Bengaluru: Struggling to find form in their own den, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to regain control of their IPL campaign at home when they meet a floundering Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday.
RCB’s three defeats at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in as many matches offer one of the biggest paradoxes of this edition. An outfit that has steam-rolled opposition in all parts of the country has been left chasing shadows in their own backyard.
The RCB batters have appeared strangely subdued and their bowlers seem to have forgotten the lengths to adopt here.
Central to that woeful run is the changed character of the 22-yard strip here which has offered some grip to the bowlers.
The Bengaluru batters are yet to find the right tempo to tide over the slowness in the pitch, as they seem to have been caught in the dilemma of whether to step on the gas or not.
It’s evident in the team’s totals here so far — 169/8, 163/7 and 95/9 (14 overs). They have scored over 9-10 runs an over in other venues, but here the rate has dropped down to 7-8 runs an over.
Their mainstay Virat Kohli has been in decent form this season, averaging 64, but more would be expected of Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Rajat Patidar.
The inconsistent bounce is holding back the RCB batters, particularly after the Power Play segment and, hopefully, they will find the rhythm against RR.
The Bhuvneshwar Kumar-led bowling attack’s story is not different either. Despite the deck offering some assistance they have not been able to fully utilise the conditions here, unable to find the right spots.
Avoid mid-table tussle
RCB currently have 10 points to be placed at third on the table but Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants also have 10 points. Mumbai Indians are quietly sneaking up the ladder with eight points.
If they win against Sunrisers Hyderabad then MI too will have 10 points and can displace RCB (4.7) from the third slot on account of better net run rate (4.8).
Therefore, a favourable result will help RCB to stay above the possible mid-table logjam of four teams with 10 points.
RR’s turmoils
Rajasthan have a messy house to deal with. Sanju Samson will miss this match with an abdominal injury that earlier forced him to skip the game against Delhi Capitals as well.
Riyan Parag will continue to lead the Royals, who are currently tottering at eighth on the table with four points, in the absence of their regular captain.
Their front-line batsmen — Yashasvi Jaiswal, Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Nitish Rana — are in reasonable form despite six defeats in eight matches and the start made by young Vaibhav Suryavanshi is also encouraging.
However, the bowlers’ lack of penetration has hurt them badly. Wanindu Hasaranga (6 matches: 9 wickets) is their leading wicket-taker but the Sri Lankan spinner has taken four wickets in one match and struggled in the rest.
Jofra Archer (8 matches, 8 wickets), Maheesh Theekshana (8 matches, 7 wickets) and Sandeep Sharma (8 matches, 6 wins) too offer a similar tale.
They have not either been able to take wickets or stem the run flow, and Archer (9.33) has the best economy rate among the bowlers tells a story.
The Royals management will hope that they will regain some mojo on the Chinnaswamy track which, by the occurrences of the recent past, will have something in it for them to explore.
Teams (from):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (capt), Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (capt), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (injured).
