IPL 2017: Harsha Bhogle Suprised By Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Performances
Apr 17, 2017 at 9:36 AM
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s season is going from bad to worse. The perennial favourites of the Indian Premier League have surprisingly never lifted the trophy. Boasting of some of the finest names in world cricket, the Bangalore-based outfit are yet to justify their immense potentials. Last season, they fell agonisingly short of breaking their trophy duck but lost the title-decider against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
And just like the previous seasons, they are heavily tipped to lift the title in the ongoing season too. However, nothing much has gone right for them so far. The start of the tournament saw them missing some of their biggest stars due to injuries. While KL Rahul was entirely ruled out of the tournament, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli remained on the sidelines for the initial matches. Not surprisingly, the runners-up of last season failed to perform really well in the absence of their regular skipper and de Villiers. They lost the season-opener against Sunrisers by 35 runs but managed to win against Delhi Daredevils in their next game.
Before the third match, they received a much-needed injury boost when de Villiers returned but his arrival did not improve the fortunes of the team. The Protea star made a stunning comeback, scoring 89 runs but his team lost against Kings XI Punjab. And before the fourth match, they received the biggest injury boost when their maverick skipper Kohli was declared fit to play. However, even the return of the skipper has made little difference to the team’ fortunes. The India skipper returned during the match against Mumbai Indians and scored a fighting fifty but the two-time IPL champions managed to register a win from a precarious position.
And in the latest blow to their title aspirations, the Kohli-led side lost to Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday night. Chasing 161 at their home ground, the RCB batsmen once again failed to fire and were restricted to 134 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. RCB are now languishing at the bottom of the table after suffering their fourth defeat in five matches and their performance has surprises not only the fans but also the experts. Ace commentator Harsha Bhogle is no different.
Expressing his surprise over RCB’s run in the tournament so far, he tweeted:“A couple of weeks before the #IPL, I thought this was #RCB’s best chance to win it. Who could have imagined so many things would change!”
A couple of weeks before the #IPL, I thought this was #RCB's best chance to win it. Who could have imagined so many things would change!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 16, 2017