India vs Australia: No need to change batting order, we

This may be a bit of a long post, so bear with me.
3 huge issues plagued RCB this year

• The lack of a genuine enforcer with the ball. MI have Bumrah, DC have Rabada, RCB lacked someone similar
• We always had poor starts, given Finch/Philippe's indifferent form
• In the middle overs and at the back end, there was no one to help ABD out

At the same time, 3 big positives for us as well.

• Our spinners were superb, be it Yuzi, Washi, or Shahbaz. They almost did close to nothing wrong.
• Saini and Siraj have well and truly come to the fore. VK finally has realized Siraj is not your death bowler, but someone who must be bowling with the newer ball alot more
• For a long time, VK was our only good Indian batsman, with Parthiv sometimes being the exception. Padikkal has shown that he is a dependable opener, and that puts us in good stead going forward.

At the moment, we have 6.4 cr in our purse. I suggest we release the following players:

• Finch(4.4 cr)

I never actually understood the thought process behind buying him, given Parthiv was superb last year, more so given that he keeps. If not, Virat also has his best stats opening. Including Dev we already have 3 openers, so why did we need to buy another one? And this is not considering other potential openers like Moeen or Washi.

• Moeen Ali(1.7 cr)

This comes off a little iffy, but look. In his 3 matches this year, which although is a small sample size, he has looked completely out of sorts. But even more compelling is the fact that he has been in extremely poor form for England as well. I think RCB can afford to release him and look at alternate options, which I shall elaborate later.

• Dale Steyn(2 cr)

He has been nothing but a pale shadow of his glorious days. RCB should try to still keep him within the camp though, as a fast bowling mentor for our Indian quicks, who seemed to have learnt a lot from him.

• Umesh Yadav(4.2 cr)

He has been woeful bowling at any stage of the innings, something which RCB cannot be having, especially from your most experienced Indian fast bowler.

• Joshua Philippe(0.2 cr)

Again, this looks kinda iffy but there is sound logic to this. Firstly, he is an opener, of which we have many already. Moreover, the fact that he keeps doesn't really help, given Parthiv as an Indian already provides that option. Also, the commentators on air and on Cricbuzz did mention that his keeping skills are not really up to par. He just does not justify an overseas slot.

• Pawan Negi(1 cr)

He does not bat a lot for his domestic side these days(Delhi), and has diminishing returns with the ball. Quite a decent player, but I think we have a pretty good upcoming talent in Shahbaz Ahmed who plays a very similar role to Negi, but better.

• Chris Morris(10 cr)

When he has played, he has been pretty decent. He was a relief for all of us when he bowled at the death, where we often expect carnage from opposition batsmen. However, his batting has gone quite downhill, and he seems to get injured very often these days. South Africa too do not select him these days in their LOI squads. Hence, Morris certainly does not justify his high price tag of 10cr, which is why I call for his release.

• Gurkeerat Mann Singh(0.5 cr)

He was supposed to our Indian middle order batsmen, somewhat similar to Ishan Kishan of MI, who would shepherd through the middle overs for us safely and then go all guns blazing at the death. He has been woefully underpar this season and struggled to find the boundary to save his life. Surely RCB can look for better domestic middle order batsmen.
Releasing these players gives us a solid purse of 30.4 cr.
So who should RCB target next auction? For the following list, I am only mentioning the names of players who are not in any IPL team at the moment. This list would certainly update itself closer to the auction.

• Dawid Malan

We really need someone to bat through the middle overs, where we have struggled to maintain a good run rate continuously. Malan is a certainly the guy who could do it for RCB.

• Heinrich Klaasen

He is a guy who could bat along with ABD towards the death and find boundaries easily. He is quite a destructive finisher with a few innovative shots up his sleeve, so certainly I feel RCB should get their guy back. More importantly though, this guy keeps, which puts ABD back on the field like we all want to see. A suitable alternative for him could be Sam Billings who was decent for CSK, but I prefer Klaasen as he is a bit more consistent and has been with RCB before.

• Mitchell Starc

We need a fast bowler who people are genuinely afraid of. Someone who also can bowl at the death after we have released Morris. Given Starc has also played for RCB before, I feel he would fit right in. This is of course on the assumption that he plays next year. If not for him, RCB would have to look for another gun quick like him. Perhaps look at some other guy like Adam Milne, Chris Woakes, Junior Dala or even Liam Plunkett for his experience.

• Shakib al Hasan

Again, he is a superb middle order player, and can be a fantastic third spinner for RCB after Chahal and Washi. He could also take somewhat of a leadership role along with VK and ABD. He could be somewhat of our Kanos in our non firing middle order. If in fact we are unable to buy him, there are 3 left field options RCB could opt for, being Dhananjaya de Silva from Sri Lanka, or Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza from Zimbabwe.

