RCB lost their first match of the season in a home game.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) started the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with two wins on the trot. Their first two games were against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk. Despite facing two of the most challenging games at the beginning of the tournament, the Rajat Patidar-led RCB conquered them easily.
They handed the biggest-ever home defeat to CSK after winning the match by 50 runs. This was also their second victory at Chepauk in the history of the IPL. Previously, they also ceased the opening night of the IPL over the defending champions KKR as they won the game comprehensively by seven wickets.
However, RCB couldn’t use their home advantage at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. They faced an eight-wicket defeat against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
We look at three reasons behind RCB’s loss against GT.
Despite losing two quick wickets of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal under three overs, RCB batters did not try to build a partnership. Their formidable opener Phil Salt, who scored a 31-ball-56 against KKR and 16-ball-32 against CSK, threw away his wicket in a blind-slogging approach. He had slammed a huge 105-metre six to the former RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj. When he tried to repeat the same in the next ball, Siraj uprooted his stumps with a cracking delivery.
The newly appointed skipper Patidar also did not show composure during the powerplay. Though he carried the innings in the last match vs CSK with his vital 51, he managed to hit only two boundaries before being dismissed for just 12 runs.
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GT spinner Sai Kishore conceded just 22 runs in his four overs at an impressive economy rate of 5.50 and dismissed Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya. The first innings showed that the pitch was offering help for the spinners. After putting up 169 on the board, RCB brought in pacer Rasikh Salam as the Impact Player. They could have brought Suyash Sharma or Swapnil Singh instead of Salam.
Last night, Salam leaked 35 runs in three overs at a high economy rate of 11.66. Suyash might have been a better impact player than Salam as he went for just 32 runs in his four overs against CSK.
The Patidar-led RCB lacked a proper plan against the explosive hitter Jos Buttler. The English wicketkeeper-batter just took 39 balls to notch up a match-winning 73, which included five boundaries and six over-boundaries. Out of the 39 balls he played, 24 were bowled by Salam, Yash Dayal, and Liam Livingstone.
He faced the pace pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood for just eight balls. Keeping Bhuvneshwar away from Buttler might have played a big part in their loss against GT. The 35-year-old was exceptional last night as he conceded just 23 runs in his four overs at an economy rate of 5.75. He also scalped the wicket of Gill with an outside off delivery to dismiss him for a run-a-ball 14.
Previously, Bhuvneshwar made a strong comeback after missing the opening match against KKR. He impressed with his figure of 1/20 in three overs against CSK.
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