“RCB cannot win the IPL with this bowling,” say Vaughan and Irfan as KKR defeats 183 with over three overs remaining

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) bowling problems will also be present in the 2024 IPL season. At Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, March 22, the Kolkata Knight Riders made the RCB attack look like club cricket by chasing down a target of 183 runs in only 16.5 overs. RCB reached a total of more than 182, which seemed to be on par with the slower balls grabbing off the surface, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 83*. But as the game went on, the pitch improved, and KKR’s 85-run powerplay effectively won it.

No other RCB player, apart from impact player Vijaykumar Vyshak, made excellent use of the slower balls as players like Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, and Alzarri Joseph continued to provide speed, which Sunil Narine and Phil Salt gorged on, blasting them all over the pitch. After the powerplay, Mayank Dagar removed Narine in the first over to provide some respite for the home fans and RCB. However, Venkatesh Iyer, who came on at No. 3, also kept up the pace and hammered a rapid half-century to clinch the deal for KKR in their first away victory of the season.

The Friday match outcome was mostly attributed to RCB’s bowling, as many people thought the home team was at least 20–30 runs short. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reiterated the opinion of former England captain Michael Vaughan, stating that the Men in Red must address their bowling problems if they want to win the IPL with this strategy.

Vaughan said on Twitter (now X) that it was “impossible for @RCBTweets to win the IPL with this bowling attack.” Irfan said, “RCB needs to really work on their bowling.” The former Kiwi pacer Simon Doull, however, acknowledged that KKR started off well but insisted that the RCB bowlers were subpar.

“They bowled poorly. Let’s be honest about it. Siraj was mediocre, and they were impoverished. However, they were assaulted, and they had no idea where to go thereafter. They travelled quite quickly and were often struck squarely. In the post-match review on Cricbuzz, Doull said, “Top edge a few of them, but as soon as you go short, you are asking to be hit square of the wicket.”

On Tuesday, April 2, RCB will host the Lucknow Super Giants for their third straight home game. They will be eager to improve their home record since they haven’t been able to get favourable outcomes.