Royal Challengers Bengaluru Roaring Back To The Top
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After a shaky start to the season, Team RCB is finally back on track by winning their last three matches back-to-back. RCB won their first game on March 25th, which was their second league match. After that, RCB lost six games and stayed at the bottom of the table. On April 25, RCB won their 2nd match after a month’s gap. They defeated table-toppers SRH in their home game. After that match, RCB picked up the momentum, won three back-to-back games, and somehow kept them in contention for qualifying for the playoffs. After four wins in 11 games, they are ranked 7th on the points table.
Their combinations are finally working for them. The induction of Will Jacks is finally paying off. His century against Gujarat was one of the finest Innings by an RCB batter this season. There was always a buzz to add Jacks to the playing 11, but because of Maxwell and Green Jacks, he could not find his place. Once he got the chance, he grabbed it with both hands and now looks like a constant in the playing 11. The duo of Faf and Virat is also providing helpful starts in every game. Both added 92 runs in just six overs in their last game against GT. The middle order is strengthened by Maxwell, Patidar, Green, and DK. The change in strategy to play four overseas batters in their playing 11 looks much more suited. Along with batting, Maxwell, Green, and Jacks also provide bowling options.
Although their bowling line up looks a bit fragile with the combinations of Siraj, Dayal, Karn, etc., with the kind of momentum RCB has, they are also bowling well. They bowled out GT for just 147 in their last game. They also stopped the hard hitting Hyderabad from chasing 206 in their home game. .
RCB will play their last three games against the Punjab Kings at Dharamshala and with Delhi and Chennai at Chinnaswamy. Dharamshala, being a high-scoring venue, will definitely suit the RCB Unit, and they have the rest of their matches at Chinnaswamy. So, the odds are definitely in their favor; they just need to win all 3 games, which will take them to 7 wins in 7 games.
But, even after winning all their games, they will still be dependent on the results of the results of other matches. They will have to pray that at least one team among the top 4 finishes with either 7 wins or a poor NRR, and if the top 4 finishes with 8 wins, things are over for RCB.
So, like every season, the calculators are out, and RCB fans have started making the calculations on how RCB can qualify for the playoffs. But RCB’s recent performances have certainly made the later phase of the league really interesting for the fans.
