IPL 2024, CSK vs RCB- 3 Things That Went Wrong For RCB

Shivam Dube played during his knock vs RCB [iplt20.com]Shivam Dube played during his knock vs RCB [iplt20.com]

The defending champions of IPL, Chennai Super Kings, have started the tournament on a solid note with a six-wicket victory against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 

It was a closely fought game till the 13th over of the second innings. But after that, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja established a steady partnership and took the Yellow Army across the line. 

The start for RCB was brilliant, as Faf du Plessis was looking to go about his business freely. But they started to fall off, and even though they made a comeback towards the later stages of the first innings, it was not enough for the Red and Blue Army. 

There were a few things that took the game away from the visiting team. Here are three things that went wrong for RCB in the first game of IPL 2024. 


1.An Unwarranted Middle-order Collapse

Mustafizur started the collapse of RCB that put CSK ahead in the game [iplt20.com]Mustafizur started the collapse of RCB that put CSK ahead in the game [iplt20.com]

The Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and decided to bat first in the game. They got off to a flying start as Faf du Plessis looked relentless and aggressive. In no time, RCB reached 41, with only four overs being bowled. But at this stage, an unwarranted collapse came that put RCB on the back foot. 

During this phase, RCB lost five wickets while adding only 37 runs on the board. Even though Anuj Rawat (48 of 25) and Dinesh Karthik (38 off 26) did an excellent repair job and took the team to 173/5, the stagnancy that came due to the collapse restricted them to about 20 runs short of what could have been par total on the wicket. 

2. Unidimensional Bowling Plan

Alzarri Joseph during his fruitless spell agains CSK [iplt20.com]Alzarri Joseph during his fruitless spell agains CSK [iplt20.com]

CSK also started brilliantly during the chase. Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad got them going early and kept them ahead of the required run rate. RCB made a comeback and picked up a couple of wickets, having CSK at 99 for three in the 11th over. 

At this stage, Shivam Dube joined hands with Daryl Mitchell. With Dube's arrival, RCB resorted to their pace bowlers and started attacking the two batters with a barrage of short balls. The plan paid off for them, as they soon got rid of Daryl Mitchell. It looked like the game would tilt in favour of RCB, as they had CSK in a spot of bother at 110/4 in 12.3 overs. 

With Mitchell's dismissal, Jadeja came in and brought in the calming influence in the middle. Before Jadeja's arrival, Dube looked unnerved by the short balls, but the senior pro showed him how to handle it. Jaddu showed the way as he kept milking the short deliveries, and Dube followed suit. Both the batters got settled against RCB's bowling plan and gradually took the game away from the opposition. 

However, RCB failed to switch tactics when they saw that the two batters handled things comfortably. They continued with the short deliveries and became too predictable for the two batters. 


3. Underusing the Spinners

Mayank Dagar during his efficient spell against CSK [iplt20.com]Mayank Dagar during his efficient spell against CSK [iplt20.com]

Before Dube arrived in the middle, the two RCB spinners did a great job. Even though Karn Sharma was expensive, he picked up a wicket and caused trouble for Daryl Mitchell. On the other hand, Mayank Dagar looked very efficient as he conceded six runs off his two overs. Dagar seemed to know the pace to use on the wicket and could have been potent if his spell was stretched. 


But Faf du Plessis looked intimated by the reputation that came with Dube. The southpaw decimated the spinners in IPL 2023, and that forced Faf to keep his spinners away from the bowling crease. This totally put RCB out of the game as they failed to cease the momentum when they were slightly ahead in the game. If RCB had risked a couple more overs from the spinners, things could have gone the other way.