'...This is Why RCB Have Never Won the IPL': Ambati Rayudu Points Out the Chink in Bengaluru's Armour

A new name and a new outfit but the same old story for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The franchise is yet to turn their fortunes in the ongoing season as they have suffered 3 losses in 4 games and are reeling at the 9^th spot on the points table. Following their latest defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at Chinnaswamy, Ambati Rayudu dissected RCB’s below-par performance over the years and pointed out the factors leading to the failure. According to him, the batting unit of Bengaluru has failed to deliver in crunch situations and it has impacted their overall performance.

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Since the inaugural IPL, a plethora of legendary batters like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Jaque Kallis have donned the RCB kit. Even the current squad also features several big names including Virat Kohli, Glen Maxwell and Faf du Plessis. However, the team hasn’t delivered the best results in the recent past and the ongoing season is no different.

Speaking on Star Sports, Rayudu opined that RCB have never had a seasoned batter down the order who could perform under pressure. He pointed out the current line-up, stating that a bunch of youngsters and Dinesh Karthik are playing under pressure while the big names are back in the hut by then.

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“I feel their bowling always gives over-par runs and batting performs under par. No big-name batter is seen playing for RCB when they are under pressure. Such teams never win. This is why they have never won the IPL in many years,” Rayudu said.

“All young players keep playing down the order and the big-name players go at the top and leave after eating the cake over the cream. If you see, who were the batters batting under pressure – your young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik,” the 38-year-old explained.

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Rayudu termed it as a convenient option for senior batters, who are consuming all the Powerplay overs, where scoring runs is easy with field restrictions in place.

“Sixteen years. This is the same story of RCB, when there is pressure, no big name is ever found standing. All youngsters are playing at the back-end and all the big guns bat at the top of the order and they whip off the cream from the cake and that is the reason this team has never won IPL,” he added.

Barring Virat Kohli, all other top-order batters have faltered so far this season. In their last game against LSG, the opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis pulled off a commanding start, racking up 40 runs for the opening wicket before Kohli fell prey to Manimaran Siddharth. LSG’s Devdutt Padikkal sent off Du Plessis with a rocket throw in the next over.

Following their dismissals, no RCB batter could spend a notable period at the crease. Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green also surrendered early in front of Mayank Yadav’s fiery pace. Among the upcoming players, Mahipal Lomror had a good outing. The youngster struck 33 off 13 balls. His efforts, however, were not enough to chase down an 182-run target as RCB lost the match by 28 runs.