Just like the fans, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was also left surprised as Virat Kohli walked out to open the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2020 Eliminator on Friday (November 6).
Kohli, who had batted at No. 3 for the most part of the IPL, decided to promote himself at the top of the order along with Devdutt Padikkal. However, the move backfired as SRH all-rounder Jason Holder dismissed the RCB skipper for just 6.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Tendulkar lauded Holder for bowling a tight line and length and said while Kohli looked determined to make a mark, the bounce generated by Holder did the trick.
“Holder’s opening spell was really good and I was surprised to see Virat open the innings. It was a different strategy which didn’t click. Virat looked positive but when Holder was bowling to him, he was trying to carve the line. He trying to cover Holder’s outswing, walking towards bowler to reduce the distance to cut the swing. But Holder gets more bounce than other bowlers as he’s very tall. And that’s what did the trick. Virat was beaten by the bounce,” Tendulkar said on his YouTube video.
“Immediately after that, he got Padikkal out, so he got two main players out, along with AB de Villiers. These three have stood like pillars for RCB this season and have contributed immensely. So Holder getting these two wickets was the game changer for me.”
Apart from Holder, Tendulkar was pleased with the bowling effort of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.
“The spinners also bowled well. Rashid always bowls well but even [Shahbaz] Nadeem bowled really well along with him. When he bowled to AB de Villiers, if you see the footwork, when he (de Villiers) doesn’t have the freedom to attack, he tries to attack the spinners off the backfoot. He was waiting to move a bit towards the leg stump,” Tendulkar pointed out.
“Had Nadeem bowled a bit short, he’d attack him off the backfoot. But wisely, Nadeem didn’t give him any room to free his arms to generate power. Whenever he moved towards leg stump, Nadeem would follow him. I really enjoyed watching that spell.”
Coming to the IPL 2020 Eliminator, SRH registered a 6-wicket win over RCB to book their place in Qualifier 2.
Asked to bat first, RCB posted only 131/7 in 20 overs. It was a listless performance as none of them besides AB de Villiers (56 off 43 balls) managed to touch the 35-run mark.
In reply, SRH overhauled the target in 19.4 overs. After losing the top three wickets early, Kane Williamson anchored the chase and remained unbeaten on 44-ball 50 while Holder played a valuable cameo of 20-ball 24* to see the team through.
