IPL 2021: "RCB were lucky against Mumbai" - Sanjay Manjrekar addresses issues for the RCB
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined that the Royal Challengers Bangalore victory over the Mumbai Indians in their previous encounter was a fortunate one as MI lost wickets at crucial moments.
The 56-year old feels that the RCB's win against MI would provide the team with much-needed confidence. However, he also mentioned that there are a few issues for Kohli's men to solve ahead of their today's (September 29) clash against the Rajasthan Royals.
Manjrekar posted a video on his official Instagram account while previewing today's match between RCB and RR. He criticized Bangalore's inability to convert their excellent start into a high-scoring total. Manjrekar felt that they managed 20 runs less than what they should've scored against MI.
The 56-year old said:
"RCB's win in their last match against Mumbai Indians and that would do their confidence a world of good. But there are few issues that they need to look at because otherwise they would be vulnerable against the good sides. They were lucky against Mumbai that Mumbai committed a hierarchy almost."
After cruising for 110-2 from 13 overs, with Kohli and Maxwell still at the crease, the RCB only managed 55 runs in their last seven overs. Manjrekar opined that the RCB were lucky enough to win the game, despite scoring only 165, thanks to Mumbai's poor approach in the middle.
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Manjrekar criticized Kohli for slowing down against the spinners in the middle-overs
It's been two consecutive games now where we are seeing a similar pattern in Kohli's batting - taking on the faster bowlers during the powerplay, but slowing down against the spinners during the middle overs.
The RCB skipper has smashed half-centuries in both of his previous matches against CSK and MI. However, his low strike rate of 120-130 has been a constant talking point among cricket analysts.
Manjrekar also criticized Kohli's approach and said:
''What's happening with Bangalore is they are starting off well. But around 13th-14th overs when the spinners are on, RCB tends to slow down. I think more Virat Kohli is slowing down. I don't know if he wants to get to his 50 and that has become really important to him."
Manjrekar added:
"It's amazing how much the run-rate drops in that phase and that means Bangalore end up getting 20 runs short. And a similar thing happened against Mumbai, but as i said Mumbai were happy to handover the victory to RCB."
It remains to be seen whether they will refrain themselves from slowing down during the middle-overs in their 'Royals' derby' today at the one of the IPL venues, that is, Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.