5 IPL seasons when RCB failed to qualify because of their middle order
One more season passes, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) dream of winning the elusive IPL trophy remains a dream.
This time, the dream ended courtesy of a brilliant century by Shubman Gill in their last league match against the Gujarat Titans (GT). They remained in contention for the playoffs until their last league match, but fluttered big time.
There were some questionable strategies and tactics used by the management throughout the season, which raised the eyebrows of not only cricket pundits, but also their fans.
But one perennial problem that haunted them again this season was their middle order. RCB has always been a top-heavy side, with a few star batters usually doing the heavy lifting for the team.
In this article, we will discuss five seasons where RCB's middle order pegged them back and they failed to even qualify for the playoffs.
5 IPL seasons when RCB failed to qualify because of their middle order
#5. 2017
With the trio of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers at the top, RCB were once again overly dependent on their top three to score the majority of the runs.
With the Chinnaswamy pitch getting re-laid that season, assisting spinners to a large extent, the trio was finding it difficult to adjust as they were accustomed to the previous pitch's pace and bounce, where the ball nicely came on to the bat.
With their designated No. 4 KL Rahul getting injured, they had a fragile middle order comprising Kedar Jadhav, Pawan Negi, Stuart Binny, and Mandeep Singh, who never came to the party. Their combined average was 20.00, scoring at a strike rate of just 114.71 in the entire season.
This resulted in them winning only three matches that season and getting the wooden spoon.
#4. 2014
When RCB bought Yuvraj Singh in the mega auction for a hefty price, it seemed like their long-term middle muddle would get sorted out. However, the franchise opted to play Yuvraj in the lower middle order, thus not utilizing his all-round abilities to the fullest.
RCB pushed every batsman out of their positions by one or two slots to accommodate a rookie Sachin Rana, thus messing up the entry point of their power hitters big time.
Their middle order batting struggled to get going and they scored at a SR of just 129, averaging 22.76 that season, which means they ended up winning only five matches.
#3. 2008
A season where RCB got heavily criticized for assembling a side with players whose T20 games were not their primary skills. They did assemble a squad full of big names at that time, but neither the structure of the team nor the roles assigned to specific players impressed anyone.
If we look at their middle order, then it consists of some big names in Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, and Mark Boucher.
But an average of 17.59 and a SR of 126.85 didn't justify the selection, and they faltered big time in the league, finishing seventh on the table.
#2. 2012
If Daniel Vettori and Vinay Kumar are batting at No. 7 in almost every match, then you would imagine the state of that team's strategies and the extent of their middle-order woes.
"Your best batsman should face the maximum number of balls in a T20," the cliche saying goes, and RCB took it more seriously than others.
They didn't focus on role clarity, with more than two batsmen playing out of their positions more often than not.
They played Mayank Agarwal at 6 and pushed AB de Villiers to 5, which clearly didn't work, except for some matches, where individual brilliance got them over the victory line. Their middle order managed to average just 28.68 that season, with a SR of 129.07.
#1. 2023
When three batsmen from a side feature in the top 10 run getters of the tournament, you would say that the team has performed collectively with contributions from different players. But if those three batsmen bat in the top 4 or mostly in the top 3 and score more than 75% of the team's run in the tournament, then questions arise about the team's middle order.
This same thing has happened to RCB in IPL 2023, where they tried almost all their domestic players in their middle order, but none of them impressed with their performances.
Only one half century besides the top three batsmen - Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell - indicates that the middle order never arrived in the tournament.