Several memes and videos did the rounds last Saturday when Royal Challengers Bangalore sneaked into the play-offs after Delhi Capitals bungled their chance against Mumbai Indians. While RCB, so used to trolling for their trophy-less cabinet, will feel hard done this time by the jokes because they did win eight league games to place themselves in a position to qualify for the knockouts, there’s no denying the blessings of Lady Luck.
Prior to the Capitals’ collapse, Virat Kohli rode on some early luck to get back into form against Gujarat Titans following one of his worst seasons in the IPL. Then Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik had the fortune favouring them in crunch moments during the Eliminator as butter-fingered Lucknow Super Giants dropped routine catches.
But then, in a tournament as long as the IPL, everyone needs a bit of luck to survive some anxious moments. Now, having weathered the storm in their previous two must-win games, Royal Challengers will be hoping things fall in place once again in the Qualifier 2 against a smarting Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.
The Royal Challengers, under the astute leadership of Faf du Plessis, have surprised one and all with their seldom-seen team performances this year. Unlike the teams of the past, they are no more reliant on the superstars to get the job done. Previously, their batting was heavily dependent on AB de Villiers and Kohli. If the duo failed, a collapse occurred on most occasions as most of the others, forced to live in the shadows of the icons, simply withered.
However, things are different this time around. Du Plessis has led the batting charts and others like Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik have rallied nicely around the skipper, producing notable contributions at various stages to give the batting line-up a more rounded look. If Maxwell fails, Karthik strikes. If Du Plessis has a bad day, Maxwell steps in. If the established guns misfire, then guys like Patidar or Shahbaz get the job done.
A concern for RCB is their bowling with lead pacer Mohammed Siraj continuing to underperform. The Hyderabadi, one of the four players retained by RCB, has become predictable and gone for runs aplenty.
Unlike smart operator Harshal Patel, who varies his pace brilliantly to keep the batters guessing, or lead pacer Josh Hazlewood, who consistently hits the right lengths, Siraj has just come and bowled with pace and batters have easily carted him around. No better time than now for him to hit form.
Rajasthan will also be hoping their bowling attack bounces back from the Gujarat pasting. They have arguably the best attack in the IPL but all of them underperformed against a determined Gujarat. R Ashwin went for 40 runs while his spinning colleague gave away 32 runs with neither getting a wicket. Upcoming India pacer Prasidh Krishna had forgettable day, conceding three consecutive sixes in the final over, and the seasoned Trent Boult was taken for 38 runs.
Rajasthan will be hoping their bowlers hit back strongly while Bangalore will be determined to keep their juggernaut rolling.