Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Wayne Parnell admitted that the bowlers let the batters down after they could not defend a par score of 212 runs at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Monday.
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell scored fifties for RCB to help them go past the 200-run mark. Kohli scored 42 runs in the PowerPlay overs as the home team raced to 56-0 after the end of six overs. The former RCB skipper went on to score 61 runs.
Faf also found his timing after the 10-over mark whereas Glenn Maxwell was able to hit the ground running. The RCB skipper scored 79 runs from 46 balls whereas Maxwell smashed 29-ball 59.
On the other hand, RCB had LSG on the mat as the visitors were reduced to 23-3 after four overs. However, Marcus Stoinis (65 off 30) and Nicholas Pooran (62 off 19), turned the tables for the tourists.
RCB bowlers failed to execute their plans against LSG batters as they could not put a lid on the scoring rate. Apart from Mohammed Siraj and David Willey, all the RCB bowlers conceded their runs at an economy rate of more than 10.
“Pretty tense it was there. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the last ball. Credit goes to Lucknow for the way they chased it down. A couple of their guys came in and looked like they weren’t going to miss anything. That’s probably the difference in the game,” Wayne Parnell said in the presser.
In fact, RCB could have got more than 212 which they eventually managed. The South African who replaced the injured Reece Topley in the RCB squad, was delighted to play for the franchise on Monday.
“Also, here at M Chinnaswamy, chasing is something that is good to do as the wicket gets better under lights. And that was the case this evening as well. I wouldn’t say butterflies, but obviously very excited being part of the IPL is obviously special for any cricketer. To have such a long break and then be back and playing for RCB is really special. Playing my first game here at the home stadium is nice.
“The general trend here at Chinnaswamy is that it gets better under lights. The way Stoinis came in and played, allowed guys to come in and take the game on early. Pooran did that as well, with some very clean hitting. The wicket was a bit slow (at the start), this was the same wicket that we used against MI.
“I think you could see that Faf and Virat, both being natural stroke players, did not struggle but mistimed a couple of balls. But, under lights, it skidded on a bit more. Even though they started “slowly”, Virat played a brilliant knock, Faf played all the way through. Any coach would be happy about that. From a bowling point of view, we may let our batters down a little bit. It’s just about going back to the drawing board,” Parnell added.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will next take on Delhi Capitals at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday.
