Definitive progress for RCB but will anyone really address the elephant in the room

“Ea sala cup namde” is no more a war cry for RCB now. It is a deeply intrinsic belief, representing the hope of millions of fans, who continue to paint the stadiums around the world red in the IPL season and then beyond. 

Notwithstanding the multiple near wooden-spoon finishes and the crushing realities that engulf them on a daily basis for a couple of summer months, they turn up at their behest to ensure their players were backed to the tilt. It is hard to think of any other franchise or a fanbase as loyal as RCB’s 12th Man Army. Hence, the disappointment is palpable. 

But what haunted the RCB this season is not just the cohesion among the top-order batters and primary bowlers, but also the ability to latch onto the sport’s so-called “big moments” that defined their journey in 2022. Of course, they took a step forward by reaching the second qualifier but it was a sojourn with as many faultlines as the previous two seasons. If RCB have learnt any hard lessons along the way is anybody’s guess.

Threats that came true

The VK conundrum

Coming to the season of the Indian Premier League, Virat Kohli had lost the mojo that had once made him the most threatening limited-overs player of all time. Not just did he look tentative in his approach, but his propensity to make up for the lack of fluency with a longer duration stay in the middle had cost RCB heavily. 

A fifty towards the backend of the season somehow took his average beyond the 20-run mark, but an overall strike rate of 116 was a detriment from which it was very hard to recover. Three golden ducks attached a thread of dissimilar familiarities, and RCB suffered big-time. It was tremendously unfortunate for RCB didn’t have AB de Villiers to compliment them this season and whatever that Faf du Plessis could do, it was just a drop in the ocean that they needed to cross. 

One can’t surely question the brand recall value that the IPL possesses thanks to the presence of Virat Kohli, but it is time to question if the former Indian skipper’s unquestionable loyalty has enough potential to reap cricketing dividends in the future. Sadly, the IPL doesn’t function that way. 

Bowling in the powerplay

Even though Josh Hazlewood emerged as one of the crucial cogs in the wheel for the Bengaluru-based side, one of the biggest concerns for them this season was their bowling at the powerplay. When compared to the other teams, RCB, whose 16 wickets in the league phase came at an average of 42.7 and a strike rate of 31.5, was easily the worst side with the ball in the powerplay. 

Such had been their underperformance with the new ball that they had gone wicketless in this phase on five occasions and conceded more than 8 runs per over on six occasions. No team has gone wicketless more times than RCB in the PP this season. The form of Mohammed Siraj was the biggest reason behind such a drastic fall in numbers and once the momentum was sucked out, things became easier for the opposition batters. So much so that, the success of Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel in the middle overs and death overs respectively couldn’t add much value, and that came back to haunt them even in the second qualifier. 

Silver Linings

DK - The Finisher

Ahead of the season, Dinesh Karthik had made a promise. Not to anyone else but to him. One of the cleanest hitters of a cricket ball, DK lived up to his promise, rising from the phoenix thanks to sheer determination and a typical approach. Not only the wicket-keeper batter has had five 30+ scores in this season and all of them have seen him have an SR of 180+ which is the most for a batter this season. 

The way DK batted shifted the paradigm for RCB from a top-heavy squad and that added more versatility to keep the NRR afloat. Even though the franchise had to rely on Mumbai Indians for their qualification, DK was their biggest reason, alongside Hasaranga, Hazlewood, and Harshal, who has given them the license to float the boat in the easiest way. How they would have wished if his bat shone once again in the Qualifier and helped them get past the penultimate hurdle! Well, some dreams are just like that.

A star is born

Anyone familiar with Rajat Patidar’s batting on the first-class circuit wouldn’t doubt his potential but the world got a first-hand impression of his charisma in the Eliminator game against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens. Following Faf du Plessis’ golden duck and another insipid batting performance from Virat Kohli, Patidar owned the stage in a surreal fashion. As Faf and Kohli admitted it was one of the finest batting performances they had seen any young batter showed and now it is clear that Patidar, who was roped in as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia, would be a retention material for the following season. 

However, it was not a one-off occurrence. Patidar has shown great intent throughout this season as he took his time initially but after facing ten deliveries, his SR has not gone below 150. One of the biggest positives for RCB this season is the fact that they are not reliant on Maxwell alone to tackle the spinners like last year, in fact, Patidar has scored his runs against spinners at an average of more than 40 and an SR of 175+. It would be interesting to see how his career pans out from here.