Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli might be one of the finest batsmen in the world but one thing missing from his CV is an Indian Premier League (IPL) title. When IPL 2021 got underway and Kohli’s RCB posted four successive wins on the trot, one felt that this might just be the year for the Bangalore boys.
But Kohli & Co. ran into Chennai Super Kings and a rejuvenated Ravindra Jadeja and succumbed to their first defeat of the league and then again in their last match Punjab Kings turned the tables on RCB and posted a 34-run win. But after that COVID-19 struck and IPL 2021 had to be suspended.
The league will now finally resume in the UAE on Sunday, while RCB will get their campaign underway with a game against the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (September 20) at the Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been a happy hunting ground for the RCB, who managed to reach the IPL Playoffs last year.
They will now resume in third position with 10 points from 7 matches so far. Glenn Maxwell is the leading run-scorer for the side currently with 223 runs in 7 ties with two half-centuries and a strike-rate of 144.8. While AB de Villiers (207) is the second highest run-scorer for RCB ahead of skipper Kohli (198), young Devdutt Padikkal has been a revelation at the top of the order with 195 runs in six matches including his maiden century.
In the bowling department, all-rounder Harshal Patel is a surprising leader in the Purple Cap race with 17 scalps in 7 matches while New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson is the second-highest wicket-taker for RCB with 9 wickets in 7 matches.
Head coach Mike Hesson laid out the plans for the session and said, “In terms of practice today, we all know what the role is. We've all had those meetings for what we're training for. So when we go in the nets, we're really specific about what we're trying to get out of it.”
Following is the remaining schedule of matches for RCB…
20.09 – vs Kolkata Knight Riders – 7:30 PM (Abu Dhabi)
24.09 – vs Chennai Super Kings – 7:30 PM (Sharjah)
26.09 – vs Mumbai Indians – 7:30 PM (Dubai)
29.09 – vs Rajasthan Royals – 7:30 PM (Dubai)
03.10 – vs Punjab Kings – 3:30 PM (Sharjah)
06.10 – vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – 7:30 PM (Abu Dhabi)
08.10 – vs Delhi Capitals – 7:30 PM (Dubai)