• A decent backup Indian quick - Sushant Mishra

Every team is unearthing a fast bowling talent, for RR it is Tyagi, for MI it is Bumrah, for KKR it has been Nagarkoti and Mavi. I feel RCB could get Sushant Mishra, an U19 left arm quick, who bowls near 140 kph. Could certainly be really handy. Obviously there are other options out there, which aren't as popular and mainstream which perhaps the RCB scouts could find, but you get the idea. A left field option could perhaps me Ganesh Periyasamy from the TNPL. Dude apparently bowls with an action like Malinga's and took a 5 for in the final. It would be beautiful to see RCB destroy MI and CSK with a Tamil Malinga.

• Harpreet Singh and Rohan Kadam

These two guys play regularly in the middle order for their SMAT teams, Chattisgarh and Karnataka respectively. They do so very well and have very respectable stats. I think RCB should certainly look to purchase them, which could give them some Indian options for their middle order. Rohan also adds some Kannada identity to this RCB team. Harpreet was one of the highest scorers in the SMAT, and is Chattisgarh's captain, which is an added bonus.

• An overseas fast bowling all rounder

Instead of shelling 10 cr to Morris, RCB could certainly snag alternatives at the auction for a much lower price. The following are possible alternatives: Andile, Dwaine Pretorius, and Mitchell Marsh. There are probably a few others out there, but they are just missing my mind at the moment. RCB could also just try to get back Morris if possible, but at a lower price. That would be smart though, something which our franchise isn't well known for at the auctions.
​
Of course, these are just names who are not in any IPL team thus far. With other franchises releasing some of their players, this list could certainly wear a fresher look. Moreover, there are other minor areas RCB could cover, like getting a replacement for guys like Chahal, but I do believe I have covered the more prominent issues here. Assuming the above happens, the following would be our best XI:

1. Kohli(c)
2. Padikkal
3. Dawid Malan
4. Heinrich Klaasen(wk)
5. AB de Villiers
6. Shivam Dube
7. Washington Sundar
8. Mitchell Starc
9. Saini
10. Siraj
11. Chahal

Important things to note about the above XI:

• Kohli should open. His best season was when he opened, and it should stay that way. Just stick to it for another season. Moreover, he would be opening with Padikkal, his mentee this season.
• Malan and Klaasen are tasked with guiding RCB through our middle overs. Malan should play the role Raina has played for CSK. Klaasen's role is more of playing an important role in finishing the innings along with AB de Villiers. There is an inherent element of risk in this, in that either of these guys, who do not have much experience in the IPL, may not perform well. Shakib can then be brought into replace either of them. Preferably Malan, as Klaasen keeps.
• ABD is batting 5. Yes, I know. I feel that 4 is too high for him, and he should be playing the role Pollard plays for MI, which is to just give massive impetus at the back end. RCB's 2 best batsmen are Kohli and ABD. And for that reason, they should not be batting together as much, because when 1 of them get out, the other get out soon after. They should be spaced out nicely so that RCB are never overly dependent on either of them. To compare this with MI, their best batsmen are Rohit and Pollard, yet they very rarely bat together. At the most, Klaasen goes 5, ABD goes 4, but really not any higher.
• The bowling attack is predominantly Indian, with our one overseas bowler, Starc being our X factor. Hence, it is imperative that RCB do go all out for their overseas quick.

​
These are just my personal thoughts, and this took very long to type :). Please do state your comments below, thanks!

Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets!
Man of the Match : Suryakumar Yadav

Match Summary

CSK 131/4 (20 Overs)

Batting
Rayudu 42(37)* Dhoni(c & wk) 37(29)*
Bowling
Rahul Chahar 2/14 Krunal Pandya 1/21

MI 132/4 (18.3 Overs)

Batting
Suryakumar Yadav 71(54)* I Kishan 28 (31)
Bowling
Tahir 2/33 Harbhajan 1/25

Match Highlights

Official IPL Website Links
Match Highlights
Ambati Rayudu 42(37)*
Suryakumar Yadav 71(54)*
Imran Tahir 2 in 2

