What went right for the Virat Kohli led side?
There were plenty of positives for RCB in their campaign of 2020 which saw the emergence of another batting talent called Devdutt Padikkal.
It had been 5 years since Shreyas Iyer’s 400 run season in IPL 2015 that an uncapped player had a 400 run plus season in his debut year. He showed plenty of promise and was the enforcer on most occasions while batting with Aaron Finch. He raced off to quick starts in the powerplay and set the game up for RCB.
The only grudge which may be held against Padikkal was his inability to force the pace post the powerplay period. His strike rate dropped considerably once the field got spread and this is one area where the youngster has to improve his game.
The other major positive for RCB this year was their bowling which improved remarkably over the last season. The likes of Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal combined forces to tie down the batsman in the middle overs while Sundar was effective even with the new ball.
The addition of Chris Morris to the squad bolstered the team. His skill with the new ball as well as at the death added wonderful value to the side.
Do we even need to talk about the superman? AB De Villiers singlehandedly won RCB more than a couple of games and his sheer brilliance kept them hanging in the tournament.
What went wrong for them?
Virat Kohli, the RCB Captain had quite a middling season. One might argue that Kohli did have more than 400 runs under his name this year but his impact was subdued for the major part of the tournament.
Kohli admitted to the fact that since they lacked firepower in batting beyond him and AB, he had to play well within himself, this did eventually cost RCB a few matches.
The other familiar foe of RCB came back to bite them and that factor was their dependence on Virat and AB. The likes of Gurkeerat Mann, Shivam Dube failed to repay the faith the management had placed in them.
Star Performers:
AB De Villiers: The South African star batsman proved to be a force even at the age of 36, his glovework was glitch-free too and his explosive batting was second to none in the competition.
Yuzvendra Chahal: He has perennially been RCB’s unsung hero, year after year, chips in with wickets and for the major part of the tournament he found himself in the top 5 wicket-takers list.
Devdutt Padikkal: This young boy surely lived up to all the hype. His ability to open the field with crisp shots had many fans and legends swooning over his game.
Disappointments:
Shivam Dube: A lot was expected from this big built all-rounder but he flattered to deceive with the bat on more occasions than one. His bowling came in handy but his all-round credentials didn’t receive any fillip.
Isuru Udana: This Sri Lankan import was expected to do major heavy lifting especially during the later part of the tournament but he too disappointed and failed to come to grips with the wickets in UAE.
Overall Verdict:
The start was brilliant for RCB where they managed to win 5 of the first 7 games but call it complacency or call it running out of steam, RCB could not manage more than 2 wins in their last 8 games.
They certainly have improved in their rankings from being 8th last year to come up 4th this season, but the much-desired trophy still eludes them and the fans of course.
