Royal Challengers Bengaluru primed to register fifth win in a row to keep Playoff hopes alive against Rishabh Pant-less Delhi Capitals
Rishabh Pant; (right) RCB captain Faf du Plessis (left) and star batter Virat Kohli celebrate Punjab Kings wicket at Dharamsala last Thursday. Pic/PTI
Their fate may no longer be in their own hands, but a rejuvenated Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to do everything they can to make a strong, late pitch for a place in the IPL Playoffs.
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Having lost seven of their first eight games, the three-time finalists have stacked up four wins in a row, the last of them a comprehensive 60-run drubbing of Punjab Kings that has catapulted them to seventh in the table.
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Banking on Fraser-McGurk
Standing between them and their continued interest in the competition are the Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC), who will be without skipper Rishabh Pant, suspended for one match for a third over-rate offence. DC have shrugged off a poor start to keep themselves in contention, though the absence of their talismanic captain will impact them in several different ways. The induction of Jake Fraser-McGurk at the top of the batting order has sparked a spectacular revival, and DC will look to flex their batting muscles all over again at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night in the penultimate league outing for both franchises.
At the heart of RCB’s splendid rally has been Virat Kohli, the engine room around which the campaign has belatedly taken shape, but in the last fortnight, the franchise has been well served by others. Notably, the Mohammed Siraj-led bowling group has found its feet with the experience of leg-spinner Karn Sharma allowing RCB to boss the middle overs. A return to the Chinnaswamy, where the pitches this year have been different from the past, should encourage RCB’s well-endowed fast-bowling group to take wings, though as always, Orange Cap holder Kohli will be the cynosure.
Both teams, RCB more than their opponents, will cast wary eyes skywards. After an unusually dry April which didn’t see a single day of precipitation, thunderstorms have lashed the Garden City intermittently over the last 10 days. A washout will be in no one’s best interests; both sides would rather play and lose than be forced to surrender to the might of the elements.
Fraser-McGurk has taken the tournament by storm since his belated debut. The explosive Australian has slammed three half-centuries in less than 20 balls, averages 44.14 and strikes at an extraordinary 235.87, having smashed 30 fours and 26 sixes in just 131 deliveries while amassing 309 runs. If Siraj and Co can neutralise the right-handed opener’s threat with minimal damage, they would have taken a big step towards shackling a DC batting unit where the ebullient Tristan Stubbs has been the middle-overs enforcer along with the unavailable Pant.
No room for error
DC have 12 points to the home team’s 10, but the latter have a far superior run-rate. In a format, and tournament, of fine margins, there simply is no room any more for slip-ups, which alone should dictate a gripping if somewhat nervy contest of equals.
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