By Bharath Ramaraj
Overview
The engrossing contest between Reece Topley and Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first practice session finished with the duo having a brief discussion. It was perhaps about Topley’s ability to extract bounce and the left-arm angle. Glenn Maxwell too was seen practicing in the other net at the same time. As the two stalwarts trained, cameras were zoomed on them. Every single time Kohli cracked a lofted shot, the noise was deafening with chants of ‘Virat, Virat’ reverberating around the stadium.
Even when one of RCB’s superstars from the years gone by, AB de Villiers, came out to wave at the crowd, there was a frenzied atmosphere. For a moment, leave alone what was happening inside the stadium, as even while walking along the stretch of Cubbon Road, the excitement reached fever pitch. This is RCB for you. Full of colour and heightened anticipation. But the RCB fans also have 15 seasons of pain to look back at. Can the Faf du Plessis-led RCB break that jinx? Can the likes of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj and company help Du Plessis in converting that unfulfilled dream into ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ for RCB? Hope springs eternal.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Last season, RCB’s bowling worked rather well. Hasaranga turned out to be their trump card with his brand of scrambled-seam googlies. The wrist spinner, who ended up with as many as 26 wickets last season, would again spearhead the RCB attack. Harshal Patel was another vital cog in the side. The experienced cricketer mixed up his pace nicely and scalped 10 wickets in the death overs. However, since then he has struggled a bit with injury worries and loss of form. There is also a feeling that some of the batters have started to decode his loopy slower ones. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood provided them with the option of having a bowler who hits hard lengths. Although, this year, there are doubts over his participation for at least a part of the IPL due to an Achilles injury.
Siraj had a forgettable IPL last year but he has bounced back since then, especially in the ODI format. Shahbaz Ahmed has been a utility cricketer for RCB, but he plucked only four wickets in last year’s tournament. So RCB might have a small hole as far as the second spinner slot is concerned. To make matters worse, Hasaranga is set to miss a few games due to national commitments.
Among the batters, Dinesh Karthik would again be relied upon to provide the finishing touches. The veteran wicketkeeper had a whopping strike-rate of 183.33 in the slog last year. Du Plessis had a consistent run for RCB last season. But if we scratch the surface, his strike rate in the PowerPlay was just over 100, something that he would look to improve upon. Obviously, the RCB camp would be pleased with Kohli returning to form.
Strategy Watch
With Rajat Patidar, their swashbuckling batter, laid low by an injury, Anuj Rawat could be considered. Rawat couldn’t find form last year, but RCB might be tempted to pick a left-hander in the top 3. Manoj Bhandage could be used as a floater. The southpaw can strike some eye-catching shots square on both sides of the wicket, and he bowls seam-up.
Impact Player Watch
It could be Avinash Singh, the fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir. After Umran Malik, here’s another quick bowler from that region who can generate good pace with a side-on action at back-foot landing. Incidentally, he started bowling with the leather ball only around a year ago.
Last Year
Finished with 8 wins and 6 losses in the league phase, and then lost to Rajasthan in Qualifier 2 after having beaten Lucknow in the Eliminator.
Best finish
RCB have been runners-up on three occasions, in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
Likely XI: Faf du Plessis (C), Anuj Rawat/Rajat Patdiar, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Manoj Bhandage/Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Reece Topley/Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj.