RCB need to up their game against Srh

Alast-ball victory in n the opening match against Mumbai Indians ndians gave the Royal Challengers Bangalore campaign this season an early boost. Beating the defending champions ampions was not just a matter of bagging ing points, but also a massive confidence ce builder. The RCB have never won the IPL PL title, a cause for much astonishment and debate in cricket ricket circles over the past decade at least. In most seasons, ns, the franchise ha has as boasted some of the most stellar names mes in the game, with wit th Virat Kohli, arguably the best batsman man in contemporary contemporar ry cricket, at the helm, but without reward. ward.

Sometimes, having a galaxy of players actually be beecomes a burden. Remember, Rajasthan than Royals were th the he least expensive franchise in the opening pening season of th the he IPL (2008), but they were brilliant on the field as Shane Shan ne Warne led a young side to a memorable able triumph.

Failure to win the title has increased ed the pressure on th the he RCB. Over the years, various players ers have been bought bough ht and off-loaded, the squad has been n rejigged – Kohli and an nd AB de Villiers the only constants – but success has been bee en elusive.

Whether this season will be different fferent remains to be b seen. A good start is a big help, but the RCB will have to tot show sustained ambition and excellence ellence over the next nex xt five weeks if they are to be in the playoffs layoffs to earn a sho shot ot at the title.

To do that, the RCB will have to do o better than they di did id against the Mumbai Indians. It wouldn’t uldn’t have been lost lo ost on the Sunrisers Hyderabad how the Bangalore team’s team m’s batting stuttered once Kohi was dismissed, missed, which left De D Villiers in sole charge to complete the he win.

It was the genius of De Villiers that t pulled off that excitexci iting win against mounting odds, but ut the vulnerability in i RCB’S batting stood exposed despite ite a useful contribu contribuution from Glenn Maxwell. The RCB actually had to than thank nk Harshal Patel for his five-wicket haul ul which restricted th the he Mumbai Indians to 159.

The Sunrisers bowling attack had d an off day in the their eir first match against the Kolkata Knight ght Riders, but this is unlikely to be the case every time.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan rajan are usually very ver ry accurate and parsimonious. To score runs, batsmen batsme en have to take the attack to them, which ich enhances the risk ris sk quotient. The bigger threat for RCB B on the spin friendly friend dly Chepauk pitch, however, will be from om Rashid Khan an and nd Mohammad Nabi if he is retained. Rashid’s wicket- wicket-taking takin ng ability in this format remains marvelous, elous, and he has the th he ability to turn a match on its head in n an over or two.

RCB’S spinners Yuzvendra Chahal hal and Washington Washingto on Sundar looked somewhat undercooked oked in the opening openin ng match. In fact, Chahal bowled with such poor control th that at Kohli might be tempted to consign him to the nets for th the he next couple of games.

A wobbly and inexperienced middle order remain remains ns Hyderabad’s vulnerability. Against t the Knight Riders, Rider rs, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and d the young Abdul S Saamad did play well, but their efforts were not enough. Skip Skippper David Warner’s contribution at the top will be the key ke ey to the team’s fortunes.