JOIN USRCB in danger of early exit
With a balanced unit on paper, the Royal Challengers Bangalore looked good to end their title drought at the start of this edition of the Indian Premier League.
Fast-forward to the current scenario, the threat of being knocked out of the league looms over RCB as the tournament moves towards its business end.
An inconsistent season largely marked by uninspired bowling and unsettled combination, the Challengers have mustered just four wins out of ten games to stay sixth in the table with eight points. With four games to go, Virat Kohli’s men require an all-win effort to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The Challengers showed signs of revival in their struggling season when they posted two back-to-back wins following a three-match losing streak but a six-wicket thumping at the hands of Mumbai Indians here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday has put their campaign in deep trouble.
“The plans are clear. We need to win all our games. We need to win four out of four. We're going to go out there and play fearless cricket and try winning all the games,” explained Rahul at the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
The clear-cut option ahead of them, where they need to go all out in their remaining fixtures, could bring the best out of RCB but the road ahead is anything but easy for Kohli’s men.
RCB first face table toppers Gujarat Lions and then take on the formidable Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab before their final league game against Delhi Daredevils.
The Challengers’ batsmen had a rare-slip in their previous game but it was encouraging to see their bowlers show stomach for fight while defending 151. The fielders too stepped up to support the bowlers.
“I honestly believe that the team is peaking. The batting has come together, we're fielding well, we're taking some good catches, the bowling is getting better and better with each game. Take it to the 19th over while defending 150 at the Chinnaswamy is actually a job well done by the bowlers. If we had got 10-15 runs more, maybe we would've won this game,” Rahul noted.
Apart from the bowling, the continued struggle of Chris Gayle has forced the RCB think-tank to change their combination quite often. Rahul said that the team hasn’t lost faith on the Jamaican.
“Chris is dangerous up the order and we all know if he fires he can get us to 200-250 on any wicket on any ground. You back a guy like Chris Gayle to go out there and give his best for the team. You can't always expect him to deliver; sometimes it doesn't happen. That's why there are ten other guys to go out there to give their best,” he said.