With the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) struggling to put up the consistent performances in the ongoing 13th edition of the IPL 2020, the RCB head coach Simon Katich has made it clear that the next eight days will decide the fate of the franchise in the lucrative T20 League in the UAE.
The RCB has so far played 5 matches in the ongoing IPL 2020 and managed to win 3 of them to sit among the top five teams in the tournament, but their poor performance, especially batting, against the Delhi Capitals in their last game raised questions on the team’s future in the league.
In the 19th game of the IPL 2020, the RCB suffered a 59-run defeat at the hands of young Capitals on Monday (5 October), could score only 137 while chasing 196 at Dubai International Stadium.
Following the defeat, Katich said the next phase of the IPL 13 would be very crucial for the RCB, saying the coming eight days will make or break the tournament for the team as Virat Kohli and his team are set to play four matches in quick succession in the tournament.
Katich said in a video posted by RCB on its official Twitter handle after RCB v DC match: “In the next phase, we have four games in eight days, it's going to be tough, this is where we will make or break the tournament. I still want us to be really positive.”
The head coach admitted that the RCB was outplayed by the DC, saying the young team played the conditions really well but said his bowlers conceded 15-20 runs extra that cost them the game in Dubai.
Mohammed Siraj shined for RCB in their last fixture, as he scalped two DC wickets, but both the in-form bowlers like Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini had an off day, as they did not even complete their quota of four overs.
However, Isuru Udana and Moeen Ali, who both picked a wicket each, offered some assistance to Siraj as they could get only four wickets in the match against the Capitals.
Katich explained, “Early on we gave them momentum, and from there on, we were never able to come back, they got us to a good start in the powerplay, from there on we were playing catch up. We managed to get back in the middle but towards the end of the innings, we leaked runs and missed catches, that cost us 15-20 runs extra.”
He signed off by saying, “We were outplayed from Delhi, they were really disciplined, they played the conditions really well. We need to be smarter as to what we do with the shorter and longer boundary.”
Noteworthy, the RCB will next lock horns against Chennai Super Kings on October 10 in the IPL 13.
(With ANI Inputs)
