Fifteen seasons of pain, and no silverware. There was hope amongst Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fans that the IPL 2023 would be different. But it wasn’t to be. A few players stepped up when it mattered, but RCB couldn’t fire collectively and made an early exit before the play-off stage of the IPL.
What we predicted
RCB wouldn’t reach the playoffs. The reason was that they seemed to lack the required balance to put on a consistent show through the league phase. It is true that parts of the engine room seemed to be in good shape – Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli with the bat, and Mohammed Siraj with the ball. Just that the ancillary parts didn’t seem to be strong enough.
Where did they finish?
The loss against Gujarat Titans in their final game of the league phase meant that they finished a lowly sixth in the points table. They went into their last game of the campaign placed fifth. Virat Kohli’s splendid ton powered RCB to a score of 197. But in good conditions for batting, it wasn’t enough.
What went wrong?
The support cast was found wanting as the likes of Anuj Rawat, Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror and company were inconsistent. Even Wanindu Hasaranga, who was expected to lead the attack, couldn’t perform up to expectations. Yes, Harshal Patel took 14 wickets in IPL 2023, but he wasn’t as effective as he was in previous seasons in slightly different conditions to what we witnessed at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Josh Hazlewood and Rajat Patidar’s injuries didn’t help the side either.
What went right?
Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli aggregated 939 runs as a partnership. Individually, they ended up with 730 and 639 runs. Maxwell too provided the duo some good support.
Saving grace
On the bowling side of things, Siraj led the attack with grit and skill and took 19 wickets in the tournament. It felt as if whenever du Plessis needed a wicket or looked to restrict the opposition in the slog overs, Siraj was his go-to man.
Flop show
Dinesh Karthik. A lot was expected from the wicketkeeper-bat. He was to spearhead RCB’s efforts with the bat in the death overs. But he accumulated just 140 runs in 13 matches. His strike-rate too was on the lower side at 134.62. At 37, it seems like Karthik is coming to the end of a fine and lengthy career.