Elements dampen RCB revival plans
In an Indian Premier League that pulls in the biggest stars of cricket, Royal Challengers Bangalore have stood out for the ‘galacticos’ in their ranks.
Even if two of their big guns --Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, skipper Virat Kohli and Shane Watson --- boom in a game, the opposition will find it difficult against the Bangalore side that has risen and fallen with their batsmen.
However, at the halfway mark in the 2017 IPL, Virat Kohli’s team are languishing at the bottom of the table, having won just two of their seven games ahead of Tuesday’s clash against holders Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RCB can be written off at one’s peril. Last season, they came racing up the points table by winning six of their seven games before finishing runners-up.
However, this time things look dire. What should the legion of RCB fans expect now? After collapsing for the lowest IPL total of 49, in the 82-run defeat against KKR at the weekend, they won’t get their hopes high of the team making it past the league stage.
A lack of momentum at the start, with both Kohli and de Villiers not starting the season due to injury, has hurt RCB. Gayle has scored just 144 runs in five innings, and if one takes out the 77 in a 122-run match-winning partnership with his skipper, four innings have fetched 77 runs.
Shane Watson has hardly been the impact all-rounder, scoring 61 runs in four innings with the highest of 24. Add two wickets to that and it is average.
Virat Kohli, despite his firstball duck against KKR, has been steady, scoring 62, 28 and 64 on joining the side. Other than that only Kedar Jadhav has been consistent, scoring 175 runs in the seven games RCB have played.
But he has got little support from all-rounder Stuart Binny, who averages 19.25 in the seven games, with a highest of 18.
The absence of opener KL Rahul and Aussie spearhead Mitchell Starc this season due to injury is hurting RCB. And in a season where fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada (both Delhi Daredevils), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Mitchell McClenaghan (MI) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (KKR) have been so effective, RCB’s man has not fired.