It’s not easy being an RCB fan. The team has always had star power, but we don’t have IPL trophies in the 15 years that the tournament has been played. For all the trolling that the RCB franchise gets for not winning the trophy, it might seem that RCB has never even come close. The truth, however, is far from that. RCB has consecutively qualified for the playoffs for the last three years but has fallen short ahead of the final hurdle. If you are an RCB fan, living your life becomes easier because RCB’s performance is as unpredictable as life often is.
RCB started this IPL season with an 8-wicket win against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli getting 82*, Faf du Plessis scoring 73, and a 148-run partnership sealed the deal for RCB. It was an emphatic win and was enough to raise our hopes yet again. Virat opening the batting, scoring runs, our captain scoring runs, Siraj bowling well in the powerplay overs – I thought, this is THE season. Then RCB did what RCB does best. They became inconsistent, the momentum started dropping, and they dropped a few close contests. By the time RCB was done with 11 games, we had won 5 and lost 6, and from then on, every single match became a do-or-die. By then Kohli was struggling a little, Faf was nursing an injury, Maxwell was performing on and off, and the rest of the batters were lost somewhere. And I could slowly see the cup slipping away from us yet again.
We have seen a very different RCB against RR and SRH in the last two games. Virat Kohli is back among runs and he isn’t slowing down anymore after the power play. Maybe the fact that other batters weren’t backing Faf, Maxwell and his performances had pushed Kohli to slow down. That was costing RCB. Finally, Kohli decided to not care and go out there and express himself, and the result was a blistering century against SRH and a show of his class. Faf has been the workhorse for RCB and has the orange cap with 702 runs in 13 innings. RCB had won 5 games before the last two, but the previous two games have given us the much needed momentum. The body language has changed, and the fearlessness can be seen – fearlessness, not unnecessary aggression. The overused word “intent” is very much on show. They know they must win every match from hereon, and they seem hungry. Cricket is a game of momentum; you win close matches when you have the momentum of victories behind you because you are calmer in pressure situations.
As an RCB fan, seeing how RCB won the last two games gives me, and the millions like me, the hope that we can conquer this peak, and the heart does feel “E saal cup Namde”!
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