It has been yet another flop showing from Royal Challengers Bangalore as they are yet to win a match in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They are under severe pump after losing 4 matches on a trot which includes a 118 runs defeat against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB is all set to face Kolkata Knight Riders in their 5th match of the tournament.
Over the years players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has set the bar extremely high. However, in this edition of the tournament so far, both the batters are yet to come to terms with the pressure as they have given away their wickets pretty cheaply. While De Villiers and Kohli looked god against Mumbai Indians, they have been far from impressive in all 3 departments of the game.
One of the calming influences in the franchise amidst the storm is none other than Parthiv Patel. The southpaw has been the highest run scorer for RCB in the tournament so far. Parthiv has opened in all the matches but his partner has been changed on 3 occasions.
“Obviously, we can’t shy away from saying that we are under the pump,” said Parthiv on Thursday (April 4). “That’s definitely the case, there is no doubt about it. We can’t sit here and say we are 0-4 and we are happy about it! But the only thing, to be honest, we are quite positive about the team we have. We have always spoken in our dressing room about the kind of team we have, we don’t deserve to have lost four games in a row.
“I am quite happy the way I have played, but individual performances don’t matter as much. Whoever plays in the XI tries to do well and that’s exactly what I have been trying to do. Every time I get a chance to play, I try to perform to the best of my ability and I am glad the performances have come so far.”
Parthiv Patel has been a player who has played in 6 different IPL teams and he might be the perfect candidature for the opening slot. He is a calming influence at the top of the order. Parthiv Patel started off his IPL career with the Chennai Super Kings. Now he has been with the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a couple of years.
“Personally, I have played for so many teams and played with so many openers, it doesn’t matter that much to me,” he said with a chuckle. “I have played a lot with Virat and with Moeen together. I know what my role is and it doesn’t worry me too much. Everyone knows their role. Before the game starts, everyone knows their role. It’s not like suddenly we decide that someone is opening,” he added.
There have been several decisions taken by the team management which needs clear justification. In a T20 match, it is certainly a no brainer that the best batters in the team should maximum overs. However, it hasn’t been the case as they have gone for different openers every time with Parthiv Patel remaining the constant.
Virat Kohli coming in at No 3 and AB de Villiers coming in at No 4 didn’t help Bangalore as they were chasing a huge target of 232 runs against Hyderabad. Both Virat Kohli and ABD are match winners in their own rights. They will surely look to get their act right and help RCB return to winning ways.
“The reason everyone is talking about Virat and AB is because of the performance they have given for RCB, and with Virat for India and AB for South Africa. I think more than anything, they will try and score big. AB had a good game against Mumbai here and Virat got a 40 as well in the same game.
I am sure as everyone else, they will be as hungry as possible. From a team’s point of view and from the captain’s point of view, it is about winning games right now. I don’t think milestones matter to anyone in this team.”