IPL 2024: Why Royal Challengers Bengaluru Struggle to Establish M Chinnaswamy Stadium As Their Fortress

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Bengaluru, Apr 2: Despite rebranding themselves to Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of IPL 2024, the Royal Challengers Bangalore had hoped for a change in fortune. Nevertheless, the franchise finds itself positioned in the bottom half of the points table after completing four league games.

The RCB suffered their second straight defeat of the season on their home ground M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday (April 2) in IPL 2024. Lucknow Super Giants registered a clinical 28-run win over RCB in match number 15 of the tournament and find themselves languishing at number nine in the points table.

The Faf du Plessis-led side has played four league games so far and secured a victory in just one encounter. They tasted a win in their second game, which was held at home when they defeated Punjab Kings by 4 wickets.

However, fate took another twist as they ended up losing their next two games at home. First Kolkata Knight Riders defeated them by 7 wickets in a big run chase and then LSG - who are being led by local boy KL Rahul - beat them by 28 runs in the run chase of 182.

The RCB were bundled out for 153 in 19.4 overs in the run chase and became the first team in IPL 2024 to get bowled out. Uncapped batter Mahipal Lomror - who played as Impact Sub - was the top-scorer from the side with 33 off 13 balls, including three fours and as many sixes.

For LSG, opener Quinton de Kock and young uncapped speedster Mayank Yadav starred in their second win of the season in three games. LSG have won all 12 of their games where they've come out to defend a total in excess of 180-plus.

RCB continue to falter in run chases at home

On the contrary, RCB haven't won a single game since 2016 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium while chasing a target of 180-plus. It a matter of grave concern for the home side because traditionally the pitch conditions and ground dimensions at this venue aide the chasing side.

RCB's inability to overhaul big targets on their home ground paints a grim picture because they are consistently failing to fortify their stronghold, as compared to the other teams. The likes of Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings hardly lose games at home, a prime reason for their success in the competition over the years.

RCB Batting Line Up Failing To Click Together

Despite having T20 speciallists such as captain Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green and Dinesh Karthik, the RCB batting attack has failed to fire this season.

Perinneal Problem of Reliance over KGF

Once again, the team looks heavily dependent upon its KGF i.e. trio of Kohli-Glenn-Faf. The team ends up on the losing side more often than not, if these three fail to fire.

While Kohli is leading Orange Cap tally with 203 runs in 4 innings, Faf and Maxwell are yet to live up to the expectations. Uncapped Indian batter Anuj Rawat played some good knocks in the first couple of games but his bat has been silent in the next two. Dinesh Karthik, their designated finisher, has also failed to perform his duties in the last two games for the team.

No Solid Indian Batter, Except Kohli

One of the biggest problems for the RCB over the years has been the absence of a reliable Indian batter in the side. Run Machine Kohli has been the top run-scorer for the franchise but no other Indian batter has been able to make a similar contribution for the franchise.

Former India cricketer Rahul Dravid is the second best Indian batter for the franchise, in terms of runs scored. The franchise never really nurtured a youngster, someone who can shoulder the responsibility with Kohli with the bat.

KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal were some of the talented players, who even performed well for the franchise. But the team management didn't show any faith in them and released them in the subsequent seasons. Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, and others are yet to prove their worth as consistent performers.

Constant Chopping & Changing Of Playing 11

An ongoing concern for RCB over the years has been the frequent changes made to the playing eleven by the team management. They often fail to maintain consistency in their lineup, with players being sidelined after just one or two poor performances, or sometimes even after demonstrating good form.

For instance, in a recent match against LSG, fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshakh was unexpectedly omitted from the lineup despite his recent strong performances. Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh highlighted it on X and posted, "Vyshak despite being the best bowler in the last game doesn't start in the playing XI, and the fact that RCB is bowling first it's highly unlikely he'll get to bowl as an IP. Crazy stuff from the RCB think tank."

The constant tinkering with the batting order is another contributing factor to RCB's inconsistent performance in the IPL. In future matches, RCB should consider including Will Jacks in the playing eleven, as he is known for his powerful hitting. However, a couple of subpar performances should not automatically lead to his exclusion from the team.