CHENNAI: They have a man who has scored four centuries in a T20 event. They have another whose hobby-list includes smacking the roof of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium every now and then. They have yet another who makes batting look like a derivative of kung fu.
Meet the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who, despite all the above, couldn’t during the last edition of the IPL shrug off a moniker that’s stuck to them for eight years: the perennial bridesmaids. Three finals — 2009, 2011, 2016 — and yet no silverware to show.
As ironic as it may sound, the first paragraph — especially in the context of last season — can also be construed as the reason behind this albatross that stubbornly refuses to let go of their neck. Skipper Virat Kohli was in god mode; 27 shy of the 1,000-run mark at an average and strike-rate of 81.08 and 152.03. His lieutenant AB de Villiers too was in top form (687 runs, average 52.85, strike-rate 168.80). Their lowest score in the tournament was 170. So what went wrong?
Bowling is the one-word answer for that. For starters, Yuzvendra Chahal — RCB’s top wicket-taker last season — had an economy of 8.16. Left-arm speedster Sreenath Aravind’s economy of 7.40 was the best among mainstays.
A closer look at RCB’s losses — six — last year further underscores this bat-and-ball disparity. Four came while setting targets. All those totals were northward of 170, with the highest being 191/6 against the Delhi Daredevils. As a statistical extension, the lowest score that RCB successfully defended was 175/6 (against Kings XI Punjab), a match won by only one run.
Last year’s final against the Sunrisers Hyderabad serves as a perfect example of RCB’s bowling inadequacies. Though the Orange Army had been pinned to the mat, a Ben Cutting cameo propelled them from 148/5 in 16.1 overs to 208/7 in 20 overs. Three bowlers — Chris Jordan, Shane Watson, and Iqbal Abdulla — ended with 10-plus economies.
The Challengers, though, aren’t strangers to adversity; it rather brings out the best in them. They needed four wins out of four to reach the qualifiers last year. They did. This edition, though, is an even more feral animal, and it hasn’t even begun.
Kohli’s out for two weeks, there are question marks over de Villiers’ fitness, and KL Rahul’s name has disappeared from their roster for good.
Not only does that put the Challengers under pressure for finding a stop-gap replacement for Rahul, but the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Mandeep Singh now have a bigger burden to shoulder. Though Tymal Mills — their new bowling enforcer — has shown glimpses of potential, he isn’t an established threat.
A long, arduous season awaits, and only time knows if the Chinnaswamy Men can rise up above all this time around.
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com
New arrival Tymal Mills
A T20 specialist, Mills’ stocks skyrocketed after his performance in the three-match T20 series against India that preceded the IPL auction. He hit 150 kmph quite a few times, bowled yorkers accurately and hurt India with slower balls at the death. With Mitchell Starc pulling out, Mills has his task cut out, especially on the flat tracks of Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Dangerman Yuzvendra Chahal
RCB’s highest wicket-taker for two successsive seasons (2015 and 2016), the leg-spinner has a knack for getting wickets at crucial junctures. He uses his variations, such as googly, judiciously, and can also trouble batsmen with clever changes in pace. He will be high on confidence as well, after figures of 6/26 in the Bengaluru T20I against England not so long ago.