Royal Challengers Bangalore saw off the threat of Punjab Kings to secure their third win of IPL 2023 in Mohali. Despite their victory, some question marks have been raised over their lack of intent with the bat after an underwhelming finish to their batting innings. Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was on commentary duty during the match, critiqued the approach of the RCB batters.
The visitors, led by stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, made a solid start after RCB's star opening duo of Kohli and Faf du Plessis registered their second-century stand in the 16th edition of the tournament. However, their batting innings lost momentum after the ten-over mark, despite not losing a single wicket.
That is when former Australian opener Matthew Hayden criticised the RCB batters for not putting their foot on the accelerator and not trusting their strong batting line-up. Hayden's words rang true at the innings break as Punjab Kings managed to restrict the Men in Gold and Red to a par total after a blistering start.
"Can't waste balls, even when one of these two decides to bat till the last five overs, the other has to go, can't just be strolling around. They will have to trust their long batting line-up," Hayden said in commentary during the 14th over of RCB's innings.
The emphasis will always have to be on scoring quickly: Hayden
The strike rate of batters has been one of the major talking points of the ongoing edition of the IPL, and the ex-cricketer reckoned that the teams should always look at scoring quick runs instead of securing partnerships. He cited the example of Chennai Super Kings' iconic skipper MS Dhoni, who has been looking to smash the ball out of the park from the get-go.
"You talk about the impact players in this IPL, the guys have won matches and sides can never afford to be lured into this false sense of security by batting just securely in partnership. The emphasis will always have to be on scoring quickly. Look at MS Dhoni, who was striking at 400 in one match," he said.
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