Bhuvneshwar Kumar explains rationale behind not using Krunal Pandya in RCB's defeat to GT

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 1 : Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT), pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended teammate Josh Hazlewood's expensive spell in the powerplay and explained the team's tactical decision to not utilise spinner Krunal Pandya during the match.
RCB endured a difficult outing with the bat as wickets fell at regular intervals despite a steady start from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. The defending champions were eventually bowled out for 155 in 19.2 overs. In response, GT skipper Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler dominated the powerplay, with Gill particularly attacking Hazlewood early on, scoring 24 runs in his first over. The Aussie star conceded 49 runs in his three overs during the powerplay and ended with poor figures of 0/56 in four overs.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Bhuvneshwar backed Hazlewood, saying it was simply an off day in a long tournament.
"I would not say anything went wrong, but I will say it otherwise that they (GT) batted well and I think it depends on a good day or bad day. He (Hazlewood) had an off day and it happens to anyone when it is a long tournament, 14 league matches, but the way we are bowling in the power play, we are happy. I mean, it is just one of the games in a long tournament where somebody had an off day, but we tried our best," he said.
An interesting tactical decision from RCB during the defence of a modest total was the decision not to bowl Krunal Pandya at all, instead handing the ball to an out-of-form Romario Shepherd and young spinner Suyash Sharma. While Shepherd made the match more interesting with his spell of 2/30, it was not good enough to prevent GT from taking the game.
Explaining the decision, Bhuvneshwar said the pitch offered assistance to seamers and hence, RCB handed the ball to Romario, who had been struggling with his rhythm till then and showed faith in Suyash's hard-to-pick deliveries.
"There was some help for seamers, and we went ahead with Romario. Suyash is not easy to pick and we wanted to get wickets as quickly as possible. We wanted to take our chance, get wickets as quickly as possible. We could not have won the match by defending runs, but by taking wickets. The bowlers who bowled were the best ones to get wickets," he added.
On the catch taken by Jason Holder to get RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, which generated controversy as to if the ball touched the ground or not while Jason dived to complete the catch, Bhuvneshwar said that they wanted umpires to have a closer look at that.
"I was not there, but what I can see that we saw that the ball touched the ground. We wanted an umpire to have a closer look at that," said the veteran pacer.
The veteran pacer further revealed that during his batting partnership with impact substitute Venkatesh Iyer, the team's plan was to target a total around 170, considering the early assistance for fast bowlers.
'The conversation was to take the game deep, but Venky got out," he added.
Bhuvneshwar, who currently holds the Purple Cap with 17 wickets in nine innings, said individual accolades no longer drive him, with team success being the priority.
"It is good that I have the purple cap. But I want to achieve more for my team. I am not that young anymore that I want the cap. Of course, when you are young, you want to win those awards, and it comes when you do well. But when you want to work towards the team's goal, and you get an individual award or reward, you feel good. But honestly, I am just trying my best, getting confidence from the management," he signed off.
Coming to the match, GT opted to bowl first. Virat Kohli (28 in 13 balls, with five fours) got RCB off to a good start, with five successive fours against Kagiso Rabada (1/44). But courtesy fine spells from Arshad Khan (3/22), Rashid Khan (2/19) and Jason Holder (2/29), RCB continued to lose wickets regularly. Devdutt Padikkal (40 in 24 balls, with five fours and two sixes) was the top-scorer as RCB posted 155 in 19.2 overs.
During the chase, quickfire knocks from skipper Shubman Gill (43 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Jos Buttler (39 in 19 balls, with two fours and four sixes) aided GT's run-chase, but after losing all three top-order batters at 92, GT sank to 111/5. But Rahul Tewatia (27* in 17 balls, with four boundaries) held one end steady, taking GT to fifth spot in the table with their fifth win of the season in nine matches.
RCB, meanwhile, stays at the second spot, having suffered its third loss in nine matches.