IPL 2019: Three reasons why RCB have struggled this season 

Royal Challengers Bangalore may not have won a single IPL up until now yet without a doubt, continues to remain one of the most loved teams in the circuit. There is something around this team that really lights up the entire tournament. Maybe it’s the entertaining brand of cricket they play or may be, the passionate captain Virat Kohli himself or may be, it’s just the young vibe of the people of Bangalore – whatever it may be, the magic seems to work.

Year after year, the fans turn up in large numbers or glue to their TV screen every time RCB take the field to cheer their favorite team only to leave the stadium with disappointment more often than not. And this year has been no exception, unfortunately!

They started their campaign with 6 losses in a row – some may consider them a bit unlucky with few key moments going against them – Umpires failing to spot a no-ball by Lasith Malinga in the last over or just when they thought, they had it covered they were taken aback by Andre Russell's hurricane innings of 48 runs in just 13 balls.

And since then, RCB have been living on the edge. Though they have successfully won their next 4 out of 5 matches, they need to win every single game that comes their way and few with massive margins to really lift up their shambolic net run rate for them to have any chance to qualify for the playoffs this IPL season.

But what exactly went wrong this year? Just like every year, they looked like a formidable side but just like many other seasons, they, unfortunately, could not really transform their potential into results.

Here the three key reasons RCB have been struggling this season.

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#1 Over dependence on Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers

Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers

One cannot blame anyone to play the second fiddle role to Kohli and AB de Villiers; after all, they are one of the greatest white ball players in the game of cricket today. Having said that, even these legends cannot perform every single game and need meaningful contributions from others to win matches.

Every time, they performed together or even one of them played to their potential, RCB ended up with a massive total on the scoreboard however unfortunately when they both failed to deliver, the team could not reach to even a respectable total. Only other player that has constantly chipped in this season has been Parthiv Patel, who along with Moeen Ali, has shown his class sparingly.

Clearly, RCB is heavily reliant on these two batting maestros with no other reliable options available making it extremely difficult to pose a challenging total every single game or chase down a big target under pressure.

#2 Lack of quality fast bowlers

Dale Steyn

Without a doubt, a T20 match is predominantly a batsman’s game yet one cannot eliminate the immense value a quality bowler brings into the team. You may have a very strong batting line up but without a capable bowling unit, a team is most likely to end up on a losing side more often than not and that’s exactly what happened with RCB this season.

Though, Kohli and de Villiers, along with decent support by Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali, ended up scoring heavily in few matches yet either they ended up losing the game or just managed to win in the last overs, dare I say, mostly due to batsman’s mistake than bowler’s skills.

Apart from Yuzvendra Chahal, no one else could make any meaningful impact on the game. Unfortunately, their star performer last season, Umesh Yadav (20 wickets) could not replicate the magic this season (7 wickets).

RCB banked a lot on Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile but initially was not available due national commitment and later with an unfortunate stiff back, and could not participate in the IPL at all. To make it worse, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee could not settle in and leaked runs massively without making any impact on the wicket column (1 wicket, Economy 13.11).

Understanding the vacuum, RCB immediately roped in South African pacer, Dale Steyn to strengthen their bowling attack. In the two games against KKR and CSK, the 35-year-old fiery bowler made his presence felt and just when it looked like their prayers had been answered, they were jolted by the news of shoulder inflammation to their now premier bowler, completely ruling him out of rest of the IPL.

Once again, RCB is back to square one with no strength to their bowling attack.

#3 No finisher in the lower order

Marcus Stoinis

Mumbai Indians have Hardik Pandya, Chennai Super Kings have Dwyane Bravo, Kolkata Knight Riders have Andre Russell; they have completely shaken the opposition with their superlative batting powers at the back end and in just a few overs and have taken the game away.

On the other hand, RCB hoped Marcus Stoinis to do the finisher’s job for them however at the very beginning, the player wasn’t available for the first few games due to the national commitment and when he did play, the 29-year-old Australian all-rounder could not set the world on fire, except for the last over against KXIP.

Thus consequently, despite good starts by Parthiv, Kohli, and de Villiers at the top, RCB on most occasions ended up short of few very important runs. Additional 15-20 runs may not sound like humongous but a closely contested T20 match makes a massive difference to the eventual result - something that has constantly hurt RCB this very season.