Report Card: CSK v RCB Qualifier 2 Player Ratings

Report Card: CSK v RCB Qualifier 2 Player Ratings: A nervy encounter was settled by some sensible and decent performances from the Men in Yellow. RCB were put into bat by Dhoni and it proved to be a genius decision. Constant fall of wickets dried up the runs and RCB batsmen found it difficult to score and ultimately ended their innings at just 139. A mature innings was needed in such low scoring and important game, and who else but the veteran Mike Hussey delivered it on the big night. Hussey and Dhoni ensured CSK kept ticking and in the end it was a comfortable victory for the now 6 time finalists. They will now face the Mumbai Indians in the final of IPL 2015.

Chennai Super Kings –

Dwayne Smith – 2:

Dwayne Smith has been out of form for quite some time now. And he struggled to get going tonight as well. With McCullum gone Smith had the responsibility to play a good innings, but he failed to stay at the crease for longer.

Mike Hussey – 8:

Mike Hussey was easily the best player on the day. When most batsmen found it difficult to score, Hussey showed his class and used all his experience to keep the game alive for CSK. It was a well timed innings on a slow pitch. He also picked up a brilliant catch coming in from the deep to get Mandeep out.

Faf du Plessis – 3:

Managed to score just 21 but looked good and was out to a brilliant delivery from Chahal. Faf du Plessis should have certainly done better. Needed a calm and composed innings but Faf wasn’t the man to deliver it on the night.

Suresh Raina – 3:

Out for a duck, it was a miserable day for Suresh Raina. Was expensive with the ball but picked up the most important wicket of Gayle when he looked like he was about to put his foot on the accelerator.

MS Dhoni – 5:

Was a commendable performance from the CSK skipper but was slow to get going. But Dhoni effectively ensured that CSK get home easily. Got out in the last over when just 1 run was needed.

Pawan Negi – 2:

Bowled just the over and it was a good and economical over.  Hit a six in the final overs but his overall contribution was nothing worth remembering.

Dwayne Bravo – 4:

It was just one wicket from the leading wicket taker and CSK’s chief threat. Bravo bowled just the 3 overs and was out first ball to a perfect Starc delivery. Was a below par performance but got an important wicket of Sarfaraz Khan when he was looking dangerous.

Ravindra Jadeja – 0:

Jadeja didn’t affect the game at all. Bowled just a single over and went for plenty of runs in that. Was pushed lower down the batting order and didn’t get many balls to really have any impact on the game.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 7:

Ashwin was the best CSK bowler on the day with a commendable and memorable performance. His form was a big worry but he silenced his critics with a superlative performance when it mattered the most.

Mohit Sharma – 6:

Was a good bowling performance from Mohit Sharma. He was miserly and deprived the RCB batsmen of any runs and ultimately was rewarded with Wiese’s wicket.

Ashish Nehra – 9:

His bowling was extremely accurate and his experience mattered when CSK needed it the most. Nehra picked up the crucial and extremely valuable wickets of Kohli and de Villiers. He also got Karthik out who looked like taking the game away from CSK.

Royal Challengers Bangalore –

Chris Gayle – 5:

Gayle was yet again the best RCB batsman on the day. He tried to hold the innings together with his valiant effort. It was a good knock on a spinning track from the big West Indian. His running between the wickets was poor. Dropped a simple looking catch and in such low scoring and high stakes game you cannot afford to do that.

Virat Kohli – 2:

Looked to hit some beautiful shots early on but was out to a soft dismissal yet again. It’s the second time in a row that Kohli has failed to affect a game with his batting, and that is rare, very rare. RCB needed Kohli the most, Ranchi being a slow pitch but the skipper wasn’t able to deliver a good innings.

AB de Villiers – 0:

AB had a forgetful day with the bat. He wasn’t able to repeat his heroics of the last game and RCB’s batting suffered due to his and Kohli’s dismissals.

Mandeep Singh – 0:

AB de Villiers’ man of the match from last game was not able to deliver this time around. After a splendid effort in the last game he was poor in this match. His lack of game time might have played a role in Mandeep’s efforts. It was a poor shot to get out when he didn’t need to take any risks.

Dinesh Karthik – 3:

It can be termed decent outing for the under fire wicket keeper. But Karthik was once again not able to convert his start into a big performance. And that has been his key problem in this IPL. Another chance wasted.

Sarfaraz Khan – 4:

Tried his best to up the run rate and was effective with his short cameo of 31 off just 21 balls. Sarfaraz would have liked to stay at the crease till the end, but overall a decent innings looking at the overall play.

David Wiese – 5:

Scored just 12 but picked up the crucial wicket of the man in form – Mike Hussey. His batting was poor and his only notable contribution was the wicket. Wiese clearly needed to do more.

Harshal Patel – 3:

RCB needed wickets at the start and Patel didn’t offer anything. He was economical but failed to provide with much needed wickets in a low scoring game. Though he picked up Dhoni’s wicket in the final over, but it was already too late.

Mitchell Starc – 4:

It could have been considered a decent performance for anyone else but for the best bowler in the world it was a poor performance. Mitchell Starc failed to deliver with important wickets when RCB craved for it. The only wicket that he grabbed was that of Bravo which came in his last over.

Sreenath Aravind – 4:

This was a below par effort by Arvind after setting a high bar for himself with his previous performances. Picked up just one wicket but was economical in his 4 overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 6:

He was extremely good with the ball. Chahal picked up important wickets of du Plessis and Raina in the same over, to open the door for his team. His economy rate in the game was maintained at 7. But on a slow wicket he should have done better being the only spinner of the team.