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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC) will be desperate for a win when they meet at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday afternoon.
RCB, after a rousing start to its campaign, has lost two in two, while DC is winless after four contests, rooted to the bottom of the table.
RCB may have lost its previous fixture, at home to Lucknow Super Giants, off the last ball and by a solitary wicket, but the happenings will worry the faithful.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis both struggled against spin and in the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal – who was released ahead of the 2022 season – its own tweakers seemed clueless as to how to bowl on a batter-friendly ground with small boundaries. RCB will be hoping that Wanindu Hasaranga’s availability will solve this problem.
“We have played well but we are losing things in one phase of the game,” said RCB batter Mahipal Lomror. “In the middle overs, I think we can do better. Against KKR also we lost too many wickets in the middle overs. Last game as well, if we could have bowled a bit better in the middle overs… Overall, it is going well and there is no need to think too much about things.”
DC too was defeated in its previous match (vs. Mumbai Indians) off the last ball but showed competitive spirit after being thoroughly outplayed in the first three games. Anrich Nortje impressed with his raw pace and Axar Patel with his explosive lower-order batting.
But skipper David Warner’s low strike rate – despite his consistency in scoring runs – and the middle-order’s meagre returns have set the tongues wagging. There is however no better place to cure all your batting ills than Bengaluru.
“There are a lot of areas we can improve on,” Nortje said. “Obviously get as many runs as possible and try and build decent partnerships. Do not lose too many wickets too quickly. And to bowl as a unit, in partnerships. So quite a few things to improve. If we can just get 5% better with every game and pull some momentum on our side, that can be crucial.”
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