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'Look at MS Dhoni...': Hayden lambasts Kohli, du Plessis for 'wasting balls' vs PBKS in IPL 2023
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden said Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis should not have wasted so many deliveries in the middle overs against PBKS.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis put on their second century opening partnership in IPL 2023 and third overall but the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings never got the desired momentum against Punjab Kings. Kohli and du Plessis, the most successful opening pair of this IPL, put on their second-highest opening stand of 137 but the pace at which they scored was questioned by the likes of Matthew Hayden, Rohan Gavaskar and Simon Doull in the commentary box.
Kohli and du Plessis took 16.1 overs to score 137, which in the end, put a lot of pressure on their middle order and they were unable to tee off. Despite such a big opening partnership, RCB could only manage to score 174 for 4.
While du Plessis, who was playing only as a batter in Mohali due to an injury, did his best by scoring at a strike rate of 150, it was Kohli, the captain of RCB in this match, who struggled to get going. The former India captain ended up with 59 off 47 balls, scoring at a strike rate of only 125.
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden said Kohli and du Plessis should not have wasted so many deliveries in the middle overs. "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.
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Fellow commentator and former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar also joined in and said PBKS would not have been too unhappy despite not being able to pick wickets.
"If you have a look at the scorecard and see 110 for no loss, 'oh great start'. Having said that PBKS won't be too disappointed with where they are in terms of match context. If they have a good backend, they can restrict RCB despite not taking a wicket," Gavaskar said.
Hayden continued and gave MS Dhoni's example to highlight the importance of the strike rate in modern-day T20 cricket.
"This is where the matrix of the game is largely not recognisable in terms of batting strike rate. It is so fundamental in T20 cricket, especially at the back end. 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.
Kohli's strike rate against pace was pretty good. He hit four fours and a six and scored at a strike rate of 165 but the problem was against spin. He faced nine dot balls out of 21 and scored only 16 runs at a strike rate of 76.
RCB, however, won the match quite comfortably thanks to Mohammed Siraj's brilliance with the ball. The right-arm pacer picked up 4 for 21 to help RCB bowl PBKS out for 150 and win the match by 24 runs.
