It requires talent, consistency and commitment to obliterate the first impression. The Royal Challengers from Bangalore were deemed as a Test side in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League where they finished second from bottom. Plausibly, there was a second wind in the waiting. The guileless display in the opening edition was followed by a complete turnaround the next year which was spurred by fearless and astounding cricket by Ross Taylor and Anil Kumble in particular. They came second to the Deccan Chargers in the final.
In the third edition, Royal Challengers' juggernaut was halted by the Mumbai Indians in the semi-final and Dr. Mallya's team ended up finishing third. Post IPL 3, the teams were allowed to retain 4 players before the fresh set of auctions. However, Virat Kohli was the only player retained. The Royal Challengers had to bid goodbye to key players like Dale Steyn, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey in the auctions. Though AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes and Daniel Vettori were roped in, the team looked less threatening on paper than it did a couple of years earlier.
An injury to Nannes in the last edition of the tournament proved to be Bangalore's biggest blessing in disguise. Chris Gayle who was Nannes' replacement was nothing short of an one man army scoring 608 runs in just 12 matches which included 2 hundreds. Much to the delight of RCB fans, Gayle was retained by the Royal Challengers for the 5th edition of the Indian Premier League.
STRENGTHS
Top-heavy and plenty of experience: Chris Gayle, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers form a formidable top order, perhaps one which most other teams would fail to match. Gayle's reputation and recent T20 form would cause jitters for any bowler while Kohli's form in the last couple of years would suggest that he has the talent to destroy any opposition. Going with this is the experience of Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori and Zaheer Khan - the most precious weapon in the Challengers' armoury. The inclusion of Vinay Kumar further strengthens the bowling unit that looked dodgy last year.
WEAKNESSES
Dicey middle order and lack of all-rounders: The opponents would be wary of the fact that once they make early inroads into the Royal Challengers' batting, the team is bound to dismantle. With Saurabh Tiwary, Daniel Vettori and either Mayank Agarwal or Asad Pathan forming the middle order, one can't see any ominous signs of danger for the opponents. Also, the lack of all-rounders would be one of the concerns for Dr. Mallya's brigade. Dilshan and Gayle are known to be handy with the ball and Vettori can chip in with the bat as well, but the team certainly lacks quality all-rounders.
STAR PLAYER:
Chris Gayle: No ground is too big for the Caribbean lad who once scored 36 runs off just one over in a match against Kochi. Having scored 6 T20 centuries since the start of 2011 alone, Gayle is the power house of RCB's batting line-up. His ability to chip in with the ball is also an added advantage.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Virat Kohli: Recently promoted as India's vice-captain for ODIs, Virat Kohli is in the form of his life. With the ability to play every shot in the book and with such fluency, Kohli is quickly turning out to be a nightmare for every opposition. Kohli has scored over 2500 International runs since 2011 alone. His excellent ground fielding and his aggression makes him a fierce competitor.
Daniel Vettori / Muttiah Muralitharan: The spin wizards bring in plenty of experience to the table and the 4 foreign players rule would mean that, only one of the two might take the field on any given day. Muralitharan has scripted several wins for Chennai Super Kings in the previous editions and Daniel Vettori showed last year, why he's the best left arm spinner in the world. The batsmen need to watch out for Murali's ever so famous doosra and Vettori's threatening arm ball.
KEY PLAYER TIMELINES:
Tilakaratne Dilshan will not be available for RCB's first match against Delhi. He is currently involved in the Test series against England which ends on the 7th of April.
NEW ADDITIONS:
Muttiah Muralitharan, Vinay Kumar and Andrew McDonald.
RCB in IPL:
In the third edition, Royal Challengers' juggernaut was halted by the Mumbai Indians in the semi-final and Dr. Mallya's team ended up finishing third. Post IPL 3, the teams were allowed to retain 4 players before the fresh set of auctions. However, Virat Kohli was the only player retained. The Royal Challengers had to bid goodbye to key players like Dale Steyn, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey in the auctions. Though AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes and Daniel Vettori were roped in, the team looked less threatening on paper than it did a couple of years earlier.
An injury to Nannes in the last edition of the tournament proved to be Bangalore's biggest blessing in disguise. Chris Gayle who was Nannes' replacement was nothing short of an one man army scoring 608 runs in just 12 matches which included 2 hundreds. Much to the delight of RCB fans, Gayle was retained by the Royal Challengers for the 5th edition of the Indian Premier League.
STRENGTHS
Top-heavy and plenty of experience: Chris Gayle, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers form a formidable top order, perhaps one which most other teams would fail to match. Gayle's reputation and recent T20 form would cause jitters for any bowler while Kohli's form in the last couple of years would suggest that he has the talent to destroy any opposition. Going with this is the experience of Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori and Zaheer Khan - the most precious weapon in the Challengers' armoury. The inclusion of Vinay Kumar further strengthens the bowling unit that looked dodgy last year.
WEAKNESSES
Dicey middle order and lack of all-rounders: The opponents would be wary of the fact that once they make early inroads into the Royal Challengers' batting, the team is bound to dismantle. With Saurabh Tiwary, Daniel Vettori and either Mayank Agarwal or Asad Pathan forming the middle order, one can't see any ominous signs of danger for the opponents. Also, the lack of all-rounders would be one of the concerns for Dr. Mallya's brigade. Dilshan and Gayle are known to be handy with the ball and Vettori can chip in with the bat as well, but the team certainly lacks quality all-rounders.
STAR PLAYER:
Chris Gayle: No ground is too big for the Caribbean lad who once scored 36 runs off just one over in a match against Kochi. Having scored 6 T20 centuries since the start of 2011 alone, Gayle is the power house of RCB's batting line-up. His ability to chip in with the ball is also an added advantage.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Virat Kohli: Recently promoted as India's vice-captain for ODIs, Virat Kohli is in the form of his life. With the ability to play every shot in the book and with such fluency, Kohli is quickly turning out to be a nightmare for every opposition. Kohli has scored over 2500 International runs since 2011 alone. His excellent ground fielding and his aggression makes him a fierce competitor.
Daniel Vettori / Muttiah Muralitharan: The spin wizards bring in plenty of experience to the table and the 4 foreign players rule would mean that, only one of the two might take the field on any given day. Muralitharan has scripted several wins for Chennai Super Kings in the previous editions and Daniel Vettori showed last year, why he's the best left arm spinner in the world. The batsmen need to watch out for Murali's ever so famous doosra and Vettori's threatening arm ball.
KEY PLAYER TIMELINES:
Tilakaratne Dilshan will not be available for RCB's first match against Delhi. He is currently involved in the Test series against England which ends on the 7th of April.
NEW ADDITIONS:
Muttiah Muralitharan, Vinay Kumar and Andrew McDonald.
RCB in IPL:
| Played | Won | Lost | Tie | NR | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 31 | 30 | 1 | - | 50 |
TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 7th position |
| 2009 | finalists |
| 2010 | Semi-finalists - 3rd place |
| 2011 | finalists |
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