3 glaring mistakes by RCB in their IPL 2024 match vs RR

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are in free fall in IPL 2024.

A win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their second game gave their fans some hope, but it has all been downhill since then. Bengaluru have lost three games on the trot, with their last defeat coming against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday, April 6.

RCB were never in the game right from the outset and committed a plethora of tactical blunders. Faf du Plessis and the team think tank need to take responsibility for making basic errors repeatedly.

Here are three glaring mistakes made by RCB in their IPL 2024 game against RR:

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#3 Faf du Plessis gave Mayank Dagar the last over of the powerplay

RR were always going to look to capitalize towards the end of the powerplay. By the time the sixth over rolled around, both Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler were well set.

Instead of throwing the ball to one of his frontline quicks, Faf du Plessis made the grievous mistake of bringing Mayank Dagar into the attack for one of the most important overs in a T20 game. Buttler was never going to let the over go unpunished, hammering 20 runs to put the Royals firmly in the ascendancy.

Du Plessis' powerplay bowling changes were inexcusable in general, with Mohammed Siraj not taking the new ball. His usage of Dagar was easily the worst among the bunch.

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#2 RCB's team selection and batting order were bizarre

Mahipal Lomror has appeared to be one of RCB's most in-form batters in IPL 2024, with two valuable cameos in as many innings. However, the franchise decided to drop him for the clash against RR, which was played on his home ground in Jaipur.

Moreover, Lomror would've been the perfect man to take on the duo of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, who restricted the RCB batters to 62 runs in eight overs. Instead, the Royal Challengers handed a debut to Saurav Chauhan and batted him at No. 4, ahead of the likes of Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green.

When Chauhan was dismissed in the 18th over, RCB sent in Green instead of their designated finisher, Dinesh Karthik. The Aussie all-rounder made five off six as the team finished with a below-par total.

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#1 Virat Kohli wasted crucial phases in the RCB innings

Kohli scored a century, but it wasn't his best knock [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

On the whole, it was a decent knock from Virat Kohli. He kept the struggling batting unit afloat and extended his lead at the top of the IPL 2024 Orange Cap list.

However, it's also true that Kohli wasted key phases in the RCB batting innings. He faced more than four overs in the powerplay but managed just 32 runs, even playing out an over of Ashwin.

Then, after being 87 off 57 at one point, Kohli slowed down considerably as he approached his century. He managed only 13 runs off his next 10 balls, meaning that his ton was the joint-slowest in IPL history. The 35-year-old was tapping singles in the 19th over of the game in an effort to protect his wicket ahead of the milestone.

There's no room for landmark-oriented batting in the shortest format, especially while batting first.