Form with RCB in clash with Royals
JAIPUR: It has been a topsy-turvy ride for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2018. Virat Kohli & Co had a horrible start to their campaign and with just three wins from nine games, reaching the playoffs looked like a distant dream. However, they have bounced back brilliantly with three consecutive victories and will be brimming with confidence when they take on Rajasthan Royals in a must-win clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on
Saturday. The biggest factor behind RCB’s resurgence has been the performances of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. The duo slammed impressive half centuries to help their team chase down a challenging target set by Delhi Daredevils, while against Kings XI Punjab, Kohli made short work of the modest target with an unbeaten 48. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kohli fell to Rashid Khan for just 12 but it was De Villiers’ moment to shine as he scored 69 off 39 balls to pave the way for his team’s vic- tory.
The other positive for RCB in these three games has been their bowling and the biggest example of that came against Kings XI when they bowled out their opponents for just 88. The bowlers have performed well in death overs too.
Umesh Yadav, who took three wickets in that game, has been the pick of RCB bowlers with 17 wickets in 13 games and it is no surprise that skipper Virat Kohli is quite confident ahead of Saturday’s crucial encounter.
“Going into our last three games, we had our backs against the wall. (But now) The team’s feeling great and we certainly have the momentum,” he said.
Royals, on the other hand, lost their last game, against Kolkata Knight Riders, and will be without their star batsman Jos Buttler who will miss the rest of the tournament due to national team commitments.
Buttler has been the heart and soul of RR batting with five half centuries in the last six games and his absence will be a huge blow for the side which desperately needs a win to quality for the playoffs.
D’Arcy Short is the likely replacement, but he has not performed that well this season with just 115 runs under his belt from 7 matches.