It has been three weeks since the commencement of the Indian Premier League 2019 and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) came out as the weakest team this season. They haven’t won a single game in the tournament yet despite playing six matches, out of which three were at their home ground M Chinnaswamy. They have forgotten the winning formula in last few years and are seen searching for the right combination throughout the tournament.
Meanwhile, RCB’s star player AB de Villiers urged the team to make Chinnaswamy their fortress in order to claim success in the biggest league of the world. He gave the examples of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who have an exceptional record when playing in the home ground.
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Writing in his column for the Times of India, De Villiers wrote “If you want to succeed in T20 tournament cricket, you need to win most of your home matches. MI were unbeaten at home in 2013; they won five out of seven at home in 2015, and they won five out of seven at home in 2017.”
“Chennai Super Kings also have a powerful home record, where the notoriously slow Chepauk wicket favours spin bowlers. This year, a trio of world-class spinners in canary yellow – Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir — have found grip and turn, combining to strangle the visiting batsmen, restricting opponents to modest totals.”
Former South African captain was hinting at the 22-yard strip of Bengaluru, which has changed in previous years. Earlier, it used to be a belter of a wicket, where batsmen rule the game completely. But slowly the batting element reduced from the pitch and it became a bit harder.
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“When playing in front of your own supporters, you ideally need to be able to play consistent and predictable playing conditions… and to assemble a playing squad with the skills to thrive in these conditions… and to develop a game plan to suit these conditions… notwithstanding the pressure, to execute the plan with conviction and clarity,” De Villiers further wrote.
RCB will try to revive their campaign but they have to win all their remaining eight games in order to claim a spot in the playoffs. Their next game is against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday after a six-day layoff since their last game against Delhi Capitals.
