IPL 2024: RCB eye step-up from underfire bowlers vs SRH for second win in the season

Royal Challengers Benagluru (Pic: File Pic)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL campaign that began in cheerfulness has melted into chaos, and their bowlers require a drastic transformation in mindset against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Both teams will face off in the 30th IPL 2024 fixture at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. None of the RCB's plans have been worked as the team is placed at the 10th position on the list with just one win in six games.

RCB's disappointing run in the IPL 2024 is directly linked with their bowlers. The bowlers seemed to be clueless on different pitch conditions. In this IPL, the bowlers have often relied on variations like knuckle balls, slow bouncers and pace-off deliveries to counter a set of ultra-aggressive batsmen.

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However, the Bengaluru bowlers have been largely unidimensional in their approach allowing batters to tackle them with ease and the match against Mumbai Indians offers a case study.

RCB batsmen in the IPL 2024 match against Mumbai Indians managed to score 196 runs. But the Mumbaikars managed to chase it down in just 15.3 overs with the Bengaluru bowlers giving away free runs.

Dew, short boundaries etc cannot be counted as excuses when a team leaks above 13 runs per over. In fact, the RCB bowlers did not have the urge or imagination to blunt a batting unit full of intent.

The Bengaluru bowlers need to step up when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 match on April 15. SRH batsmen Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head are among the leading run scorers in the IPL 2024.

That uniform power allocation through batting ranks makes SRH a tall proposition for the opposition bowlers. This is not to say that SRH, currently fifth on the table with six points from five matches, do not have a weak point. Similar to RCB, bowling has been Hyderabad's soft underbelly in this tournament with spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Mayank Markande giving away more than 11 runs in an over with minimal returns.

SRH has found their saviour in skipper Pat Cummins. He is the highest wicket-taker for Hyderabad and has also conceded just over seven runs in an over with a respectable economy in the T20 format. Also, Cummins can bowl according to the match's conditions then whether it be with the new ball in the power play or in the middle or death overs.

Natarajan's inclusion has provided the team with more control in the last overs of the game.

Having played on a shirtfront in Hyderabad, the SRH bowlers might not feel out of home at the Chinnaswamy, which has a pitch with similar characteristics.

But can RCB exploit that above-mentioned minor chink in Sunrisers' attack?
Star batter Virat Kohli is the current holder of Orange Cap and fifties by skipper Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik against MI will certainly boost RCB's confidence.

But the form of Glenn Maxwell (32 runs, average: 5.3) remains a massive concern.

Squads for the IPL 2024 match between RCB and SRH:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.

(With PTI Inputs)