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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a rare batting collapse during their Thursday, April 30th Indian Premier League (IPL) game against the Gujarat Titans (GT). RCB suffered a four-wicket defeat after being bowled out for just 155 runs, despite boasting a batting-heavy lineup featuring experienced batters like Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, and Tim David.
Speaking after the match, star pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar admitted that the team’s batting fell short of expectations, acknowledging that it was simply an off day for the batters.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's honest admission
The ace pacer, who impressed with three crucial wickets in the match, admitted that the IPL is a long tournament where teams can’t be perfect every time. Kumar added that while RCB have consistently posted 200-plus totals in almost every game this season, their batting performance against the Gujarat Titans was far from their usual standards.
"Look it's a long tournament 14 matches. You cannot be perfect in each and every match in any department the way we have batted in the whole tournament it's been good we have scored 200 we have scored more than 200," Kumar said.
"I think it's about complementing each other yes we were not up to the mark with the bat it happens. I mean sometimes we give 200 runs but batsmen never complains they go and chase it out so it was our duty to try our best and then we did what we could," he added.
He further admitted that defending the total alone wasn’t enough, and that Bengaluru needed to pick up wickets regularly to stand a chance, especially given the modest target set for the Gujarat Titans.
"We couldn't have won the match by defending runs. We could have won by taking wickets, and the bowlers who bowled were the best bowlers to get those wickets," he added.
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Bhuvneshwar spills the beans on Krunal Pandya’s bowling absence
The 34-year-old revealed that RCB had planned an aggressive approach with the ball, as the pitch offered assistance to the seamers. With Romario Shepherd operating as the third seamer and consistently attacking the Gujarat Titans batters, the team opted not to bring Krunal Pandya into the attack.
He further added that leg-spinner Suyash Sharma is difficult to read, which is why he was preferred as a bowling option.
"If you look at the scenario, there was some help for seamers, and we had Romario (Shepherd), third seamer. So, we wanted to take a chance.
"And Suyash (Sharma) is someone who is not easy to pick. So, we wanted to get wickets as quick as possible. So, that's the reason he (Pandya) didn't bowl."
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took three wickets in his four overs, is currently at the top of the purple cap leaderboard, taking 17 wickets in nine matches with an impressive economy of 7.54
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