IPL 2020 playoffs fixtures announced, final to be played in Dubai

IPL 2020 | RR vs MI: Hits and Flops of the game as Royals do a ‘Halla Bol’ on Mumbai

Winning a tough game against Mumbai Indians by chasing down 196 with 8 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare surely requires a herculean effort. And that is exactly what was put in by the English all-rounder Ben Stokes, scoring a magnificent hundred to take his team through in Abu Dhabi. It was the toughest game to date for the Rajasthan Royals this season because they had to mandatorily win it to stay alive in the league and they were playing against the table-toppers Mumbai Indians. Added to that pressure were a huge total of 196 to be chased as Hardik Pandya had gone bonkers in the death overs to render all the previous good work done by the Royals bowler as useless. However, once Sanju Samson joined Stokes in the middle, there was no looking back for them. But apart from Sanju and Stokes, who else contributed to the Royals’ win? Who were the culprits for Mumbai Indians? All this would become clear in the Hits and Flops section below. Hits #1 Ben Stokes Before this game, Stokes in his last five appearances in IPL 2020 hadn’t even hit a six. He was not someone that the Rajasthan side was banking on. But boy o boy! Did he surprise people and his own team! The 29-year-old went after the Mumbai bowlers right from the word go and didn’t stop until the task of getting to 196 was achieved. On his way to 107* off just 60 balls, the Englishman hit 14 fours and three sixes. He was rightfully adjudged Man of the Match. #2 Sanju Samson The spark in Sanju Samson had been lost after the first three games of the Royals’ 2020 campaign. However, the team didn’t lose its faith in him and backed him in every game. The Keralite repaid the faith and stood alongside Stokes to see the team through in the most essential match. Sanju and Stokes added unbeaten 152 off just 82 balls to seal the deal for the team. In his knock of 54* (31), the 25-year-old hit five fours and three sixes. #3 Jofra Archer One of the few bowlers in the tournament who have consistently hit the right lengths in every situation, Archer was phenomenal in this game as well. He was so god that in the 19th over, when Hardik Pandya was at his best, sending the balls out of the park at will, he gave away just three runs. In the entire match, Archer gave away just 31 runs and took two wickets as well. The English man is now in the second position in the list of Purple cap holders with 17 wickets in 12 games. The catch that he took to dismiss Ishan Kishan at the third man was a bonus over and above his bowling. Flops #1 Kieron Pollard Captain of the side for this game, Pollard had an altogether disappointing match as he was neither able to score big nor take any wickets, and the changes made by him in the field as captain were also non-effective. The 33-year-old West Indian could make only six runs while batting, before getting bowled by a Shreyas Gopal flipper. In bowling too, he gave away 18 runs in two overs, without taking any wicket. #2 Jasprit Bumrah Bumrah was the key if Mumbai was to defend that total on that wicket. As admitted by both the captain s in the post-match presentation chats, the wicket had got better in the second innings and there was no grip what so ever for the spinners. In such situations, the captain rightfully went to Bumrah so that he could bring in some change at the status quo maintained by Stokes and Samson. However, the 26-year-old was unable to bring even the slightest of change, although he hit Stokes’ pads twice, the balls were pitching outside leg by a mile. Thus an ineffective Bumrah is always a flop in any game, especially in a one where the team is defending 195. Special Mention: Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya as has been many a time in this piece was phenomenal with the bat. He came at a time when the chips were literally down for the Mumbai team and the run rate was lingering at around seven and a half. It was he and Saurabh Tiwary at the start and then he alone that brought the blue and gold from 120 at the end of the 16th to 195 at the end of 20th. Hardik made a scintillating 60* off just 21 balls in the process. his knock included just two fours, but seven huge sixes. The Royals courtesy this win now have a chance of entering the Playoffs if they go on to win the next of their two games. Mumbai Indians on the other hand would just wish that Rohit Sharma, their usual captain gets fit before their next encounter as they can’t afford a goof-up at the business end of the tournament.

IPL 2020 | RR vs MI: What Experts said as Ben Stokes special keeps Royals alive in the league

