Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s woes at home extended to a third match in succession as they suffered a five-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Sent in to bat first after a two-hour delay to rain, the RCB batters imploded during a 14-over game, making only 95/9 in the allotted period.
None of the top-order batters got going, with openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli falling to rash pull strokes within the first three overs. While captain Rajat Patidar brief knock and Tim David’s late surge helped RCB put on a fight, middle-order bats Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya threw away their wickets. Former India opener Virender Sehwag slammed RCB for another abject batting display at home.
“RCB batted poorly. All of them played reckless shots to get out. Not a single batter was out to a good ball. At least one batter should’ve used common sense. If they had wickets in hand, they could have reached 110 or 120 in 14 overs, which would have given them a chance to fight,” Sehwag told on Cricbuzz.
While he lauded Punjab for continuing their bowling exploits from the previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, Sehwag lambasted the RCB batters for gifting their wickets.
“There is difference between getting wickets and earning wickets,” he said.
While the bowlers put in a spirited effort to delay Punjab’s win, Sehwag said RCB skipper Patidar will need to find a way to stem the poor batting performances at home.
“Patidar has to think and come up with a solution. They have not been winning at home. Their bowlers are doing well but why are their batters faltering regularly? It’s not alright if your batters continuously fail at home. Who is going to rectify that?” Sehwag asked.
RCB and PBKS will square off again in Mullanpur on Sunday afternoon.
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