"You go after Siraj and maybe he takes half a step back"- Simon Doull on RCB's bowling woes in IPL 2023

Former New Zealand cricketer and well-known commentator Simon Doull shed light on how teams have made a conscious effort in the past few games to attack Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Mohammed Siraj upfront.

Siraj was lethal for Bangalore in the powerplay, picking up at least a wicket in that period for the first nine games of the IPL 2023 season. However, the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) have shown that counter-attack could possibly be a way to stop Siraj in his tracks.

Speaking to Cricbuzz after the game, here's what Simon Doull had to say about their bowling issues after conceding 200 runs against MI in just 16.3 overs on Wednesday:

"Teams have realized that you go after Siraj and maybe he takes half a step back. Maybe he doesn't have that bravado in him that he had earlier in the season. Harshal, how many waist-height no balls he has bowled so far? I can remember 3-4 apart from the one game he was taken out of the attack."

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RCB are too dependent on their big names: Simon Doull

Simon Doull also claimed that the Royal Challengers Bangalore never really had a big enough target on the board against MI. After a massive partnership between Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, RCB's batting just fell apart as they could only post 199/6 in their 20 overs.

On this, Doull stated:

"I felt they (RCB) were 20 short, but it turned out they were 40 short. They are too dependent on their big guns to fire. Faf and Maxi batted brilliantly and DK had a cameo, but they just couldn't get the finish they needed."

Royal Challengers Bangalore will now play the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on May 14 and that could potentially be a knockout game for the two sides.

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