After years of toil, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally looked a robust unit with all areas covered and plenty of firepower in their ranks, which propelled them to the third spot in the points table for the Indian Premier League (Indian T20) 2021 tournament, which was brought to an abrupt halt earlier this year by the second wave of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in India.
The break in action from the Indian leg of Indian T20 2021 did bring some sort of respite for Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had to deal with some disappointment after winning four matches on the trot right from the start.
Two defeats in the last three games including a nervous 1-run win did look a little concerning for the Virat Kohli-led team, which had for far too many years not performed up to its potential. But there was certainly a lot of promise in the RCB camp and it looked like they were priming up for a shot at the title for the second time in the last 5-6 years.
Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers were the star performers with the bat for RCB in India, while Kohli’s move of promoting him to open the innings also worked to a certain extent for RCB. With the ball, RCB seemed to have covered all areas and a little known Harshal Patel was certainly the surprise package in India as he finished at the top of the pile in the list of bowlers with most wickets (17 scalps in seven matches).
Royal Challengers Bangalore’ recap of Indian T20 2021 first leg
Royal Challengers Bangalore started Indian T20 2021 with a narrow 2-wicket victory over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the tournament. They had another narrow victory coming their way against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 runs in the second game, and in the third they looked very convincing by posting 204/4 and winning the contest by 38 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders.
But the biggest win for Royal Challengers Bangalore in terms of margin came against Rajasthan Royals, when they chased 180 by scoring 181/0 in 16.3 overs with their young opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal getting his maiden Indian T20 century and Kohli making an unbeaten 72.
However, RCB went spiralling downwards from the next game when their rivals Chennai Super Kings handed them a crushing defeat by 69 runs. RCB had a close shave against Delhi Capitals when they recorded a 1-run victory in the 22nd match of Indian T20 2021, and Punjab Kings showed their class by handing Kohli’s team a 34-run defeat in their seventh match of the competition.
Changes in the squad ahead of Indian T20 2021 second leg
Royal Challengers Bangalore are missing a big chunk of their players for the UAE leg of Indian T20 2021. RCB will be without the services of Finn Allen, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams and Washington Sundar, with the Indian spinner injuring his finger and being ruled out of the upcoming Cricket T20 World Cup as well.
But RCB have also made some interesting and promising moves moves to bring in further firepower in their ranks. The biggest of them has to be the inclusion of Sri Lankan spin bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, with Tim David (Singapore) also being a star attraction from the Associate countries. Among the other players added by RCB for the UAE leg of Indian T20 2021 are Dushmantha Chameera, George Garton and Akash Deep.
Players to watch out for in Indian T20 2021 second leg
RCB have some of the most exciting players in their ranks in Indian T20 2021. With Kohli announcing that he will step down as India captain after the T20 World Cup, the incumbent Indian skipper would want to showcase his mettle as a leader by taking RCB as far as possible in this tournament. After all, it is likely that Rohit Sharma will take over the captaincy responsibility of the Indian cricket team with his resume carrying a superb record of leading Mumbai Indians to five title victories in Indian T20 — something that has been time and again compared with Kohli’s bare trophy cabinet.
In the first leg of Indian T20 2021, Maxwell showed his ruthless best with the bat and de Villiers was not too far behind in raking up vital runs which he scored rapidly. Padikkal carries a lot of promise whereas their No 3 batsman Rajat Patidar is also a strong batsman by the look of it.
RCB have an exciting talent in the form of Shahbaz Ahmed but it is the other big names in Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and most importantly, Kyle Jamieson, who will be responsible to take RCB further ahead in the tournament with their performances with the ball.
India and RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal would certainly be disappointed and disheartened for being overlooked for selection of the Indian squad for the upcoming Cricket T20 World Cup, despite being the leading wicket-taker for his country. Chahal has a high economic rate (8+) in T20Is and his style of bowling did not match with what the selectors wanted — bowling speed through the air — and he would be keen to prove his mettle and make a point once Indian T20 restarts in UAE, which will also host the T20 World Cup.
Expectations from Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian T20 2021 second leg
RCB are among those few teams in Indian T20 who have worked extremely hard in the back room to set everything right that was going wrong for them. But going into the UAE leg of the tournament, RCB will be without their head coach Simon Katich, as the former Australian opening batsman stepped down from his role citing personal reasons in August this year.
The exit of Katich brought the news of promotion for New Zealand’s impressive coach (former) Mike Hesson to take up the RCB reins. Hesson carries an impressive resume being the head coach of a team.
Royal Challengers Bangalore showed in the first half of Indian T20 2021 that they have it in them to go the distance this year and grab their first ever Indian T20 trophy. They have plenty of firepower in the batting lineup as well as in the bowling, but it remains to be seen if RCB can win crucial moments within the contests and remain in the top of the pile as only four teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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