NEWS
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) looked down and out at one stage, having won just one of their eight games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. From there, they went on a six-match winning streak and now find themselves in the playoffs, which not many expected.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis said that there was no negativity within the team even when they had lost so many games, and he is extremely proud of what they have achieved together since.
"When we were one out of eight, I didn't hear one ounce of negativity from any of the players or staff," du Plessis said in a chat with Timesofindia.com.
"Everyone was still the same - caring and hoping for the best for each other. Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to play and do well. But I tend to look at the other side of things. How can you make sure that you can create a good environment where people are enjoying their cricket and having fun? I'm having a great time with a great group of guys, who I am extremely proud of."
With just two points under their belts and half the tournament done, any team may have lost its motivation. However, that was not the case with RCB, who du Plessis said were hungry to turn things around.
"We were very hungry to turn it around and felt like we weren't far away from it. We just needed one game to get that confidence through the group," du Plessis said.
"And once we had that first victory, it was like there was a shift in everyone's mindset, and everyone was like, Ok, right, this is what we've been waiting for a very long time. And you look back six games ago now, and you go, the cricket that we've played in the last six games has been nothing short of extraordinary."
One of the main reasons RCB struggled in the initial stages was that many players were finding form. Barring Virat Kohli, most of the players in the side took a long time to warm up and get it right.
"When you start a tournament, you do everything you can to make sure that you are prepared. And we did certainly do that. I feel like we ticked every single box. But you need some other things to fall into place. You need form, which always plays a big part at the beginning of a competition. You also need a bit of luck as injuries and stuff like that also play a role," the RCB skipper stated.
"There were a few guys in the team looking to find their best form. If you take from a batting perspective, it was only probably Virat [Kohli] at that stage who was in good form and scoring runs. There's always another guy or a third guy that's still scoring the runs and, in our case, we didn't have that. I was searching for runs, so were Rajat [Patidar], Maxi [Glenn Maxwell] and [Cameron] Greenie.
"So, as a whole batting unit, we were just looking to find our best form. From a bowling perspective, guys like [Mohammed] Siraj were looking to find form. Siraj came into the competition having played a lot of red-ball cricket. When you lose a couple of games, then your confidence starts taking a little bit of a hit. And with the standard of the IPL being so high, you as an individual and as a team need to make sure that you're as close to your best to be able to perform as a team."
Du Plessis further adds that he has loved every minute of leading RCB over the last three seasons. "Captaincy comes with a bit more than what's on your plate. I've been doing it for such a long time, I see that as an opportunity more than pressure. You're never going to get away from the fact that there's pressure, whether you're captaining a big franchise like RCB or a country like South Africa," the 39-year-old said.
"But I've always loved doing it and I've enjoyed this experience. The last three years at RCB have been awesome for me to almost find a new purpose after captaining the Proteas. I've loved every minute."
Having won six in a row, RCB need to win just three more to clinch their maiden IPL title. Their quest to do so begins on May 22 (Wednesday) when they take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad.
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