It has happened again. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have crashed out of IPL 2024. If you are an RCB fan, you must be very upset or agitated right now. You have seen it before and you are seeing it now. You have every right to feel rejected. While the players must not get trolled and hated online, the correct questions should be asked. First and foremost to Virat Kohli, who is the oldest face in this franchise, playing for them since 2008. RCB just doesn’t seem to have the stomach for fight in the playoffs. They cannot cross the last few milestones.
Virat had a great season for them. He was one of the main reasons why RCB bounced back after winning six games on the trot. He says he does not listen to his criticism of batting strike rate but one saw how he employed sweep shots to good use to ensure runs came at good a pace. His strike rate in most of the matches at the latter stage of the tournament was over 200 which is a good sign for India as well. Having said that, Virat’s habit of not scoring enough runs in the knockouts of the big tournaments is still a big issue, both for RCB and India.
India have lost several semifinals and finals since 2013. RCB have made it to the playoffs and finals as well under his captaincy or when he played but Virat has been a poor performer in these crucial matches. What happens to him in playoffs is still an unsolved mystery.
Virat scored 33 off 24 balls but was done in Yuzvendra Chahal. On a track that required him to bat longer and deep, he lost his wicket in just the 8th over of the innings. RCB have now lost 10 matches in IPL playoffs, which is most by any team. That sort of concludes RCB and also Virat’s struggles.
RCB’s top-order required to bat well on a track that was not so poor to bat on as the Bengaluru team made it look like. Faf du Plessis, Virat, Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar, who comprise the top four, failed to get starts or convert the starts into something substantial.
IPL is a thing of past now for Kohli. He shifts focus on the T20 World Cup 2024. The good thing is that he is looking to score with a better strike rate. He may or may not open for India at the mega event in USA and West Indies. But he is surely batting in the top 3. The Indian team would have taken a huge dose of confidence if Virat had led the team to an IPL victory with his brilliant performances in the playoffs and the final. It could have ended his series of failures in the knockouts. But sadly, that trend has not been broken.
India will be hoping that even if Virat does not have a solid T20 World Cup, his game peaks during the knockouts if Men in Blue qualify. India need match-winners in the knockouts. Yuvrajs, Gambhirs, Dhonis, Raina have all done the same in the past and that is why we have ICC trophies to show. It is about time a huge match-winner like Kohli delivers the goods in the knockouts.