Before the 2015 Indian Premier League starts on April 8, The National will preview each of the eight teams. Next up, the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
An overview
The Royal Challengers have been a real enigma. They have the irrepressible duo of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in their ranks, two of the most consistently destructive batsmen in world cricket. They also have Virat Kohli, one of the most successful batsmen in world cricket today, especially in limited overs.
Yet, RCB have never won the IPL. They have not even made it out of the group stages in the last three seasons, finishing second from bottom in 2014 and fifth in the two preceding years.
They did reach the final in 2011, riding on Gayle’s uncontrollable rage at the crease, but lost to Chennai Super Kings. Flown in from Jamaica as a replacement for the injured Aussie pacer Dirk Nannes in the middle of the season, the southpaw made a sensational debut for RCB against his former team Kolkata Knight Riders, smashing a 55-ball 102. He went on to score 608 runs from 12 matches that season, at a strike rate of 183.13, but was out for a duck in the final. Once he departed, RCB crumbled and lost by 58 runs.
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In the following seasons, teams struggled to keep Gayle quiet – he scored 733 runs in 2012 at a strike-rate of 160.74 and 708 in 2013 at 156.29; Kohli’s contribution was 364 and 634 runs in those two seasons, while de Villiers scored 319 and 360 runs at a strike rate in excess of 160, but still RCB were unable to make it out of the group stages.
Why? It seems the team is a bit too dependent on Gayle and the bowling unit has kept letting the team down, regularly struggling to defend scores in excess of 180. They have been bowling a bit like millionaires, but with speedsters like Mitchell Starc, Sean Abott, Adam Milne and Varun Aaron in the team this time, RCB fans could finally see their frustrating wait for the title finally come to an end.
The match winner – AB de Villiers
There is no bigger match-winner in the game today and few will dispute that fact. He holds the record for the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls) in one-day internationals. So you get the picture. He can do anything with a bat, hit on any side of the ground.
Up and coming star – Sarfaraz Khan
The youngest man in the IPL auction at 17, Khan was picked up for INR5 million by RCB. The young man from Mumbai has been in the spotlight for a few years now after some sensational batting performances in age group tournaments and has already made three first class appearances for Mumbai.
Other star names
Virat Kohli - The Indian superstar, of course, is as big a match-winner as any in the game, but he was not at his best in 2014. Perhaps, the burdens of captaincy affected his batting, but a year later, he will be wiser.
Chris Gayle - The big Jamaican has been struggling with a back problem in recent times. The same injury forced him to miss a few matches in Season 7 as well. RCB fans will be hoping he is fit though, for if Gayle gets going, no ground is big enough for him.
Mitchell Starc - The wicket-taker at the World Cup, Starc will not be available at the start of the league as he is staying back in Australia for a couple of weeks to get treatment for a knee injury. Fans will be praying for his speedy return.
Sean Abbott - Winner of Australia’s young cricketer of the year award in January, Abbott is better known as the man who bowled the bouncer that hit Phillip Hughes on the neck and led to his death. Indian fans will be really keen to see him in action.
Dinesh Karthik - Bought for a surprise INR105 million in the February auctions, the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman will be looking to justify his price tag and silence all the critics.
Coach – Daniel Vettori
Previous record
2014: 7th
2013: 5th
2012: 5th
2011: Runners-up
2010: 3rd
2009: Runners-up
2008: 7th
The National’s verdict
It is hard to imagine a team boasting AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and Mitchell Starc as anything but champions. RCB, however, have not always played to their potential and that explains why they have yet to win the title despite their riches.
MORE IPL PREVIEWS
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- Kolkata Knight Riders will ride Gambhir to another place on the podium
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