If the Chinnaswamy Stadium had lapsed into a sombre mood, the venue could not have been blamed as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) crashed out of the IPL for the third consecutive year. Yet, there is a frisson of excitement coursing through the air as RCB is all set to play its last game, this season, here on Saturday evening.
The clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), without exactly drawing upon the rivalry and history that embellish tussles between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is an annual lodestone that lures the fans and the organisers are hoping for a capacity crowd. Incidentally, the rivals, after embracing different destinies – CSK is through to the play-offs while RCB has pressed the eject-button – is stepping in with the taint of defeats.
CSK has lost its last three games, starting with the one against RCB at Ranchi. The tale was no better for RCB. After humbling M.S. Dhoni’s men in his hometown, RCB lapsed into a free-fall against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. CSK needs a win now in its kitty before it steps into the business end of the tournament. RCB is desperate for a triumph, both as a feel-good sign-off and also as a tribute to its loyal fans.
With four of the best batsmen in the T20 business – skipper Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, A.B. de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh, RCB’s meltdown has been a shocker. Among the quartet, Gayle’s indifferent run (196 runs averaging 21.77 and a strike-rate of 106.52) has been the hardest for the team to bear. Relatively, CSK has lesser headaches to cope with but a lot continues to ride on Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Dhoni and David Hussey. The bowling meanwhile has failed to survive the savage scrutiny subjected by Robin Uthappa or David Warner. Dhoni would prefer to believe that this was a mere blip and it would be interesting to see if the Gayle-R. Ashwin combat is unveiled again.
It has been raining a bit across Bangalore over the last week but fans would want a full game and not the eight-over-a-side biff that the weather gods contrived last year. RCB may recall that game in which it defeated CSK by 24 runs. Even that positive memory is a good crutch for Kohli’s men to lean on while taking on IPL’s most consistent team.
