Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) batting failure at home in rain-hit encounter has drawn ire of several former cricketers. RCB batters looked in a hurry and ended up losing seven wickets for 42 runs. The decision to drop Devdutt Padikkal backfired and they had to introduce impact player Manoj Bhandage who crumbled under pressure. Former India batter Mohammad Kaif reserved harsh criticism for RCB batters, especially Virat Kohli who he believes played a rash shot as it was a 14 overs per side game.
"84 deliveries in an innings means that there is time. The shot that Virat Kohli hit, stepping forward, trying to strike a six, he usually does not do all of this. If it was a 20-over game, Kohli would have looked to punch that ball, I can tell you that with guarantee," Kaif said on Star Sports.
"That was a ball meant to be punched through point. But because it was a 14-over game, there was the temptation to play a much more attacking brand of cricket. The pitch was damp, the ball was stopping a bit. This was a pitch where he should have taken five or six balls to have a look in. Not only Kohli, but the other batters as well. So, he should have spent some time in the middle, 14 overs is a lot, he must have thought it was a six-over game," he added.
Arshdeep Singh dismissed both RCB openers in the powerplay overs. Rajat Patidar witnessed RCB lose half the side for 33 as Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya had a short stay at the crease. Shortly after, Patidar departed as well in an attempt to take on Yuzvendra Chahal. Had it not been for Tim David's maiden IPL fifty, RCB would've been bowled out. His unbeaten 26-ball fifty helped RCB post a respectable 95/9 on the board.
Kohli's struggles at home
Currently, Kohli is RCB's leading run-scorer in the season. Once again, he is in the contention for the orange cap. However, he has been lacklustre at home. In RCB's first home match of the season, he scored seven runs against Gujarat Titans (GT), losing his wicket to young Arshad Khan. Against Delhi Capitals (DC), he started well, scoring 22 runs from 14 balls. He was dismissed by leggie Vipraj Nigam right after the powerplay overs.
On the other hand, Kohli has scored half-century in each away match barring Chennai. He will have a chance to rectify the mistake when RCB take on PBKS on April 20.