“Can’t Waste Balls…”: Australia Great Slams Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis For Poor Strike-Rate

Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli hit half-centuries to set up Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Faf hit 84 off 56 balls, while Kohli registered his 48th half-century, scoring 59 off 47 balls. While the pair added 137 runs for the first wicket in 16 overs, former Australia batter Matthew Hayden was not impressed with their scoring rate. Hayden criticised Faf and Kohli for wasting balls, saying that both players have to trust other batters.

“We can’t waste balls; even when one of these two decides to bat till the last five overs, the other has to go; we can’t just be strolling around. They will have to trust their long batting lineup. 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,” Hayden said on-air.

To further back his claim, Hayden gave the example of CSK captain MS Dhoni, who has been scoring boundaries at will while batting down the order.

“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 added.

RCB captain Faf is leading the Orange Cap race with 343 runs in six matches, while Kohli is third in the list, having scored 279 runs in as many games.

RCB will now take on Rajasthan Royals in their next match on Sunday, April 23.