5 reasons why RCB will win IPL 2018

Yuzvendra Chahal will be RCB's

X factor

and Kohli's go-to man

#2 The bowling talent pool

RCB, in the past, has always boasted of the most destructive batting order of not just in the IPL, but across all T20 franchises across the globe. Having looked the best batting line-up on paper, it is their bowling that has let them down more often than not.

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, home to the Challengers, is a batsman’s delight. It’s record for the maximum sixes in IPL history further states the fact that it's a batting paradise. The RCB bowlers have found it tough to contain oppositions and even after their batsmen have piled up the misery for opponent bowlers, RCB’s ineffective bowling line-up has faltered in defending totals.

However, this time, the management has strategically acquired the services of world class bowlers who have proved their worth in the T20 format in the past. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Time Southee, Umesh Yadav, and Chris Woakes give them a good pool of fast bowling options.

The backup, in the form of budding Indian talent Mohammad Siraj and Navdeep Saini will bolster their bench, and the presence of Pawan Negi gives them a variety of all bowling combinations.

One cannot underestimate the impact Yuzvendra Chahal will have on this team. His tally of 70 wickets in 55 matches for RCB keeps him at the second position in the list of bowlers with most wickets for the franchise, behind R Vinay Kumar.

Consistent IPL performances forced the Indian selectors to draft him into the national setup, and the wily leg-spinner has taken giant strides in world cricket since then. He will be Virat’s go-to man in crunch match situations just like he has proven it to the Indian team.