No Sunday Gains
I was expecting a Sunday turnaround for the beleaguered Kings of Punjab and the Royal Challengers from Bengaluru. However the turnaround never came and the Kings and the Royals remained stranded at the bottom warming their spots 9th and 10th, with effectively not much of gains in sight.
A Sharp Flame Before the Burnout
Let’s get to the Punjab game first. The new stadium at Mullanpur is unfortunately not turning out to be a happy hunting ground for the Kings. Out of the 5 home games played so far in Mullanpur, the Kings have lost 4. The loss yesterday against the not so firing Gujarat Titans has blown the wind out of the Kings’ sail. To briefly put across, the match was lost even before Gujarat Titans started the chase. With just 142 on the board in 20 overs ( losing all 10 wickets ), the result of the match was a foregone conclusion. Even a side struggling to get going like the Titans, managed to get to the target. The Kings fought bravely in the end, like a sharp flame before the burnout, but that too was too little too late.
Kings Have Turned Paupers…Sadly
With a batting display so ordinary, Punjab Kings just didn’t have a chance. The big ticket players like stand in captain Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Rilee Rousseau came a cropper for the umpteenth time ( they need coaching to play spin ). With Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad proving a handful, It was again left to Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma to save Punjab the blues. Unfortunately the dynamic duo left early. Jitesh Sharma having a poor tournament has effectively missed the bus to the West Indies. Harpreet Brar, the warrior from Moga took the cudgels then, and played a delightful cameo to avoid an embarrassment. With Punjab Kings not ringing in the changes required and not benching the poor performers, their fate too is not changing either. With the tournament virtually over, the Kings need to try out options, take some risks and if required make wholesale changes. Kings can’t behave like submissive timid paupers. It’s high time that the owners took the bull by its horns.
A Heartbreaking Loss for RCB
Another Royal Team, the Challengers from Bengaluru, have already shut the door on the tournament themselves after another loss at the Eden Gardens by a heart wrenching solitary run. The lovers of sport will say that it was unfortunate for the Royals to lose, and I agree, but only to an extent. I am just half way there. Chasing 223 set by a strong KKR, was always going to be challenging and though RCB made a game out of it and almost won it, is a good sign, but another loss eventually. The clueless bowling from RCB made all the difference . Firmly saddled at the last spot on the leader board, there is nothing to cheer for the die-hard RCB fan.
Rajat Patidar Comes Good…But It’s Too Late
The Royal Challengers are neither able to chase or defend, such dire is their situation. Rajat Patidar eventually scored runs after a fairly longish drought. Continuing with him in all these matches has done more harm than good to RCB. Faf, the suave captain looks completely out of sorts. His post match speeches look sorrowful. Virat has the Orange Cap ( but his team languishes at the bottom ). Maxwell has taken a break and Cameroon Green, is still the classical cricketer and as such needs huge preparation for the T20 format. The middle order of RCB unfortunately has no spine with only a remarkable Dinesh Karthik playing splendidly at the back.
The Paltry Challengers Need An Overhaul
The RCB batting does click at times, but the impoverished bowling, lacking pace, direction, variation and a good spinner has completely ruined and laid to rest their chances this year. We can easily recite the last prayers for the once Royals and now Paltry Challengers. I may be criticised for being harsh, but this RCB side, too needs a complete overhaul, not only in the personnel but also in the attitude towards a winning mindset. Faf is well past his prime and though he may be fit physically, he is no longer fit to lead RCB. A young captain, with loads of energy and a fresh perspective may just do wonders. RCB needs to groom players like Prabhudesai and Anuj Rawat and get a few like Devdutt Padikkal back into their ranks. Siraj’s future with RCB too hangs in the balance after a forgetful outing this year and of course RCB need to send out a SOS for a quality spinner. It’s not happening with Karn Sharma ( though he batted RCB to victory…almost).
A Sunday gone by and I have been left a tad disappointed.
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Featured Image : A shocked RCB Bench after a narrow loss.