A blitz with the bat followed by some brilliance with the ball saw Bangalore beat Kolkata by 82 runs and move level on 10 points with Mumbai and Delhi at the top of the IPL T20 League standings.
Here are the key talking points from the match:
AB Delivers
Few sights in cricket are as scary for a team as AB de Villiers in full flow, and Kolkata found themselves on the receiving end of a masterclass from the great South African who smashed 73 off 33 to lead Bangalore to a massive total of 194. While all other batsmen struggled to time the ball on a sluggish surface, de Villiers found the middle with almost every stroke, seeming as though he was batting on a different surface altogether. The veteran smashed six sixes and five boundaries in a match-winning performance for his side.
Dinesh out of his depth?
While there are some serious questions that Kolkata have to address if they are venture deep into the tournament, none more so than the form of their captain Dinesh Karthik. The Kolkata skipper was dismissed after scoring just 1, his fourth single-digit score in five matches, an extremely worrying sign for the team’s title aspirations. Karthik has also been susceptible against leg-spin, having been dismissed thrice to a leggie already this season. It remains to be seen if Kolkata decide to let Eoin Morgan take over the captaincy to relieve some pressure off their struggling star.
Sundar's sublime spell
Despite bowling the majority of his spell in the early half of the innings, especially in the powerplay overs, Washington Sundar has been one of the most economical bowlers in the Indian T20 League this season and produced another gem in the highest-scoring ground of this season. The 21-year-old gave away just 20 runs in his four overs, an economy rate of just five, which is the joint second-best that anyone has managed alongside Rajasthan's Rahul Tewatia at Sharjah. Sundar’s economy rate this season is a scarcely believable 4.90 and the young all-rounder is one of the primary reasons for Bangalore's brilliant campaign so far.
| Player | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Team | Opposition | Match Date |
| YS Chahal | 4 | 12 | 1 | 3.00 | Bangalore | v Kolkata | 12-Oct-20 |
| R Tewatia | 4 | 20 | 1 | 5.00 | Rajasthan | v Delhi | 09-Oct-20 |
| Washington Sundar | 4 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | Bangalore | v Kolkata | 12-Oct-20 |
| Rashid Khan | 4 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 | Hyderabad | v Mumbai | 04-Oct-20 |
| R Ashwin | 4 | 22 | 2 | 5.50 | Delhi | v Rajasthan | 09-Oct-20 |
Table: Top 5 economy rates at Sharjah in an innings in Indian T20 League 2020
Bangalore are legit
After three mediocre years since their appearance in the final in 2016, Bangalore have finally put together a team that is capable of ending their long wait for a title. In Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Bangalore have a reliable as well as consistent batting line-up, and in Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini, they have a bowling core that has clicked and continues to deliver for the team in each passing match. All-rounders Shivam Dube and Chris Morris provide great versatility to the playing XI and while there are a couple of areas of concern, Bangalore are still a highly competitive side that can beat even the best team on their day, as they proved with their victory over Mumbai earlier in the season. Could this be Bangalore best bet to end their trophy drought?
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League
