Bengaluru: Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth lashed out at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowlers for their poor performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) season so far, remarking that even Virat Kohli, who has barely bowled in various editions of IPL, would have conceded fewer runs that franchise’s frontline bowlers, including Lockie Ferguson, Reece Topley, etc.
RCB bowlers conceded 287 runs and could take only three wickets against SRH. SRH produced the highest total in IPL history and broke their record of scoring 277 against the Mumbai Indians (MI) thanks to some serious hitting from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen. Though fiery knocks from skipper Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik helped RCB put up a fight and end with 262/7 on the board, RCB is likely to remember the match mostly for the wrong reasons.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth advised the team that they should play with 11 batters and even give overs to their frontline batters, skipper Faf Du Plessis, Virat and Cameron Green. “Reece Topley is getting smashed. Lockie Ferguson was getting smashed. He has not done well in the IPL. He has travelled from Kolkata to Bengaluru. Will Jacks has been their best bowler. Better yet, they play 11 batters. Ask Faf du Plessis to bowl 2 overs. Give Cameron Green 4 overs. I think Virat Kohli wouldn’t have conceded this many had he bowled 4 overs. Virat Kohli is a decent bowler,” said Srikkanth.
Srikkanth said that he felt bad for Virat, who was helplessly watching “balls fly out of the stadium.” “At one stage, I felt very bad for Virat Kohli, who was just watching the balls fly out of the stadium. He came out angry when he walked out to bat. Head was smashing them, Klaasen, after that. But Abdul Samad’s knock was the final nail in the coffin,” he said.
Virat has taken only four wickets in his IPL career and had bowled last back in 2016. His last IPL wicket came in 2011. Coming to the match, RCB put SRH to bat first. A century from Travis Head (102) and an explosive fifty from Heinrich Klaasen (66) pushed SRH to 287/3 in their 20 overs.
Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, with 2/52 in four overs. In the run chase, Virat Kohli (42) and skipper Faf Du Plessis (62) put up an admirable 80-run partnership within the powerplay, unfazed by the scoring rate and target. But a brilliant spell from skipper Pat Cummins (3/43) and Mayank Markande (2/46) reduced RCB to 122/5. Despite that, Dinesh Karthik (83) and Anuj Rawat (25) put up a fight but fell short of 25 runs, ending at 262/7.
With this loss, RCB is at the bottom of the table, with just one win in seven overs. They have just two points. SRH now has four wins and two losses, with eight points. They are in the fourth spot.
