-spinner should have bowled that over.
Captain Eoin Morgan not persisting with Varun Chakravarthy even when the leg-spinner struck twice in his very first over to rock Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) early surprised many. When Varun Chakravarthy came back later, Glenn Maxwell was well set and had laid the platform for RCB to post a formidable total, which Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) eventually failed to chase down.
Brendon McCullum: KKR Management Tried To Save Varun Chakravarthy’s Overs For AB De Villiers
Head coach Brendon McCullum tried to justify Eoin Morgan’s decision of not giving that fourth over of RCB’s innings(the spinner’s 2nd over) to Varun Chakravarthy as the team management was trying to save the spinner’s overs for AB De Villiers.
“In hindsight, if we had our time again, we probably would have bowled Varun in that next over when Maxwell came out. But look, we were also trying to save Varun’s overs for (AB) De Villiers,” Brendon McCullum told reporters.
Admitting that his team didn’t execute their plans well, Brendon McCullum also wholeheartedly praised Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers — the architects of RCB’s 38-run win in Chennai on Sunday.
“Our plans were sound, but we didn’t execute them too well. What AB and Maxwell did is they took the pitch out of play by their presence at the crease and that put us under immense pressure,” Brendon McCullum said.
After RCB won the toss and elected to bat first, the mystery spinner outfoxed Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar in his first over, the second of the innings, to pin the opposition reeling at 9/2. Virat Kohli mistimed a big shot and was caught brilliantly outside the circle by Rahul Tripathi running back from cover; while Rajat Patidar was castled with a slider and KKR was in a commanding position.
However, to a surprise to many, Eoin Morgan didn’t continue with the spinner for his second over and instead introduced Shakib Al Hasan, who immediately leaked runs against Glenn Maxwell. Varun Chakravarthy returned in the 7th over, but then, Glenn Maxwell has settled himself at the crease as he scored 30 off 19 and hit the Tamil Nadu spinner smashing a six and a four on the first couple of deliveries.
Brendon McCullum later revealed that Varun Chakravarthy was saved for bowling to AB de Villiers – the battle KKR were expecting took place in the 13th and 15th over, where the South African took 12 runs off 7 balls from Varun Chakravarthy – but he also acknowledged that the spinner should have bowled his second over in the powerplay.
AB De Villiers In Talks With CSA To Make A Comeback In International Cricket
Man of the Match AB De Villiers’s knock not only kept RCB in great spirits, but looking at the larger picture, Cricket South Africa too should be really serious about the former captain’s international comeback. AB De Villiers said he would be having a chat with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher about his return to international cricket.
“We are lined up to have a chat somewhere during this IPL, but yes, we’ve been talking about it.”
Versatile South African cricketer AB de Villiers on Sunday said it will be “fantastic” to make an international comeback ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in India in October-November. In May 2018, AB de Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket. He played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is before announcing his surprise retirement.
After Sunday’s loss, KKR is placed at the 7th position on the points table, and has damaged their net run rate; they have completed their Chennai leg and will move to Mumbai to face Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.