[Watch] Andy Flower rallies the RCB players after defeat to CSK in IPL 2024 season opener
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower motivated players with the positives from their performance, despite ending in a six-wicket defeat to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The Faf du Plessis-led side could not defend 173 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, March 22.
Flower, the former Zimbabwe player and former England and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) coach, took over from Sanjay Bangar during the off-season after RCB failed to qualify for the 2023 IPL playoffs.
He has worked closely with RCB skipper Faf du Plessis in the past. The St. Lucia Kings employed the same captain-coach combination in the 2021 season, where they made it to the final.
"Not the result we wanted, but there were a mixture of things in the game, some good, and some things where we got punished for being a little bit off. That start you gave us, Faf, was exactly the intent and aggression that we are after, from obviously the both of you.
"You are not going to hog the strike always. Then the recovery from Anuj and DK was sensational," Andy Flower said in a video released by the franchise on their social media handles.
RCB's biggest threat came in the form of left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman. The veteran bowler was adjudged Player of the Match for his figures of 4-29, which included some key wickets.
Flower praised Rahman's spell and noted the angle to the right-handed batter, which came into play in his double strike in the fifth over of the contest.
"With the left-arm angle, he was really good, going across the right-hander, that got both Faf and Rajat into trouble. So, you have got to give him credit for that," Flower said.
RCB will play their first home game of the season on Monday, March 25 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
"He took RCB to a fighting position" - Anuj Rawat's coach Rajkumar Sharma
One of the few positives for RCB from the loss was Anuj Rawat's brilliant finishing act. Coming into bat in a pressure situation, with the score reading 77/4, he ended up as the top scorer for the side after scoring 48 runs off just 25 deliveries.
Anuj Rawat's coach, Rajkumar Sharma, also Virat Kohli's childhood coach, praised his student's display, terming it a 'mature and responsible' knock.
"I'm very happy with the way Anuj Rawat played, it was a responsible and mature innings from a youngster, and it was the need of the hour. That time the team was struggling and he stood there, he took his time and played some beautiful shots and took RCB to a fighting position," Sharma said in the aforementioned video.
Anuj Rawat initially started as an opener for the team in the 2022 season, but has been switched to a lower-middle-order batter. If the IPL 2024 season opener is any indication, then he is likely to feature as the first-choice wicketkeeper as well. Dinesh Karthik came on as an impact player in the match and might stick with the same role potentially in his final IPL season.