IPL 2018: Match 48, KXIP vs RCB – Most Valuable and Liable Player of the game

Royal Challengers Bangalore rose up to the Kings XI challenge in a must-win match not only bagging two crucial points but also improved their NRR while denting KXIP’s confidence and chances. It was expected to be a high scoring game between the two sides with strong batting line-ups at a venue with short boundaries. However, the home side failed to tackle RCB’s plans and end up throwing away wickets. They were packed up for just 88 runs on a pitch that witnessed 210+ runs being scored by both the teams a couple of days ago.

Umesh Yadav was once again on fire against his favourite opposition Kings XI Punjab as he now has a total of 26 wickets vs them. Yadav’s pace proved too much to handle for the home team openers as he claimed the key wickets of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle in the same over. This exposed their weak middle-order and the batters were once again disappointing with their shot selection. Umesh finished his four overs with figures of 3/23 which earned him a value of 76 lakhs according to the CricTracker’s Player Value Algorithm and was the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Virat Kohli didn’t waste any time and opened the innings along with Parthiv Patel to finish the chase without losing a wicket. The pair shared an unbeaten stand of 92 in just 8.1 overs to boost their NRR which is the 2nd best among the teams in contention for a playoffs spot. Kohli’s 48-run innings was valued at 63 lakhs while Parthiv’s 40 was valued at 57.25 including his fielding efforts. Parthiv’s match value is equivalent to 4.7 times his average match salary as he was bought by RCB for 1.7 crores.

Captain Ravichandran Ashwin was the Liable Player of the match as he got runout on the very first ball he faced. Ashwin later conceded nine runs in the only over he bowled. Andrew Tye too bagged a duck while batting but bowled four overs for 33 runs including nine dot balls. Their strategy of playing with an extra batsman in place of injured Mujeeb Ur Rahman didn’t help their cause. Aaron Finch and KL Rahul were the only players to score more than 20 runs during their innings and gained the highest value in this match for the home side.