Another IPL season has started, and so have the woes of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Faf du Plessis-led team on Friday became the first IPL 2024 team to lose a match at home whey they were thrashed by Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets. Being one of the few franchises to have never won the IPL trophy, they are making the job tough for themselves with only one win in three matches. Can RCB sport a turnaround this time?
The nature of the loss to KKR on Friday has led to criticisms with many experts such as Michael Vaughan claiming RCB will never win an IPL title with this bowling line-up. The comment deserves the question whether RCB’s bowling is really that poor? If one delves deep, it can be seen that RCB’s woes are far greater than just poor bowling line-up.
RCB’s problem: Outscoring opponents
Cricket is a simple game. Two teams bat, the one who outscores the other wins. However, that has been the problem for RCB. It cannot be said that RCB have a below-par batting line-up, but they lack fearless batters in the line-up. The ones like Cameron Green or Glenn Maxwell who are there, misfires more often than not, leading to RCB not being able to post enough runs on the board, just like in the KKR match.
Bowling woes
First of all, their pace attack is not ideal, with Mohammad Siraj the only one that can take wickets at regular intervals. Yash Dayal, Siraj’s new ball partner, gives away a lot of runs and Alzarri Joseph’s line and length is inconsistent. Moreover, RCB lack a mystery spinner who can at least stem the flow of runs in a small ground like Chinnaswamy even if a breakthrough can’t be provided.
RCB has not been able to break the Chinnaswamy code
Other IPL teams have had run fests galore in the Chinnaswamy stadium, but RCB have failed in that regard in their own backyard. A prime example of this is Friday’s match. While RCB scored 60 odd runs in their powerplays, KKR amassed over 80 runs to take the game away from the hosts. RCB’s home record is poor than most other IPL teams, demanding them to win a lot of away game, which is not always possible.
‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ a distant dream this year too?
The way RCB has started this tournament, it seems like they are a part of the same vicious circle that has frustrated the fans and the players alike all these years. However, if Argentina can win the FIFA World Cup after losing to Saudi Arabia, why can’t RCB? After all, they also have cricket’s Lionel Messi by their side. Question is, who will turn out to be RCB’s Emi Martinez?
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