IPL 2019: What has gone wrong for RCB in the tournament?

Royal Challengers Bangalore are in deep trouble as they are at the bottom of the league. They have lost all their matches so far and look sure to miss out on this season's playoff rounds, requiring victory in all their remaining games (8 games), and should regroup themselves as soon as possible.

The Challengers suffered a humiliating defeat in their opening match to Chennai Super Kings where they managed to put up a paltry total of 70 runs. Luck did not favour the Bangalore team too, as they lost in a controversial last over to Mumbai Indians. Hyderabad and Kolkata won comprehensively against the Bengaluru outfit also. The series of demoralising losses have dented the confidence of Virat Kohli's side.

The baseball legend, Yogi Berra, once indeed said- "It ain't over till it's over." Mathematically, RCB can still secure the top 4, and other franchises have completed a similarly daunting task.

Several issues need quick attention of captain Virat Kohli and his management team to stay in the hunt for the knockouts. On this note, let us glance through the aspects which need addressing.

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#1 Finding a steady batting combination

Shimron Hetmeyer has been dreadful in the middle order.

RCB's batting order looks over-reliant on the superstar pair of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. One of these two batsmen has to score big runs if RCB has to post a competitive total. The batsmen have failed to produce match-winning totals, barring the game against Kolkata Knight Riders in which they accumulated 205 runs, where Kohli and ABD garnered 84 and 63 runs respectively.

The batting order is top-heavy with Kohli opening the batting and ABD coming at number 3. Akshdeep Nath is not a finisher as he looks to rotate the strike and find an occasional boundary and could be a handy option during the middle overs. Marcus Stoinis is capable of hitting long shots from the start of his innings and could flourish as a finisher. A batting swap between Akshdeep and Stoinis could help the Challengers find a balance in their batting order.

Shimron Hetmyer was bought in this year's auction in hopes of solving their middle-order conundrum. The West Indian southpaw has failed miserably for the Challengers, scoring a pitiable total of 15 runs in 4 matches.

AB de Villiers' nonchalant batting can provide much-needed solidity to the fragile middle-order at number 4, while Moeen Ali can express himself at number 3. Nathan Coulter-Nile will be available for selection in the next few days. The Australian's pinch-hitting could provide him an edge over New-Zealand pacer, Tim Southee, who is looking out-of-sorts.

#2 Substandard death bowling

Yuzvendra Chahal is a lone shining light for RCB this season.

The bowling unit is struggling to stifle the opposing batsmen and pick up wickets at regular intervals. Yuzvendra Chahal is RCB's best bowler this season. The wily leg-spinner has claimed 9 scalps in 6 matches and is the only reliable source of wickets for skipper Virat Kohli.

The pace battery of Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, and Umesh Yadav bowl decent opening spells but concede a barrage of runs in the death overs. Mohammed Siraj is in his 3rd IPL season, but his volatile execution in the concluding overs tell a different story. Royal Challengers' camp has put a lot of faith in the Hyderabad speedster, but he is not returning the expected dividends.

RCB conceded a staggering 52 runs in two overs (18th and 19th) against the Kolkata Knight Riders and failed to defend 75 runs in the last four overs. Such an awful display summed up the precarious death bowling execution of this team.

Umesh Yadav is a seasoned IPL campaigner, and it is high time he assumes responsibility on his shoulders and guides the fellow pacers around him. His erratic bowling costs a lot of extras.

Nathan Coulter-Nile presents a strong case for himself due to his proven record in the T20s for the Australian national team and in the Big Bash League. The Australian's athleticism in the field could improve the fielding for the Royals as they have dropped crucial catches.

#3 Insipid ideas on the field

Virat Kohli should talk to his bowlers consistently in crunch situations.

Virat Kohli's approach to the shortest format is under constant scrutiny. Once Virat was asked about his T20 ideology, he said - “You bring enough energy onto the ground, you can win on that day. In T20, it’s anyone’s game at the end of the day”.

Such a philosophy suggests that he is not an astute tactician; instead, he believes in playing with maximum intensity and adheres to a plan. Such an outlook has made him successful in the Test format, but T20s is a different ball game.

The T20 format requires an incisive leader who can control the proceedings ball-by-ball. Virat Kohli patrols the boundary rope in the death overs. The bowlers can't communicate to their captain and manipulate the game-plan according to the needs. Lucid communication between the players and the captain will guide them through the crunch moments of the game.

The think-tank of the RCB team also needs a wake-up call here. Royal Challengers lack cohesion in their group, and the management should sort out the issues by addressing them to the skipper. The administration should make tactical plans for the opposition players and work on stable team composition.

The team needs to realize their X-factor and give the liberty of expressing himself freely. At this moment, it looks like Yuzvendra Chahal is the X-factor of the team. Virat should make smart use of Chahal's 4-over spell and provide him an attacking field placement.

Virat's side should play with nothing to lose mindset and fight until the end. An out of the box ideas could work wonders for the Delhi maestro and let's hope his team hits the ground running in the remainder of the tournament.