Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian Premier League
8th April - The perenial chokers, in the IPL edtions so far completed, the Royal Challengers Bangalore happen to be the most unpredictable team. So far they have blown hot and cold, sometimes mesmerizing the audience with their game while at other times making them dejected. When you have players like Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villers as your top three, any bowler would have second thoughts on bowling to them, but unfortunately over-dependence on them, followed by a weak middle order has led to their downfall. So far they have only two final appearences with both ending on a losing note for them.
The RCB is owned by businessman Vijay Mallya (Owner of UB Group), who acquired the team for US$111.6 million, the second costliest team after Mumbai Indians. In the inaugral auction the RCB had a star-studded team with veterans like Rahul Dravid (icon player), Jaques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Chanderpaul and Dale Steyn. But they had a shockingly dreadful start to their IPL journey losing by 140 runs in the very first match in their home turf against KKR. The first season was a horrendous season for them as they lost 10 out of 14 matches. It lead to Vijay Mallya publicly criticizing Rahul Dravid and sacking of coach Venkatesh Prasad. South African Ray Jennings was selected as their coach for the next season.
In the 2009 season, played in South-Africa, they made a few changes in their team as they bought players like Kevin Pietersen, Jesse Ryder. This year the team was led by Kevin Pietersen replacing Rahul Dravid. But since he was not available for the entire season he was replaced by Anil Kumble as a captain and the team found a great success under his captaincy. They secured a 3rd spot in the points table and qualified for the semi finals. They defeated CSK convincingly and stormed into the finals against Deccan Chargers but couldn't manage to win losing by 6 runs.
In the 2010 auction, the RCB didn't tinker much with their team and only bought Eoin Morgan. However, they had a mixed season this time and won eight and lost eight matches. They managed to go through the semis but failed to secure a place in the finals, losing to Chennai Super Kings. They were placed 3rd. After this edition, Kumble retired from the IPL and took the role of mentor with the team.
Fresh auctions took place in 2011 and RCB retained only Virat Kohli before the bids. They had a hugely successful outing and bought impact players like Ab de Villers, Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, Saurabh Tiwary and Dirk Nannes. However, Dirk Nannes became unavailiable in the middle of the tournament and Chis Gayle, who surprisingly failed to get any buyers in the auction, was brought in as his replacement. Skippered by Daniel Vettori, the RCB won seven consecutive matches in a row, thanks to some splendid batting by Chris Gayle, and finished at the top of the table. They managed to reach the finals, outplaying Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator, but were thrashed in the finals by CSK.
RCB started off their season in 2012 without their lethal batsman Chris Gayle after he sustained an injury. After consecutive losses and some poor performance, the team rallied back thanks to Chris Gayle returning back and finding his mighty form. They managed a spot in the play-offs but a loss against Mumbai Indians shattered their hopes of winning the IPL this year.
RCB kicked off their 2013 campaign by winning their first 6 home games thanks to Chris Gayle who continued his merciless hitting . Virat Kohli was in the prime form with the bat and Vinay Kumar provided early inroads with the ball. Their most memorable moment of this season was the match against Pune Warriors India where RCB scored the highest total in T20 cricket(263) thanks to Chris Gayle's blitzkrieg, scoring 175 of just 66 balls , the highest individual score in T20 history. However, some important losses in the later stages of the tournament saw them miss out on a play-offs spot.
In the 2014 season RCB acquired the service of swashbuckling batsman Yuvraj Singh for Rs 14 crore. However, despite having big names like Gayle, Yuvraj, Kohli, de Villiers and Albie Morkel in their ranks the team came a lowly 7th. A weak bowling unit was the main reason they fared badly in this edition.
Abhishek (CRICKETNMORE)