Post Match Interviews

Suryakumar Yadav: Was very important for someone in the top three or four to bat till the end because the wicket was slow and turning. After first innings I saw what happened, not too many players were able to hit the shots in the air. So I wanted to play down the ground, pick singles and doubles. Had the chat after first innings that someone from the top-order will have to play towards the end because it won't be easy for players coming in later.
Rohit Sharma: Was a great effort. Great feeling to know that we'll be playing the finals. Three days now in which we can switch off before the final. Much needed break. I knew we have the bowlers to restrict them. Have the confidence in our batters as well. Was important to restrict them to as little as possible, because it can get tricky against their quality spinners. Was a call we had to make, knowing they have quite a few right-handers in their squad. Jayant is a quality bowler. Thought that a finger-spinner can be more effective than a wristie. Knew MS was going to be crucial towards the end. We had plans laid out. When you restrict a team like that under 140, it looks very good. Credit to our bowlers for executing that. He's probably one of our best batsmen against spin. We knew the spin threat they possess will be a huge factor. Surya plays spin very well. I've seen him at close quarters. The shots he plays behind the wicket, those are not easy shots. Always knew he was going to come good at some stage. We've got a balanced squad. Whatever the conditions are, we've got the squad for them. Have the balance we need on that kind of pitch. Even the batters are confident in what they want to execute. That's probably one of the reasons we've had some success in Chennai because we play the conditions well and understand the conditions well.
Ishan Kishan: My plan was to rotate strike as Surya was batting well. Wasn't an easy track for a new batsman to start on, especially with Jaddu bhai bowling well. We had got depth in the batting and so we knew that it was all about taking the game as deep as possible. We don't play here much as it's not our home and with the ball turning, wasn't easy to bat in a T20 game. However, me and Surya have some experience of these surfaces due to the domestic games. We were looking to be positive as we couldn't allow the bowlers to settle. (On making the final) It's a good feeling, we have a couple of days to rest. Need to back our strengths like the earlier games, need to believe in ourselves and give our best.
MS Dhoni: Somebody has to lose, things really didn't go our way, especially batting. At home, we had to assess the conditions quickly, we have played 6 to 7 games on this pitch and should have read the pitch better, that's the home advantage. We needed to know how the pitch behaves, would it be tacky? Is the ball coming on or not, those were the things we didn't do well, I think the batting needs to get better. These are the best batsmen we have got, it looks like we are are batting well, but at times, but in different games, they pull off shots that shouldn't be played. These are the players who we have banked on, they have the experience and they should know to assess the conditions better, hopefully, we will do well in the next game. I think we were a bit unlucky at times, some balls dropped right in the middle, a few catches weren't taken. We perhaps had to bowl slightly away from the batsmen, could have slowed down the pace and bowl with more variations. But we didn't have runs on the board, so every boundary conceded in a 130 defence was bad. It isn't good to lose games at such times, but it is good that we finished in the top-two, rather then going over the wicket (straight to the finals), we now need to go round the wicket (to qualifier 2), that means the journey takes a longer time. But luckily, we finished in the top-two and that gives us a second chance.
Some stats, courtesy Cricbuzz Stats guy, Deepu Narayanan --
Fourth consecutive win for MI against CSK - the first team to do so
Won by eight wkts, Pune, 2018
Won by 37 runs, Mumbai WS, 2019
Won by 46 runs, Chennai, 2019
Won by six wkts, Chennai, 2019
CSK's last 21 matches at Chepauk
Won 18
Lost 3 (all three vs MI)
Rohit Sharma vs CSK at Chepauk
Won by seven wkts, 2008
Won by 31 runs, 2010
Won by eight wkts, 2012
Won by nine runs, 2013
Won by six wkts, 2015
Won by 46 runs, 2019
Won by six wkts, 2019
Most IPL finals
7 CSK
5 MI *
3 RCB

Hi Manav7, you're not shadowbanned, but 73 of your most recent 83 comments/submissions were removed. They may be removed automatically by spam filters and not necessarily by human moderators.
Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 55th Match - Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super...", 1pts (05 May 19):

Where are you watching all this? Star sports is showing me the MI vs KKR build-up

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 55th Match - Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super...", 1pts (05 May 19):

Ffs, show Dhoni's post match talk, no one wants to watch the toss :(

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 54th Match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v...", 1pts (05 May 19):

That wasn't a wide man. Sundar was standing outside his off stump

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 54th Match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v...", 1pts (05 May 19):

*Nigel wrogn

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 52nd Match - Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight...", 1pts (04 May 19):

And Pant too

Comment in Cricket, "MS Dhoni and CSK have traded data and analytics for...", 1pts (04 May 19):

Mistake in the article, CSK have made seven finals, not six

Comment in Cricket, "Which is your favorite IPL match in the 12 seasons so far?", 1pts (03 May 19):

KXIP vs CSK, Dharamsala, 2010, Dhoni smashing Pathan for two huge sixes in the last over to win the game. That was a must win for CSK to get into the knockouts. After chasing the total, Dhoni punched ...

