IPL 2022| 3 key areas where RCB can improve against CSK

The Royal Challengers Bangalore started their IPL 2022 campaign with a bang as they managed to win five out of their first seven matches. However, they have suffered consecutive defeats in their last three encounters and therefore desperately need a victory in their upcoming game to keep their playoff hopes alive. 

Here are three areas they need to work on ahead of their crucial encounter against CSK

Batting in Powerplay: - 

In a T20 game, at least one of the openers should play some aggressive cricket in the powerplay by capitalizing on the field restrictions to provide a flying start to the team. But the RCB openers have mostly been conservative in the first six overs, as suggested by the stats below. 

If we consider only the last three games they have lost, the average falls to 16.33 and the dot percentage further increases to 61.11 which are definitely worrying signs for RCB. Being two senior batters of the team, the skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli need to give the team a better start. 

Bowling in the death overs: -

Despite having a good bowling unit comprising of Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel, RCB’s death bowling has been a huge issue for them in the tournament. Siraj, who kept the likes of Andre Russell quiet by bowling accurate Yorkers last year, has been a pale shadow of himself this season. The variations of Harshal Patel seldom work these days as he has been repeatedly getting hammered in the slog overs. Hazlewood, too, has been very poor in the last four overs. The ordinary numbers of these three bowlers in overs 17-20 against the top 8 batters of the opposition are presented in the table below. 

If we consider the last two games they have lost, the RCB bowlers had a mediocre economy of 11.46 in the slog overs. This sort of death bowling let the game slip from RCB’s hands against RR and GT. 

Maxwell and DK need to step up: -

Glenn Maxwell, who played a commendable role in RCB’s qualification for the playoffs last season hasn’t lived up to the expectations this time. Although he has struck at a better rate, Maxwell’s average has taken a drastic dip from 42.75 in the previous season to a mere 26.17 in the current one. 

Dinesh Karthik, who was in the headlines a few a days ago, has been a complete failure in the last three matches, as he has scored just 8 runs and got dismissed at crucial junctures. He is getting a bit too predictable with his weakness against spinners and was dismissed miscuing the sweep shot twice in these three games. 

As CSK have ample number of spin options, they will certainly keep some overs of spin reserved for Karthik. So, the keeper-batter from Tamil Nadu needs to be a little more careful regarding his shot selections against spinners and should try to wait for the arrival of the seamers to go bonkers in the death overs.

Can RCB improve these aspects of their game and emerge victorious against CSK in the all-important encounter? Have your say!