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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), under the leadership of Faf du Plessis, encountered their third setback in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, extending their streak of underwhelming performances.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s struggles in the IPL 2024
Having participated in four matches thus far, RCB endured defeat in three of them, notably against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their recent clash at the revered Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This series of losses has dealt a severe blow to the playoff aspirations of this illustrious franchise. RCB will next face Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday (April 6).
Over reliance on Virat Kohli
Throughout these encounters, RCB’s overall display has been lackluster, with both their batting and bowling units failing to deliver as anticipated. The undue reliance on Virat Kohli in the batting order has notably impeded the team’s progress, with other prominent figures like Faf du Plessis, Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell struggling to find their rhythm. Rajat Patidar, too, has found the going tough this season.
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Glenn Maxwell’s assessment
Reflecting on RCB’s challenging start, Maxwell acknowledged the team’s sluggish beginning, marred by defeats in three of their initial four fixtures. Despite his commendable efforts with the ball, Maxwell himself has grappled with low scores, underscoring the struggles faced by overseas batters, particularly on the unpredictable surfaces of Bengaluru.
“It obviously hasn’t been a great start for us or myself individually. It’s been a little bit of a struggle. I think we’ve been probably caught a little bit behind with our conditions that we’ve probably produced in the first few home games as well,” Maxwell was quoted as saying by the ESPNcricinfo.
Reflection on unforeseen challenges
Maxwell elaborated on the unforeseen conditions encountered during their home games, contrasting them with the consistent pitches from the previous season. These unpredictable surfaces have posed significant challenges for overseas players in maintaining their performance standards. In the fast-paced realm of T20 cricket, a slow start can prove detrimental to a team’s momentum, necessitating a swift turnaround as RCB looks ahead to their upcoming away fixtures.
“I think last year we had a beautiful even wicket that we were able to I suppose get ourselves into the game, get our top batters going and I’ve felt that those two-paced wickets it’s just been a bit of a struggle for our overseas players to get into the game and get that sort of consistency of performance. And when you start slow in T20 cricket it can be a hard thing to come back and find rhythm to get back into it. So hopefully this little away trip does us some good,” the 35-year-old concluded.
