IPL 2016: Royal Challengers Bangalore season review

‘So close, yet so far’

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s season in 5 words. 29th May, 2016 – It was a date set in destiny, the RCB were set to walk out in front of a packed house at the Chinnaswamy on Sunday evening, led by Virat Kohli and lift their maiden IPL trophy. It was the only logical conclusion to this IPL. It had to be. But it wasn’t. The Sunrisers Hyderabad were exceptional with bat, ball and in the field and went on to lift the IPL trophy.

THE JOURNEY:

Plenty has been written and plenty has been said about RCB’s rollercoaster journey to the IPL final. In the auction, the RCB had done very well adding Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree and a couple of others to strengthen what was already a strong squad. The pieces of the puzzle were finally in place. Superstar batsmen, a world class all rounder, two international superstar bowlers.

But then disaster struck! News came in that Mitchell Starc and Samuel Badree were injured and out of the IPL, the bowling unit all of a sudden seemed to lack a bit of fizz. All these worries were dispelled as the RCB played Sunrisers in their first match of the IPL, and went on to score a mountain of runs, winning the match comfortably. This was followed by a series of matches in which the team lost 5 out of 6 games.

Their batting was never the problem during this run. In fact, their lowest score was 175! Nothing was clicking in the bowling department though. They tried a number of things, Harshal Patel was dropped, Chahal was dropped before being brought back, Kane Richardson played a couple of games, Chris Jordan was called in, but their bowling was often found wanting.

They arrested the slide with 2 victories, against Pune and Punjab. In the following game, against Mumbai, RCB fell short and were left staring at the prospect of elimination from the IPL. With 4 games to go in the league stage, RCB needed 4 wins to stand a chance at qualifying for the playoffs. 4 wins was what they got and they ended the league stage in second place.

In the playoffs, RCB knew that they had the insurance of losing one game and still having a chance to qualify for the finals. They didn’t need it as they beat Gujarat in the first qualifier and booked a spot in the final.

THE STARS:

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli was monumental. He surpassed any expections anyone could have had as he went on to score not 1, not 2, but 4 centuries. 4 centuries in one IPL season. This is a man who had no T20 hundreds before the IPL. As a leader, he was determined on the field and constantly kept his troops inspired. In the final, when Kohli lost his wicket, RCB’s heads dropped. To put numbers to the season, Virat Kohli played 16 games, scored 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and a strike rate above 150. Simply exceptional.

AB de Villiers: Kohli earned the plaudits, but de Villiers, quietly, went about his job. Coming in to bat at 1 down, he ensured that the innings progressed at a great rate and formed a formidable partnership with Kohli. He single handedly got RCB into the final with a memorable knock against Gujarat. He was just one innings short though, the finals being that stage. He scored 687 runs, striking at just under 170 and recorded 6 fifties. To add to this, he also had the highest score in this year’s IPL, smashing 129* against Gujarat.

Yuzvendra Chahal: The wily leggie is the darling of the Chinnaswamy. In a track which is flat and batsmen seem to have a party, he was one bowler who wasn’t afraid to toss it up and draw the batsmen into making mistakes. Dropped at the beginning of the season, he was the star man with the ball towards the end making a great charge to the top of the purple cap chart. Having played 13 games, he took 21 wickets, a wicket every 14 balls.

BIGGEST WINS:

RCB vs GJ, 14th May – RCB love breaking records. This time, Gujarat were the victims as Kohli and AB piled on the misery, recording a remarkable 229 run partnership and helping the team to 248. They bundled Gujarat out for 104 runs, winning the game by 144 runs, the highest win margin in IPL history.

RCB vs KXIP, 18th May – It was a cloudy day in Bangalore. Weather forecasters predicted spells of rain. It did rain. Memories of rain runing RCB’s chances came rushing back. The rain clears, groundsmen do an unbelievable job and we have a 15 over a side game. No one expected that RCB would pile on a remarkable 211 in 15 overs and they went on to win by 82 runs.

RCB vs GJ, 24th May – Qualifier 1. M Chinnaswamy stadium. RCB restricted the Lions to 158. Easy job considering the batsmen RCB have. Except Kohli and Gayle fell early and ABD was the lone warrior as he battled to get RCB into the final with a special innings.

The road ahead: RCB are well placed to have a strong season next year. The core of the squad is strong and they have a bunch of youngsters too. The bowling department was a worry this season, an addition there would bode them well.

The verdict: RCB broke records aplenty and won hearts aplenty. Virat Kohli carried the hopes of the RCB fans on his bat as they went on a memorable run, winning 5 games in a row before eventually losing the final. While they couldn’t get across the line, they should be thrilled with the season they have had. Every ground in India felt like an RCB home ground as their list of fans is only growing. It’s a matter of time before they lift the IPL trophy. It has to happen. With Virat Kohli at the helm, it will happen.