In the most-awaited match of the IPL 2021 season between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, MS Dhoni-led veteran squad of Chennai has delivered high riding RCB their first loss of the season, in a way that seems to be a reality check for the Bengaluru squad.
Chennai Super Kings won the match with 69 runs to book themselves the top spot in IPL 2021 points table.
Here are the 3 possible reasons why RCB lost against Chennai today:
1. Were RCB players overconfident?
Riding the high wave from the beginning of the season with no loss in their registry, RCB seemed to have underestimated Chennai’s ability to play some extraordinary T20 cricket with all the experience they have in their squad. RCB’s young roster didn’t look prepared for the veteran Chennai squad attack as they struggled to make ends meet on both batting and bowling ends with players miserably failing to make it count for the team.
2. Inability of RCB playing order to play responsibly.
One other thing that stood out the most during RCB’s match today was the quick run to the pavilion from Bengaluru batsmen, having lost their opener, Kohli, very early in the match, middle-order batsmen like Washington Sundar and Glenn Maxwell failed to settle down and play for the team as they quickly returned to the Pavillion, building pressure on lower middle-order batsmen like AB de Villiers who had too much on their plate causing them to hand over their wicket to Chennai bowlers during crucial times in the match. Washington Sundar should have stuck to his role of supporting Padikkal who had already picked up pace instead of trying new things, while Padikkal should have also waited for Maxwell to settle on the ground to carry out a foundational partnership for the team.
3. Over-dependent on Marwell’s unreliable form
Over the last few seasons in IPL history, Glenn Maxwell hasn’t been in good form in terms of batting, his quick and aggressive form in the last two matches for RCB did raise hopes on his return but it was well-advised for any team to not rely on players form totally and it showed out for RCB today as Maxwell failed to make an impact for the team. Maxwell is undoubtedly a good cricketer with some amazing hitting ability, but a team’s dependence on him in a league like IPL that has the most dynamic bowlers, especially ones like Jadeja and Tahir who have been posing a threat to batsmen since the beginning didn’t work out well for Bengaluru today.
With their first loss registered, RCB should now re-evaluate their team once again and prepare for the best to make it work for them for the remainder of the season.
