Royal Challengers Bangalore mean business in IPL 2021 as they made it four wins in a row on Thursday against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The nature of this victory showed that RCB is a strong contender for the title this season, as they ruthlessly chased down the target of 178 without losing a single wicket.
Meanwhile, things are getting from bad to worse for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. Apart from missing two key overseas players, Rajasthan’s other players are lacking confidence on the pitch and committing unforced errors. Let us look at key takeaways from probably the most one-sided game in IPL 2021 until now.
Runs for openers make RCB an even more dangerous team
RCB had relied on Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers for runs in the last three games. To chase down a considerably good total without the contribution of these two star overseas players further improves the team while going forward.
Devdutt Padikkal enjoyed a dream run for Karnataka in Vijay Hazare Trophy, but coronavirus made sure that he looked a bit rusty in the two games he has played this season. On Thursday, Padikkal stepped up and continued his rich vein of form by smashing a remarkable century. Most importantly he managed to bat at 200 plus strike rate for the majority of his innings, which bodes well for RCB going forward in IPL 2021.
Virat Kohli also got some crucial runs under his belt. After eight IPL innings without a 50+ score, Kohli looked back to his best on Thursday. Having both these openers firing with the next few games in batting-friendly conditions in Mumbai will make RCB an even more dangerous team.
Mohammed Siraj continues to show maturity in his bowling
Rajasthan Royals once again crumbled in powerplay overs on Thursday. Mohammed Siraj was the architect of their downfall as they lost three wickets in six overs. Siraj bowled an inspiring spell of three overs during this period and took wickets of Jos Buttler and David Miller.
The 26-year-old pace bowler has been under scrutiny for conceding a lot of runs in the past few seasons. However, Siraj has taken key lessons from those tough spells to become a reliable bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021. Playing a key role for the Indian team in the last four months has also helped him to become a mature bowler. Along with the terrific growth of Siraj, Kohli and RCB also deserve plaudits to use his overs effectively in the powerplay overs.
Rajasthan Royals continue to show a lack of game awareness
Rajasthan Royals have kept receiving serious injury blows before IPL 2021, which has sort of dampened the mood around the team. The players in the starting XI are lacking confidence, while some of them show poor game awareness after getting their eye in during batting.
Sanju Samson played some majestic shots against RCB before throwing away his wicket once again at the crucial juncture of the game. Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Rahul Tewatia played well on Thursday, but they got carried away in a tricky situation, which ultimately leads to poor shots. Rajasthan needs a complete performance soon to salvage their IPL 2021. To achieve this result or performance, experienced players in the team need to get better in terms of assessing the situation.