Royal Challengers Bengaluru has gone for a slight change in its name this season, but there has not been much of a change to its tradition of disappointing its fans in the early stage of this IPL.
It must be desperate to give its supporters something to cheer about and put its campaign back on track when it takes on a confident Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
Sanju Samson’s men have won all their three games so far. That they have done it without their formidable opening duo of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal making much of a contribution says a lot about the way they have performed thus far.
The captain himself has had a couple of disappointing knocks after his 82 not out against Lucknow Super Giants in the opening match. But Riyan Parag’s consistency has made up for the lack of runs at the top of the order.
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Promoted to No. 4, he has been a revelation with scores of 43, 54 not out and 84 not out. The bowling attack, in the form of Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal, R. Ashwin and Avesh Khan, has been sharp, too.
The visiting side, on the other hand, has to come up with improved shows with both bat and ball.
Virat Kohli has scored 203 runs, with a couple of fifties, but the other batters, including skipper Faf du Plessis, need to deliver. More is also expected from the bowlers, especially Mohammed Siraj.
