MATCH STORY
Follow Us“Will Jacks has always been the answer.” AB de Villiers knew it from the start, but it took Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) five games to realise what they had at their disposal.
The 25-year-old has been one of the hottest properties in T20 leagues and when RCB bought him in the 2022 Auction for INR 3.2 crore, many called it a steal. But with the reputation Glenn Maxwell carries, Jacks was always going to start on the bench.
And that’s exactly what happened. Maxwell started ahead of Jacks but failed to put any bat to the ball. The hard-hitting Australian started the season with scores of 0, 3, 28, 0 and 1 in the first five encounters, and Bengaluru were forced to get Jacks in the playing XI.
The Englishman’s introduction to the IPL wasn’t great, getting out for just 8 off 6 against Mumbai Indians. In the same match, Maxwell registered another duck and then decided to take a “mental and physical break”. That left RCB with no other option but to persist with Jacks.
Jacks showed glimpses of his hard-hitting ability against Kolkata Knight Riders, smashing 55 off 32 deliveries, but his best was yet to come. The best that everyone witnessed in the SA20 and the Bangladesh Premier League earlier this year - where he got more than 400 runs at an average of 33.5 and a strike rate of 174.
The IPL was yet to witness Jacks’ beast mode but the wait finally came to an end on April 28 (Sunday). Chasing a target of 201 against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Jacks smoked 100* off 41 deliveries - the fifth-fastest ton in IPL history.
Virat Kohli too scored 70* off 44 deliveries, however, it was Jacks who stole all the limelight with some of the most brutal hitting you would see in a cricket match. RCB hunted down the target in just 16 overs and have somewhat kept themselves alive in the race for the playoffs.
Jacks eventually finished with a strike rate of 243.90 but looked dodgy at the start. He came to the crease in the fourth over. Skipper Faf du Plessis (12-ball 24) had just gone back after playing a brisk cameo, while Kohli was operating at a strike rate of less than 100.
With Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore bowling the final two overs of the powerplay, Kohli realised that he would have to take care of the scoring to give Jacks enough time to settle in. Kohli got two sixes and a four in those two overs and kept the scoring rate above 10.
The former Indian skipper got to his fifty off 32 deliveries but Jacks was struggling to pick the tweakers. The right-hander was on 17 off 17 at one stage before getting a move on against Mohit Sharma. Jacks always prefers that deep mid-wicket region and that’s where he hit his first maximum of the evening.
Mohit Sharma was clobbered for a six and a four before Kishore and Noor Ahmad were also sent over deep mid-wicket. Jacks raced to 44 off 29 deliveries and with 53 needed off 36 deliveries, RCB would have been expecting to finish the job with an over or two to spare.
But what followed in the next two overs was something that no one would have expected. Jacks went berserk and hammered seven sixes and three fours in the next two overs and the game was over just like that. 29 off Mohit, and then 29 more of Rashid - his most expensive over in T20s.
All it took Jacks was five minutes to wrap up the game.
“Amazing feeling right now. Faf and Virat got us off to a very good start. I struggled early on but Virat kept his intensity up and gave me the chance to find my rhythm. Once we had the time-out, we said, 'let's get two really good overs here and we win the game'. Once that happened, I just kept going,” said Jacks after being named Player of the Match.
“I was trying to be positive (against spin early on), was just struggling. I was trying to overhit the ball, probably a little bit tensed. Once I got one away off Mohit, I relaxed, got into my innings and then just trusted myself. I need to be a bit more adaptable at the beginning of my innings and get myself in a little bit quicker. I was lucky today because 17 off 17 is not going to win you many games. The other guys around me saved me earlier today.”
That other guy Jacks is talking about is Kohli, with whom he put on an unbeaten stand of 166. “It's amazing, he's a legend of the game and is someone everyone looks up to. To spend some time in the middle is a great feeling a huge learning curve. When I go away from the IPL, I'll learn so much from batting with him and playing with him. I'll try to take it all on board.”
Jacks slammed 10 sixes in total and all of those came through the leg side, with the majority of them going over the deep mid-wicket fence. In fact, 83 of his 100 runs came through the on side. Jacks’ hitting was unreal and it even left Kohli awestruck who was laughing in disbelief.
"I mean when he (Jacks) initially came onto bat, he was a bit annoyed that he wasn't able to strike the ball as cleanly as he wanted to, but the only conversation between us in the middle was to keep backing, keep committing because we know how explosive he can be,” said Kohli.
"My role completely changed as soon as he got that big over off Mohit, for good. I was glad to be watching the game from the other end. I mean, I thought we could win the game in 19 overs, but to finish it in 16 overs was an outstanding effort. I think it was one of the better T20 hundreds one would ever see, I was just happy to watch it closely from the other end."
Jacks got to his ton with a six off Rashid and RCB finished the game with 24 deliveries to spare, the most number of balls left in a 200-plus target ever in T20s.
With the 35-year-old Maxwell having a terrible season, this performance from Jacks could augur well for RCB's future. The mega auction is bound to happen before the next edition and don’t be surprised if he ends up being the only overseas player RCB retain.
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