RCB vs RR: RCB Have Some Serious Issues To Deal With - Ian Bishop On Shocking Defeat Against Rajasthan Royals

Former West Indies player Ian Bishop expressed concerns over Royal Challengers Bangalore’s deplorable performance against Rajasthan Royals.

After getting bowled out to Sunrisers Hyderabad for 68, their second-lowest total in IPL, RCB faltered while chasing 145 against RR.

RCB fails to chase 145 vs RR

On a surface where the ball was coming hard to the batters, RCB failed to adapt to the conditions with a bereft in their intent.

RCB’s approach to go hard with runs didn’t help their cause as RR bowlers Kuldeep Sen (4/20) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/17) imposed their plans to dismantle their batting unit.

Couldn’t see RCB coming with two bad games in a row: Ian Bishop

Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli started with a couple of boundaries off Trent Boult in the first over but toe-ended an attempted pull shot in the next over to Prasidh Krishna.

Kohli was dismissed for nine in 10 deliveries, his scores in the last five innings aggregating 22 runs with successive golden ducks against LSG and SRH.

Bishop noted that RCB has some serious issues with their team and asked Kohli to step up and deliver big innings.

“This worries me a lot more (than 68 all out) because I am still not seeing Virat Kohli getting the runs that he needs to get for this team to prosper. That middle-order, if Glenn Maxwell doesn’t fire, and you can go at him with hard pace if you have it in your armory, is a real concern. The guys were saying RCB have one bad game a year. That last game was it. But if you can’t chase 145, you have got issues,” Bishop told ESPNCricinfo.

“Kohli still looks like he is feeling for an innings. Faf du Plessis and Maxwell need him to lead and take a little bit of pressure off them and just be as aggressive as possible. He can step out and take momentum, he can carve through the off-side and put pressure back on the bowlers.

“Couldn’t see RCB coming with two bad games in a row. They have some serious issues to deal with. It was good to see Virat at the top, but if RCB are to go further, he has to get runs,” he added.

Earlier in the match, Rajasthan Royals youngster Riyan Parag scored a brisk half-century (56 in 31 balls) to power his team to a moderate score of 144/8, which, in the hindsight of the match, proved to be substantial.

Also Read: RCB vs RR: “He Will Help Us Win Crucial Games” – Sanjay Bangar On Virat Kohli’s Lack Of Form