Are RCB the new 'chokers'?

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‘Chokers’, a term coined by Steve Waugh during the 1996 World Cup for the South Africans, has tormented the Proteas ever since. Time and again South Africans have discovered ways of snatching defeat from jaws of victory.

But it seems they have now found an ally to share that unwanted title. Their ally may not be an international team but are surely strong enough (on paper) to rival the best teams in the world. That team is – Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had a forgettable maiden IPL season. However, IPL 2009 saw the bottom two teams giving other teams a run for their money.

Deccan Chargers, led by Adam Gilchrist, met Royal Challengers Bangalore in the finals. A good start is half done. Anil Kumble, the captain of the RCB at the time, won the toss and decided to field first.

Leading from the front, Kumble opened the bowling for RCB, rattling the stumps with his 3rd delivery to send the opposition captain on his way back to the pavilion. It was a dream setup for RCB to clinch their first IPL title. A decent bowling performance by RCB restricted DC to 143/6 in 20 overs, with Kumble picking 4 for 16 in his 4 overs.

A meager target for a final, a power-packed batting line-up consisting of Kallis, Van der Merwe, Ross Taylor, Kohli and Uthappa to go with Dravid and Manish Pandey, things looked pretty simple for RCB.

But alas, the South African blood seemed to have caught with them again. Fielding three South Africans who had witnessed the agony of being called chokers, RCB choked towards the end of the match and lost the match by 6 runs. This was the first major instance where RCB choked.

Riding on the Gayle storm, RCB found themselves on the brink of clinching their maiden IPL title and their maiden T20 championship in 2011. Ray Jennings had hailed liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s signing of Chris Gayle as the face changing decision for struggling RCB. Another Gayle storm was required to stop the dominant Chennai Super Kings from defending their title.

CSK’s title defence started on a good note. They won the toss and chose to bat first. Big games produce big players. Murali Vijay, who plays one breath-taking innings every season, chose this particular night to showcase his batting skills.

A match-winning opening partnership between Vijay and M. Hussey took CSK to 205/5, a target well-above par. On the other hand, RCB lost Gayle in the first over of their innings.

Expectedly, RCB stumbled on their way and never managed to challenge the target. Eventually, CSK lifted their second consecutive IPL title by routing RCB by 58 runs.

Despite the two failures, RCB did not lose courage. Finishing runners-up in IPL ensured that RCB qualified for CLT20 2011. RCB continued their vintage form in CLT20 and entered the finals, alongside Mumbai Indians to make it an all – India final. The question was – ‘Will RCB be third time lucky?’.

Halfway through the game, some would have said yes. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bat first. However, the batsmen failed to capitalize on their captain’s decision. A potent RCB bowling attack led by Daniel Vettori bundled out Mumbai Indians for a mere 139.

With a required rate of 7 runs per over on a Chennai pitch for a line-up made up of Dilshan, Gayle, Kohli, Mayank Agarwal and Saurabh Tiwary, RCB started the chase as favorites to lift the title.

But it was a rare night - a night when Harbhajan Singh was on top of the batsmen. Bhajji snared Gayle’s wicket early to send RCB’s plans into disarray. Despite a strong Dilshan start, RCB lost their way soon after Gayle’s dismissal.

Wickets at regular intervals and the ever-climbing required rate created undue pressure on RCB, who invariably succumbed to the big-match pressure. In an anti-dramatic climax, RCB were bowled out for 108, giving Mumbai Indians a piece of glory.

Yes, RCB were the official chokers of the T20 world.

Life moves on, so did RCB and so did I. These losses seemed to be a thing of the past. However, nostalgia struck when RP Singh became R’I’P Singh. Maybe it was Lord Jadeja or Mohammad Amir’s spirit, RP Singh over-stepped by a mile on the final ball of the match. The rest is history. Alas, RCB choked - yet again.