Ben Stokes, arguably the greatest all-rounder of the current era finally found form as his blistering hundred left Mumbai Indians shell shocked to give Rajasthan Royals not only an eight-wicket win but also a ray of hope to qualify for the Playoffs. Batting first in Abu Dhabi, Mumbai Indians had posted more than a competitive total of 195 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of some crazy hitting by Hardik Pandya in the last four. He earned the team 75 off 24 balls. However, that did not matter in the context of the game as the Royals won it with 10 balls left. Captains’ Viewpoint In the post-match presentation, Royals captain Steve Smith was finally happy that his team managed to close out one game that is highly consequential in the final outcome of the league for the team. “[I am] very pleased, that's what we're crying for, use the experience, take the game deep and that's what both Stokes and Samson did,” said a jubilant Smith. He then went on to talk about the wicket which also played its part in making sure that Stokes’ flow wasn’t broken by any delivery keeping low or getting stuck in the pitch. “The wicket was playing good, the ball was coming onto the bat, there was the intent - the shots were flowing, they just played good cricketing shots - I thought the partnership was fantastic.” Hardik Pandya was dropped by Rahul Tewatia in the field and the junior Pandya then went on to smash 60 off 21 balls. Talking about that Smith said, “We played some good cricket in the first half, the dropped chance proved to be costly, perhaps we ended up giving away another 40-45 runs, but it didn't matter in the end.” “I hope our batters take the confidence from this match and play knocks which will help the team win,” he added. Kieron Pollard, the stand-in captain for Mumbai in the game due to Rohit Sharma’s injury, credited Royals for the amazing display of batting. “I thought they batted well,” he said. The Caribbean calypso praised teammate and fellow all-rounder Pandya for bringing the team back in the contest with his power hitting. Hardik brought us straight back in the game with that knock at the halfway stage. We could have got a couple of wickets more, but the wicket ended up becoming a little better,” said Pollard. “Their spinners got some help from the pitch, but our spinners couldn't do that. At the end of the day, someone wins, someone loses,” he added ruing the change in the pitch and the conditions getting more batting-friendly comparatively. Considering it as not their day, Pollard concluded by saying, “We just have to come out and play good cricket. He (Hardik) went out and scored 60* off 21, an innings like that and we end up on the losing side, that's just tough.” Expert Opinion: The experts were in awe of the brilliant hundred hit by the English all-rounder Stokes. Some even went on to say that if the form of the two Englishmen, Jofra Archer and Stokes continue in the same fashion, then the Rajasthan team can fancy themselves a place in the Playoffs. Talking about Stokes, cricket legend that Sachin Tendulkar said that he made a very tough chase look very easy. The Master also praised Sanju Samson sayingh that he was the perfect partner for Stokes. Veteran cricket expert, Boria Majumdar, who also co-wrote Sachin's biography said that if the form of the two English recruits for RR- Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes continues to accelerate, the Royals might be in with a chance. Former cricketer turned analyst, Aakash Chopra talked about how this win by Rajasthan would impact other games and teams in the league, especially on Rajasthan's nearest rivals Kolkata Knight Riders amnd Kings XI Punjab. Kris Srikanth, former Indian cricketer and chief selector praised Stokes saying that he hasn't seen a better hundred in IPL than the one scored by him in a long time. Harsha Bhogle, the voice of cricket in modern era call the day as a great day for cricket due to the variety of reasons that included the big hitting by two all-rounders Hardik and Stokes, along with deft touch and class from Samson. The game gets interesting from here onwards as the teams would now look to put everything on line to get to the Playoffs. In such situation, RR too would look to consolidate and win the remaining matches. On the other hand Mumbai would just look to have a win under their belt to qualify for the Playoffs.

IPL 2020 | RR vs MI: Stokes, Samson eclipse Hardik blitz in Rajasthan's chasing masterclass

Ben Stokes finally did justice to his price tag with an awe-inspiring century as Rajasthan Royals ascended the 196-run mountain to keep the faint ray of hope glimmering, at least in mathematical terms. Sanju Samson was no shrinking violet either, blitzing a regal 54 as the unbeaten 152-run association poured cold water on Hardik Pandya's 20-ball 61 as RR live to die another day.

IPL 2020 | RCB vs CSK: Hits and Flops as Gaikwad guides Chennai to an easy win

Chennai Super Kings and their fans finally had something to cheer about as the yellow brigade tamed Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 wickets AT Dubai. Everything finally fell into place as the ‘youngster’ in Ruturaj Gaikwad finally showed some spark in batting, taking the MS Dhoni-led team home. Forced to field first, the Chennai team did well with their pacers Sam Curran and Deepak Chahar and fresh spin inclusion Mitchell Santner to stop the Challengers at a modest 145. After that, the resolve and intent were seen right from the start in the batting as well, when opener Gaikwad made well-combined partnerships with Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu and later on with skipper Dhoni to seal the game. There were many that contributed to the victory for CSK and many that did not perform as per expectation for the RCB. To know them and their batting performances better, here is the list of hits and flops from the game. Hits #1 Ruturaj Gaikwad Before the start of the tournament, Gaikwad was primed to be the successor of Raina in the team in the absence of Chinna Thala. However, situations did not help in the initial phase as he tested positive for the covid-19 and later when he got the opportunities, wasn’t given the top spot, which he usually bats at for his team Maharashtra. Given a chance to open the innings, he finally made it count in the second attempt, scoring a match-winning 65 off 51 and more importantly carried his bat. In his innings, Gaikwad had three good partnerships alongside experienced players like du Plessis, Rayudu, and Dhoni. He hit four boundaries three sixes in the innings. #2 Sam Curran The player, who has been performing for the Daddies’ Army even when no one else did perform today as well. The Englishman picked three crucial wickets including that of opponent skipper Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch. His spell at the beginning turned out to be an important one as he did not allow RCB to build momentum. The left-arm bowler, who had till now picked 10 wickets in the IPL, added three more to the tally today as he finished with the figures of 3/19. #3 Deepak Chahar Not being able to contribute much with the ball in the last few games, Chahar, who primarily was bowled out at the start of the inning was given a chance to bowl in the death and he responded brilliantly by picking up two wickets and that too of two of the danger men, AB de Villiers and Chris Morris. The wicket of de Villiers in particular was the game-changing one for CSK as it brought the RCB total down by 30-35 runs. Flops #1 Aaron Finch This IPL has not gone the way Australian limited-overs captain Aaron Finch would have wanted. Apart from two innings- one 47 off 37 against KKR and 52 of 35 against Mumbai Indians, Finch has not been able to contribute greatly to the RCB cause. Even today, he did not look his best and was thus removed by Sam Curran early on in the RCB innings at just 15 off 11 balls. #2 Moeen Ali Moeen Ali was given a chance in place of Isusru Udana, just because he could bat a bit better and RCB wanted to try someone who was better at batting, apart from giving good enough overs in the middle. Ali though failed to impress anybody getting out for just one in the 18th over, where people expected him to go berserk. Ali couldn't do much with the ball in hand either. This might just turn out to be the last game of the IPL for Ali as Udana world be preferred in his place. While Chennai have nothing more to achieve rather than the lost respect, but RCB would look to tighten the nuts moving forward in the tournament.