IPL 2022 | Brad Hogg shares his views on Faf du Plessis' poor strike rate in the powerplay

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg feels that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis' poor strike rate in the power play puts extra pressure on Virat Kohli to take charge. 

The RCB captain is one of the top scorers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, but he only holds a strike rate of 104 in the first six overs. 

The former Proteas captain is now the opening partner of Kohli after the franchise made the switch from Anuj Rawat midway through the season. However, with Kohli yet to return to his best, the onus is on Du Plessis to make sure the team manages to post a good score in the powerplay.

While talking about the LSG pacers can take advantage of this weakness, Hogg said on his YouTube channel: "Du Plessis strikes at 104 in the powerplay and that puts Kohli under pressure at the other end, who has just found his touch but is not at his best yet. So, Chameera and Avesh Khan can capitalize on this by consistently bowling at the top of off and make them play shots they don't want to. LSG do not want Maxwell facing Bishnoi and Pandya in the middle overs, because he dominates spin."

Virat and Faf recently put up a 115-run stand in their must-win match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium. Du Plessis played the role of the anchor while chasing and ended with a strike rate of 115.79. 

Faf's style is similar to KL Rahul, who also plays with a low strike rate in the initial phase of the innings. The 30-year-old batter only has a strike rate of 94 in the first six overs. But, he has managed to score 537 runs which came at a strike rate of 134, and his early departures with a poor scoring rate have always put pressure on the others in the team.

Meanwhile, Hogg, however, supported RCB in putting LSG under pressure. Rahul has to think about the attack from Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell in the powerplay itself. 

"LSG don't handle pressure situations well. If RCB win the toss, they will ask Lucknow to chase. The powerplay phase will be crucial in this contest. KL Rahul has got to lift his strike rate in the powerplay, it is not good enough. It puts too much pressure on the rest of the batting unit. You also cannot allow Maxwell to have an economy of 5 or less in the powerplay," said Hogg. 

On the other hand, LSG have faced various occasions where Rahul has helped the team put up a decent total as well. Moreover, their all-rounders in the team help them accelerate in the final overs of the innings as well.

"LSG are dominant in the death overs with the bat while RCB are the worst bowling attack in that phase. LSG could turn a 160 score into 190 if they capitalize on a good start," he added further. 

The Super Giants face RCB in the IPL 2022 Eliminator at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, May 25.