Talking points from Bangalore's dominant victory over Kolkata

A shocking display with the bat by Kolkata set up an easy victory for Bangalore, which saw them leapfrog Mumbai into the second spot on the league table.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

A sizzling spell from Siraj

After a horrible performance against Punjab, where he finished with figures of 0-44 in three overs, Bangalore dropped speedster Mohammed Siraj from their subsequent contest. Bangalore opted to give him another opportunity against Kolkata and the pacer more than redeemed himself, bowling a career-best spell of 3-8 in his quota of four overs, which included two maiden overs, a first in Indian T20 League history. Siraj dismantled the Kolkata top-order which helped Bangalore restrict Kolkata to just 84 in their 20 overs. 

• Twitter in meltdown as Mohammed Siraj creates history

Doomsday batting from Kolkata

At one point in the contest, Kolkata's score read 3/3. That really sums up their performance today. They became the first team to lose four wickets inside the first six overs this season and also the lowest score of any team in the powerplay with just 17 on the board. Not only did they bat terribly at the top, but it also continued throughout as they batted the entirety of quota of 20 overs and put up the lowest score in league history through an innings without losing all 10 wickets. A shocking display from top to bottom.

Table: Lowest powerplay scores in Indian T20 League 2020

Morris waves his magic wand

While Siraj is rightfully grabbing all the headlines for his incredible show with the ball, Bangalore's other speedster Chris Morris, too, had an outstanding night, continuing his incredible form this season. In his first three overs, Morris gave away just six runs, which includes a maiden. Morris couldn’t add to his tally of nine wickets but gave away just 16 in his quota of four, improving on his already ridiculous economy rate of 5.25 before this contest. 

Morgan's major gaffe with the ball

Defending just 85, Kolkata had absolutely no hopes of winning this contest, however, they seemingly threw in the towel even before Bangalore chased down the total, showing no fight whatsoever at the start of the second innings. With wickets an absolute necessity, captain Eoin Morgan handed three over to pacer Pat Cummins inside the first six overs which defies logic, as the Australian speedster has only three wickets to his name this season. Bear in mind that Kolkata had Lockie Ferguson in their arsenal, who picked five wickets, including the two in the Super Over, in their previous match against Hyderabad. Bangalore breezed through the powerplay without losing a wicket and then lost two in the space of three deliveries in Ferguson’s first over of the night. A baffling display with the bat which followed an even puzzling showcase with the ball.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League