Swapnil Singh reveals how Royal Challengers Bengaluru's this strategy helped them secure playoff berth
Published - 19 May 2024, 05:54 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:11 AM
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinner Swapnil Singh revealed how his team managed to regain momentum after a disappointing start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Swapnil Singh stated that the team achieved success with their efforts rather than just sheer luck.
The Royal Challengers secured a 27-run victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their final league match in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 18. The 2016 IPL finalists secured the fourth and final berth in the playoffs. They managed to surpass CSK's net run rate (NRR) to finish fourth in the table.
Bengaluru will play the Eliminator match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, May 22. RCB will face either the Rajasthan Royals (RR) or SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the knockout game. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sealed their place in Qualifier 1 with 19 points in 13 games.
We Definitely Started Very Badly - Swapnil Singh
Speaking to IndiaToday.in, Swapnil Singh acknowledged that the team faced criticism after struggling in the earlier season. The spin bowler stated that as international players, nobody wants to lose, and everyone plays for pride.
"We definitely started very badly in the IPL 2024. We won the second game, and we were not even competitive in the next 5-6 games. There was a lot of criticism a lot of outside noise, and then I remember, after our 4th or 5th game, we were asked, 'what is actually going on?'. Everyone was shown mirrors, where are we going? - according to the stats at least. Everyone here is an international player, nobody wants to lose and everyone plays for pride. The fact that we were not even in the game really hurt us as individuals," Swapnil told IndiaToday.in.
The Bengaluru team started the season with a loss to the Super Kings. However, they recorded a victory in their second match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). They failed to capitalize on the win and went on to lose six consecutive matches. They stayed at the bottom of the table for most of the season.
The Faf du Plessis-led team registered their second victory of the season against SunRisers Hyderabad. They went on to win six consecutive games and managed to reach the playoffs in the ongoing season. RCB became the first team to reach the playoffs despite losing six matches in the first seven games.
We Didn't Use Our Spinners That In India - Swapnil Singh
Swapnil Singh stated that the team management acknowledged the underutilization of spinners in the first half of the season. The left-arm spinner mentioned that the team started playing a minimum of two spinners after the KKR match, leading to a momentum shift.
"Before the KKR match, the spinners had a meeting with the head coach and the director of cricket. We told them as a spinning group that in the first half of the tournament, we did not use our spinners and in India, doing that is a crime. Thankfully, they accepted that mistake, without any ego at all. That is something difficult to do. They listened to us. After we lost to KKR and after that we have played a minimum of two spinners, and that is where the momentum shifted for us," Swapnil Singh said.
"The fact that they took the opinion of smaller Indian players, it shows how big their heart is. They could have just consulted the top players, the international ones, but they came forward and had a chat with us," he further added.
RCB spinners bowled an average of just over four overs per game in the first eight matches of the tournament. However, the spinners collectively bowled 25 overs in total in the next three matches.
Swapnil Singh has notably contributed to this success, claiming six wickets from six matches with an economy rate of 8.77. He has provided excellent support to Karn Sharma during RCB's resurgence.