Comment in Cricket, "Which is your favorite IPL match in the 12 seasons so far?", 1pts (03 May 19):

You do know that in 2014 and 2015, Dwayne Smith played for CSK?

Comment in Cricket, "Post Match Thread: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals", 1pts (02 May 19):

That's an old school CSK win. Raina, Dhoni among the runs, and the spinners strangling the opposition batsmen

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 50th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi...", 1pts (02 May 19):

What will CSK's NRR be now? And DC's?

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 50th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi...", 1pts (02 May 19):

Lol Mishra absolutely dumbfounded by how much that ball bounced

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 50th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi...", 1pts (02 May 19):

Forgot the 51 off 20, 2012. Which included a helicopter shot off a Malinga yorker. Forgot the 40 off 26, 2017. 2 sixes off Bumrah 63 off 40, 2013. 51 off 26, 2013. "Never", you say.

Comment in Cricket, "Ishant with an absolutely stunning out swinger. Taken from...", 1pts (28 Apr 19):

Well, England dropped Kohli 7 or 8 times throughout the series. They also missed Stokes for 1 or 2 tests. That sort of logic works both ways.

Comment in Cricket, "CSK Becomes The 1st Team To Qualify For Playoffs In Vivo...", 1pts (28 Apr 19):

All teams have the same budget at the auctions

Comment in Cricket, "[Post Match Thread] Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians", 1pts (27 Apr 19):

I doubt that is an unpopular opinion

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 44th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai...", 1pts (26 Apr 19):

What are you, 4 years old? Raina is an IPL legend, and had a great India career.

Comment in Cricket, "Ladies and Gents, I present to you the scumbag captain of...", 1pts (25 Apr 19):

I am no fan of Kohli, but I believe Kohli was berating Umesh for bowling in the slot. It wasn't a send off for Ashwin.

Comment in Cricket, "David Warner is the IPL GOAT? 🐐", 1pts (25 Apr 19):

I hope you mean GOAT top order batsman or something. If you are talking about overall contribution to a team, the GOAT is undoubtedly MSD. Maybe even Narine ranks above Warner.

Comment in Cricket, "How many of you feel MS is bit of a hypocrite. I may be...", 1pts (24 Apr 19):

others of the same calibre

Btw, no such person exists

Comment in Cricket, "Now Really What's The Secret Behind It?", 1pts (24 Apr 19):

Even during the auctions, the owners don't interfere. Dhoni, Flem and the rest of the support staff call all the shots

Comment in Cricket, "How many of you feel MS is bit of a hypocrite. I may be...", 1pts (24 Apr 19):

The fielders are slow, but they still hold on to their catches. In terms of percentage of catches taken, CSK are first or second atm

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 41st Match - Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers...", 1pts (23 Apr 19):

Its playing exactly the same as all those previous games. SRH are batting smartly, that's what teams need to do there. CSK also got 176 and 160 the 2 times they batted first on that pitch.

Comment in Cricket, "Chennai Super Kings have won the toss 9 times in 11 games", 1pts (23 Apr 19):

Interestingly, we have won the match every time we have lost the toss

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 41st Match - Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers...", 1pts (23 Apr 19):

176

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 41st Match - Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers...", 1pts (23 Apr 19):

CSK scored 176 and 160 in the 2 games they batted first.

Comment in Cricket, "[Post Match Thread] Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai...", 1pts (22 Apr 19):

RR vs CSK was the best one!

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 39th Match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v...", 1pts (21 Apr 19):

Why do you want it? Everything about it is just wrogn

Comment in Cricket, "KKR is a piece of shit without Dre Russ.", 1pts (20 Apr 19):

Take Rohit out from MI and then let's see what happens.

Comment in Cricket, "Time for IPL HALL OF FAME", 1pts (19 Apr 19):

Watson- 2 MVP awards (2008 and 2013) Bravo- 2 purple caps (2013 and 2015), absolutely instrumental for CSK when they won in 2011 and 2018

Comment in Cricket, "[POST MATCH THREAD] Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals.", 1pts (19 Apr 19):

Your captain just said that he would have chased if he won the toss.

Comment in Cricket, "This is hilarious!!", 1pts (18 Apr 19):

It's cricbuzz

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 33rd Match - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai...", 1pts (17 Apr 19):

That's absolutely shit logic. That is true for all home games, yet the home fans outnumber the away fans in places like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore.

Comment in Cricket, "Match Thread: 33rd Match - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai...", 1pts (17 Apr 19):

What kind of CSK fan are you? I hate these idiots who just became fans last year because of CSK's awesome "comeb