IPL 8 Preview, RCB vs RR: Starc difference as Royals challenge Bangalore

Mitchell Starc has revitalised Bangalore’s bowling. (Source: BCCI)

Shane Watson was almost sprawled in the back seat of the car that turned in to the CCI club at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Just a few minutes before that, inside the club, Steve Smith had lost his way to the dressing room and had to be guided by the club regulars. It was a couple of days before the start of the IPL, and it was the first day of the Australians at the Brabourne, the home venue for the Rajasthan Royals. Both had just come fresh from winning the World Cup, but there wasn’t any time to really celebrate the special triumph. Instead, they were about to plunge headlong into a T20 tournament.

As it turned out, the man who was briefly lost that day was the one who was turned on for the new challenge right from the start. Watson had to sit out the first five games due to an injury and saw Smith lead the team to wins on a trot. Until Watson returned, things were actually going swimmingly right, but when he came back and took over the captaincy, it sort of coincided with — if not triggered — the slide.

Ignoring the obvious

Changing the captaincy wasn’t the best idea; it seemed almost clear that the best course for the team would have been to stick with the winning captain, especially as Smith has also led Australia while Watson had quite a few problems when he was the vice captain of Australia. However, Rajasthan seemed stubborn in not seeing the obvious.
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore were also guilty of doing the same. AB de Villiers, world’s best batsman, was not playing in the top 3 and instead being wasted further down the order. De Villiers is a batsman who likes to settle in, playing a few deliveries before he goes for the jugular. It made sense to play him at the top and give him all the time to showcase his freakish talent, but in pursuit of the “team balance”, Bangalore were messing it up. It didn’t help that they didn’t have the services of their best bowler, and world’s best limited-overs bowler at the moment, Mitchell Starc for the first half of the tournament due to an injury.

While Rajasthan kept winning the first few games, Bangalore started off with three losses and continued to be hit and miss, searching for the right combination. After four games, Bangalore finally gave de Villiers what he always wanted — a spot in the top 3 and immediately, the results started to come through. The line-up was top-heavy but it wasn’t too much to expect that at least one of the top three — Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and de Villiers — will click in a 20-over format.

It was also the time when Starc returned to revitalise the bowling. In getting Starc back, and de Villiers at the right position, Bangalore had started to find their swagger. Starc impressed as he led them to nine-wicket win over Rajasthan and ten-wicket win over Delhi, and suddenly, Bangalore were up and running.
Course correction

Meanwhile, Rajasthan were still failing to see the obvious and kept tumbling down the abyss until they woke up and made the change. Watson stepped down from the captaincy and decided to focus on his core skills. It took a couple of games but Smith settled back into his role and the results started to come. Watson provided the icing on the cake with a most wonderfully composed hundred to drag Rajasthan to a win against Kolkata Knight Riders and take them through to the playoffs. De Villiers, too, had his moment when he spanked a 59-ball 133 against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. Suddenly, the team started to look good and overflowing with confidence. Gayle, too, started to fire and on the odd occasion when Gayle or de Villiers failed, Kohli started to swagger.

Bangalore are a team that have started to boss their opponents. Rajasthan might not be as dominating in their wins, but with Watson clicking, they are beginning to come back to their best. But if Bangalore have the advantage, it’s because of Starc, who can take wickets with the new ball and be thrillingly effective in the end overs.

But the good thing is that, though, both teams took their time, they have managed to finally see the obvious and have sorted out the team combination.

Source:: Indian Express