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Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif was disappointed with the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) bowling performance in their IPL 2022 opener against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Despite posting a mammoth target of 206, RCB couldn't stop PBKS' power-hitters from taking their IPL team home comfortably. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga all went for runs and were inconsistent in their line and length.
Speaking on 'SK Straight Talk', here's what Mohammad Kaif had to say about RCB's performance against PBKS:
"RCB bowled poorly, no doubt about that. There were a lot of expectations from Harshal Patel as he has played for India now and is in form and was last year's Purple Cap winner. But he bowled very wide."
Kaif added:
"If you get hit on good balls then its okay because Punjab have power-hitters. But if you bowl wide and are inconsistent in line and length, the bowlers looked under pressure."
He went on to say:
"Siraj's first over was horrible. He started poorly with bowling wides and bouncers. All the bowlers, whether it's Harshal, Siraj, or Hasaranga, there were a lot of expectations."
Check out the updated list of IPL winner here.
Can never overlook fielding in any format: Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif believes that while RCB bowled poorly, they could still have taken the game to the last over had they held onto their chances in the field. Man of the Match Odean Smith was dropped on 1 by Anuj Rawat and that proved to be a decisive moment in the game. On this, Kaif stated:
"Turning point of the game was fielding. Even if the bowlers were having a bad day, had Odean Smith's catch been taken at point or had Harshal Patel successfully affected the run-out, the game would have gone down to the wire. You can never overlook fielding in any format of the game."
RCB will need to go back to the drawing board and solve the issues in their bowling. Their top buys like Harshal Patel and Hasaranga will need to step up and back up the hard work done by their batters.
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