Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower said the decision-making in their camp ultimately came down to the batters as they weighed up whether to chase down a steep target or focus on finishing at the top of the standings when they faced Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, May 22. RCB fell short by 55 runs while chasing 255, but the result still suited their wider objective: they kept their net run-rate ahead of both SRH and Gujarat Titans, ending the league phase at the summit.<\/p>\n
Flower explained that the early discussions had revolved around going after the 255, yet they had also mapped out other possibilities depending on how the match unfolded. \u201cWe were in a position to keep pushing to chase down 255, but ultimately we got the job done and topped the league. It\u2019s quite a tricky situation when you\u2019ve got these conflicting things\u2014winning the game and ensuring we top the league,\u201d Flower said after the contest.<\/p>\n
He added that the side had looked at multiple numbers throughout the day. \u201cWe did discuss the various targets. So I think we needed 166 to confirm top two, 179 to confirm top of the league and obviously 255 to win the game. I thought Venky (Iyer) batted brilliantly up front to give us that impetus. And then we wanted the batsmen to get a feel of the game out there and make a decision about whether they wanted to take on the 255 or the 180.\u201d<\/p>\n
Securing first place means RCB will advance directly to Qualifier 1. Historically, the franchise that wins Qualifier 1 has gone on to lift the title in 12 of the last 15 IPL seasons. Flower also singled out Iyer for special praise, pointing to how effectively he has handled limited opportunities so far.<\/p>\n
With Jacob Bethell unavailable due to injury, Iyer was pushed to open the innings and produced a rapid knock of 44 off 19 deliveries, helping keep RCB in contention even against what proved to be an unlikely chase. The knock also meant RCB went with three overseas players in the playing XI, despite having Jordan Cox available as a top-order option.<\/p>\n
Flower said he had \u201ca lot of respect\u201d for Iyer, emphasizing that the batter had waited for his chance and made the most of it whenever selected. \u201cHe\u2019s had to wait for his chance. And every time he\u2019s had a chance, either as an Impact Player when we\u2019ve needed the extra batsmen because we\u2019ve got ourselves into some trouble in the innings, or in the last two matches when he\u2019s been given a chance\u2014first at number four in Dharamsala, and then today opening the batting\u2014he\u2019s taken all of those chances. So his attitude through the season has been outstanding,\u201d Flower said.<\/p>\n
The coach continued by highlighting Iyer\u2019s preparation and mindset throughout the season. \u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of respect for a man that\u2019s played a lot of IPL cricket, played for India, and was sitting on the sidelines waiting for his chance. He\u2019s been in that dugout. He\u2019s had a big smile on his face all the time. He\u2019s practised hard every single practice session. He\u2019s worked hard. He\u2019s worked hard at his bowling, his fielding and his batting. And he\u2019s been exemplary, to be honest. So a lot of respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flower also noted that as the match progressed the pitch slowed down, with the slower deliveries gripping more, which made batting more difficult in the later stages. Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori, meanwhile, said the pitch behaved in the way they had expected, while also crediting RCB with enabling a bigger total than they initially estimated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was exactly how we anticipated, that\u2019s why we batted first. I think it was like the Punjab wicket, where there were a lot of runs to be had, but like the Punjab game, RCB dropped a lot of catches, which actually gave us more runs than we potentially deserved,\u201d Vettori said. He added that although the scoreboard looked imposing, it still made sense on that surface, and estimated that a total in the 200 to 220 range would have been a strong outcome. \u201cBut I thought 200 to 220 was a really good score on that surface.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vettori further mentioned that SRH have won only three tosses this season, yet over the past three years they have consistently chosen to bat first on pitch number two across the last three years, and they repeated that approach against RCB. He also pointed out that for SRH, as is often the case, the foundation for their big total was laid during the Powerplay, where the top order attacked the new ball.<\/p>\n
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is a joint-holder of the Purple Cap, conceded 25 in his opening two overs and finished with figures of 0-51. Vettori said their plan to counter Bhuvneshwar\u2014who previously played for SRH\u2014was based on the fact that SRH\u2019s openers are willing to take on bowlers, and that the conditions in Hyderabad don\u2019t offer much swing, which reduces a significant part of what Bhuvneshwar can do. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen our openers bat for 14 games for three years,\u201d Vettori said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to take anyone on, and it doesn\u2019t swing in Hyderabad, so that negates a big percentage of what Bhuvi does, and he\u2019s been an exceptional bowler for every team he\u2019s been at. And he\u2019s had another fantastic year, so to have any chance of winning, we had to take him on, and fortunately, today was our day.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the league stage concluded, RCB and GT will meet in Qualifier 1 on May 26, while SRH will play the fourth team to qualify in the Eliminator on May 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower said the decision-making in their camp ultimately came down to the batters as they weighed up whether to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"RCB vs SRH: Andy Flower on IPL chase strategy","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Andy Flower explains how RCB\u2019s batters shaped the chase vs SRH\u2014despite falling short by 55 runs, the strategy kept RCB top of the table.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n